Articles: pandemics.
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J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis · Sep 2020
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyCall to Action: SARS-CoV-2 and CerebrovAscular DisordErs (CASCADE).
The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2), now named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), may change the risk of stroke through an enhanced systemic inflammatory response, hypercoagulable state, and endothelial damage in the cerebrovascular system. Moreover, due to the current pandemic, some countries have prioritized health resources towards COVID-19 management, making it more challenging to appropriately care for other potentially disabling and fatal diseases such as stroke. The aim of this study is to identify and describe changes in stroke epidemiological trends before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. ⋯ The proposed study will potentially enable us to better understand the changes in stroke care protocols, differential hospitalization rate, and severity of stroke, as it pertains to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ultimately, this will help guide clinical-based policies surrounding COVID-19 and other similar global pandemics to ensure that management of cerebrovascular comorbidity is appropriately prioritized during the global crisis. It will also guide public health guidelines for at-risk populations to reduce risks of complications from such comorbidities.
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Appropriate dissemination of information to the general public is a key component of the pandemic response. In 2018, recorded infection control advice messages were affixed to 30% of England's automated hospital switchboards during the seasonal influenza and norovirus outbreaks. ⋯ As of May 2020, 85% of NHS trusts made use of infection control messages; on average, these delayed healthcare professionals by 59.4 seconds per call, but had no clear association with patient outcomes from COVID-19. An ongoing national switchboard quality improvement project seeks to establish a gold standard whereby healthcare professionals with urgent enquiries can press 'X' to skip past infection control messages and have their calls triaged immediately.
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ANZ journal of surgery · Sep 2020
Multicenter StudyClinical activity and outcomes during Geelong's general surgery response to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.
The response to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has required conserving capacity and resources to avoid the health sector being overwhelmed. This paper describes Geelong's general surgical response, surgical activity, outcomes and the effect on surgical training. ⋯ Geelong was able to provide a safe and effective general surgery service during the first 7 weeks of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. There are some valuable lessons which could be adopted elsewhere in the event of a surge or second wave of cases.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
African Americans Struggle With the Current COVID-19.
Our study aims to explore the differential impact of this pandemic on clinical presentations and outcomes in African Americans (AAs) compared to white patients. ⋯ AAs present with more advanced disease and eventually have worse outcomes from COVID-19 infection. Future studies are warranted for further investigations that should impact the need for providing additional resources to the AA communities.