Articles: pandemics.
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December 2019 saw a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) from China quickly spread globally. Currently, COVID-19, defined as the new pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO), has reached over 750,000 confirmed cases worldwide. The virus began to spread in Italy from the 22nd February, and the number of related cases is still increasing. ⋯ To better reflect the actual spread of COVID-19 in Sardinia based on data from 15th March (first Sardinian declared outbreak), two Susceptible-Infectious-Recovered-Dead (SIRD) models have been developed, describing the best and worst scenarios. We believe that our findings represent a valid contribution to better understand the epidemiological context of COVID-19 in Sardinia. Our analysis can help health authorities and policymakers to address the right interventions to deal with the rapidly expanding health emergency.
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New cases of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), also known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), continue to rise worldwide following the declaration of a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). The current pandemic has completely altered the workflow of health services worldwide. However, even during this critical period, patients with other diseases, like cancer, need to be properly treated. ⋯ Due to the scarcity of relevant data, discussions based on disease stage, evaluation of surgical treatment, radiotherapy techniques, systemic therapy, follow-up, and supportive care were carried out, and specific suggestions issued. All recommendations seek to reduce contagion risk by decreasing the number of medical visits and hospitalization, and in the case of immunosuppression, by adapting treatment schemes when possible. This statement should be adjusted according to the reality of each service, and can be revised as new data become available.
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Review
Rationale Use of Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio for early diagnosis and stratification of COVID-19.
Coronavirus disease is caused by a virus that is the cause of a potentially fatal disease worldwide. Coronavirus is a pathogen that primarily affects the human respiratory system. Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) has been named WHO since February 11, 2020. ⋯ In some cases, multiple inflammations have been observed. Treatment with interferon inhalation showed no clinical effect and the condition worsened instead (Tab. 5, Fig. 1, Ref. 18). Keywords: neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, corona virus SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19.
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Due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a wide number of compounds are under scrutiny regarding their antiviral activity, one of them being hydroxychloroquine. Cardiac aspects of the use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine are reviewed in this manuscript. ⋯ We found an anti-inflammatory effect with reduction of longterm cardiovascular events, a very infrequent heart disease due to a lysosomal effect of the drug, and at the hemodynamic level hypotension, tachycardia, and QT interval prolongation, exacerbated when combined with azithromycin. However, the rate of adverse cardiac events of hydroxychloroquine (and chloroquine) was low.
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A systematic review of the world literature data on surgical management and preoperative screening of cancer patients within the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as prevention of SARS-CoV-2 transmission and resumption of elective surgery. ⋯ To date, the COVID-19 pandemic is still not resolved, and infection continues spreading around the world. Thus, there is an urgent need for more thorough research of the strategies for mitigating the effects of pandemic. To date, the recommendations for optimal surgical management of cancer patients within the pandemic are still actively developed considering the benefits of treatment and risks of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Resumption of elective surgery should be progressive and cautious, especially in pandemic areas. For safety reasons, all patients eligible for surgical treatment should be carefully selected according to stratification of risk factors. Thorough preoperative screening, monitoring of symptoms of infection, and use of appropriate adapted personal protective equipment are extremely important.