Articles: pandemics.
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Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in December 2019, there have been more than 115 million cases worldwide (1). Symptoms of COVID-19 vary widely and the spectrum of clinical presentation has yet to be fully characterised (2). Many countries have detailed their early experience with COVID-19, with a focus on the clinical characteristics of the disease. However, to our knowledge, there has been no such study detailing symptoms in the Irish population. ⋯ These data represents an early picture of the clinical characteristics of COVID-19 in an Irish population. It also highlights the potential use of self-reported data globally as a powerful tool in helping with the pandemic.
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Several studies have reported decreased trauma admissions and increased physical abuse in children resulting from stay-at-home measures. However, these studies have focused on a limited period after the implementation of lockdown policies. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of quarantine and reopening initiatives on admissions for varying types of injuries in pediatric patients. ⋯ This is the first study to comprehensively examine the effects of quarantine and reopening policies on admission patterns for a pediatric trauma center in a metropolitan area. Total admissions and child abuse evaluations were not impacted. If shutdown measures are re-instituted, preventative efforts should be directed towards ATV use and recreational activities.
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Telemedicine has become indispensable in today's health care because of the recent ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Although it has been beneficial in coping with the pandemic, there is still much uncertainty as to whether it will have a permanent role in treating spine patients. Some of the ongoing legal challenges include patient confidentiality, liability coverage for treating healthcare workers, and financial reimbursements by insurance companies. ⋯ Moreover, without parity and uniformity, the incentive to offer telehealth services decreases. There may be a need for modifications in the law, insurance policies, and medical malpractice coverage to strengthen their support to telemedicine usage. As spine surgeons become more familiarized with the telemedicine framework, its role in patient care will likely expand.
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Annals of family medicine · Apr 2022
Racial and ethnic disparities in access to primary care during COVID-19.
Context: Early evidence suggests that many patients chose to forgo or delay necessary medical care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Existing and well-documented racial and ethnic disparities in access to care were exacerbated by the pandemic for many reasons, potentially including the additional barriers involved in a rapid shift to telehealth for certain groups of patients. Objectives: 1) Examine changes in primary care visit volume and telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic. 2) Test for racial and ethnic differences in primary care in-person and telehealth visits during the pandemic relative to pre-pandemic levels. ⋯ Conclusion: Declines in primary care visits during the pandemic were partially offset by an increase in telehealth use. Utilization in our sample suggests less decline in Black and Hispanic patient primary care utilization during the pandemic than expected, in contrast to Asian patients, who demonstrated the largest declines. This metric and these results are novel and foundational for ongoing & further study using other data sources.
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B Acad Nat Med Paris · Apr 2022
[COVID-19 and organ transplantation, lessons from the national census of the Société Francophone de Transplantation].
The Covid-19 pandemic hit the transplant world in March 2020. Teams quickly organized themselves to optimize the management of their immunocompromised patients and to progress in the knowledge of this new disease. To do this, a French Registry was set up, listing all solid organ transplant patients who had developed a SARS Cov2 infection. ⋯ The advent of vaccination has been a great relief, but transplant patients have developed a poorer vaccine response than immunocompetent subjects, keeping them at risk of severe disease after an adapted vaccination schedule. Specific strategies had to be adopted in this particularly fragile population (increased number of vaccine doses, injection of monoclonal antibodies). The collaboration of the French transplantation centers under the impulse of the Société Francophone de Transplantation allowed us to carry out many collaborative projects, which were of great use for the care of the patients.