Articles: pandemics.
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Annals of family medicine · May 2022
Integrating General Practice Into the Australian COVID-19 Response: A Description of the General Practitioner Respiratory Clinic Program in Australia.
Integrating primary care with the health response is key to managing pandemics and other health emergencies. In recognition of this, the Australian Government established a network of respiratory clinics led by general practitioners in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic as part of broader measures aimed at supporting primary care. General practitioner (GP) respiratory clinics provide holistic face-to-face assessment and treatment to those with respiratory symptoms in an environment with strict protocols for infection prevention and control. ⋯ These clinics used a standardized data collection tool that has provided the largest and most complete primary care surveillance database of respiratory illness in Australia. The success of the GP respiratory clinic model was made possible due to strong partnerships with Primary Health Networks and individual general practices that rapidly shifted operations to embrace this new approach. This article describes the development and early implementation of this model.
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Point-of-care antigen tests (AgTs) for the detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) enable the rapid testing of infected individuals and are easy-to-use. However, there are few studies evaluating their clinical use. ⋯ Antigen tests from NP swab samples show high sensitivity in patients with a Ct value < 20. The best clinical sensitivity can be obtained using AgTs within the first 6 days after symptom onset.
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Background The Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown in India caused disruptions in cancer treatment due to the restriction on movement of patients. We aimed to maintain continuity in cancer treatment during the lockdown through teleconsultations. We tried to reach out to our patients using telephonic consultations by establishing a Teleconsult Centre facility run by a team of doctors and patient navigators. ⋯ Symptoms suggestive of disease progression were picked up in 12 patients (0.67%, 95% CI 0.35%-1.17%), who were advised to meet local physicians. Conclusion Our study suggests that the majority of patients on follow-up can be managed with teleconsultation in times of crisis. Teleconsultation has the potential of being one of the standard methods of patient follow-up even during periods of normalcy.
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The practice of neurosurgery has been profoundly affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Kazakhstan. Many elective surgeries were postponed or canceled, which resulted in difficulties in hospitalization. In the present study, we aimed to describe the effects of COVID-19 on neurosurgical practice and to determine whether a discrepancy was present in the effects between metropolises and regional cities in Kazakhstan. ⋯ The true effect of the pandemic remains unknown for Kazakhstan. A discrepancy between the metropolitan and regional cities was found in the present study. Efforts are required and relevant guidelines must be developed to ensure that the neurosurgical treatment of various conditions continues to be available during health emergencies and that the disparities are addressed.
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Background The Covid-19 pandemic has posed a challenge to organizing a safe clinical assessment for postgraduate degree candidates completing the residency programmes in various specialties. Although minimizing the risk of Covid-19 transmission is a priority, fulfilling the objectives of the assessment is equally important. Methods We conducted this study in the Department of Internal Medicine at our institute. ⋯ Results Clinical assessment examination of 27 candidates for the degree of Doctor of Medicine showed that the median cumulative score gained in narrating and analysing various differential diagnoses was lower compared to the mean cumulative score gained in arriving at a single correct diagnosis (50% [interquartile range-IQR 39%-64%] v. 79% [IQR 64%-100%], p<0.01). Most of the candidates agreed that case scenarios were good alternatives to the conventional physical examination amidst the pandemic. Conclusion CVS-OSCE-based assessment using structured case scenarios is a feasible and effective alternative for clinical skill assessment in high-stake examinations.