Articles: pandemics.
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A coronavirus brought the first pandemic attack of this century as a flu virus did a hundred years ago. This greatest pandemic of the century brings us new opportunities to understand and explore the dynamics of a contagious disease. ⋯ Not only the origin of the virus but also Ro value, possible transmission routes, epidemiologic curves, case fatality rates, seasonality, severity and mortality risk factor, effects on the risk groups, differences between countries and so on still require strong evidence prior to making final suggestions. In this review, we tried to evaluate the epidemiological evidence to scrutinize where exactly we are in this pandemic.
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Nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) are actions apart from getting vaccinated and medications, in order to promote deceleration of the spread of illness among people and communities during pandemic. In this article, we aim to examine NPIs applied in Turkey and worldwide due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of the NPIs such as isolation, quarantine, and contact tracing were maintained with updates of the Ministry of Health guidelines in Turkey. ⋯ Even some countries mainly applied the suppression method, and others applied the mitigation method, in general, it is seen that similar methods were applied with different weights. Examples of different countries demonstrated that NPIs are effective for flattening epidemic curve. NPI have been the main instrument for a year and a half from the beginning of the epidemic to mid-2021 in Turkey as well as worldwide.
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Although we have enough and cumulative information about acute effects of COVID-19, our knowledge is extremely limited about long-term consequences of COVID-19, in terms of its impacts and burdens on patients, families, and the health system. Considering the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms affecting all of the organ systems in critically ill COVID-19 patients who are admitted to intensive care units, the development of post-intensive care syndrome is inevitable. ⋯ These patients should be followed regarding cognitive, physical, and psychiatric aspects and necessary specialist referrals should be carried out. In this article, we are presenting the experience and recommendations of our center, as a guide for the establishment process of post-intensive care outpatient clinics for the critically ill patients who required intensive care admission due to COVID-19 and could be discharged.
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Emergency departments have always been the first point of contact for hospitals in many situations, including man-made and natural disasters. The first places where patients with symptoms of COVID-19 were met in health institutions were also emergency departments. Emergency departments play an important role in diagnosing the disease and isolating patients (by hospitalization if necessary). ⋯ Thanks to the experiences of emergency healthcare workers, health service was provided without any patient being turned away from the door of the emergency departments during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this review, we aimed to present the organization of pandemic hospitals and emergency departments during the COVID-19 pandemic. We made a schematic representation of the architectural areas through the emergency department of Ankara City Hospital, which has a bed capacity of 4200 with 256 beds in emergency department.
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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), has been appeared first in China since December 2019. Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 occurs primarily with droplets through coughing and sneezing and also occurs through inhalation of aerosolized secretions, which travel, remain suspended in the air longer. ⋯ Analyzing current knowledge about the features of SARS-CoV-2 infection, screening, personal protection protocols, triage and psychological support practices for healthcare professionals can be promising in terms of controlling the infection.