Articles: coronavirus.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Dec 2021
Development and validation of a patient face-mounted, negative-pressure antechamber for reducing exposure of healthcare workers to aerosolized particles during endonasal surgery.
The authors developed a negative-pressure, patient face-mounted antechamber and tested its efficacy as a tool for sequestering aerated particles and improving the safety of endonasal surgical procedures. ⋯ Portable, negative-pressure surgical compartments can contain aerosols from surgical drilling with pressures attainable by standard hospital and clinic vacuums. Future studies are needed to carefully consider the reliability of different techniques for detecting aerosols.
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Mayo Clinic proceedings · Dec 2021
Decline of Influenza and Respiratory Viruses With COVID-19 Public Health Measures: Alberta, Canada.
To determine the incidence of influenza and noninfluenza respiratory viruses (NIRVs) pre-/post-implementation of public health measures aimed to decrease coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) transmission using population-based surveillance data. We hypothesized that such measures could reduce the burden of respiratory viruses (RVs) transmitting via the same routes. ⋯ The implementation of COVID-19 public health measures likely resulted in reduced transmission of common RVs. Although drastic lockdowns are unlikely to be required given widespread COVID-19 vaccination, targeted implementation of such measures can lower RV disease burden. Studies to evaluate relative contributions of individual interventions are warranted.
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In the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers in some countries were forced to make distressing triaging decisions about which individual patients should receive potentially life-saving treatment. Much of the ethical discussion prompted by the pandemic has concerned which moral principles should ground our response to these individual triage questions. In this paper we aim to broaden the scope of this discussion by considering the ethics of broader structural allocation decisions raised by the COVID-19 pandemic. ⋯ Using the case study of ventilators in the COVID-19 pandemic, we show how the moral frameworks that we might adopt in response to individual triage decisions do not translate straightforwardly to this regional-level triage question. Having outlined what we take to be a plausible egalitarian approach to the regional triage question, we go on to propose a novel way of operationalising the 'save the most lives' principle in this context. We claim that the latter principle ought to take some precedence in the regional triage question, but also note important limitations to the extent of the influence that it should have in regional allocation decisions.
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Comparative Study
Disparities in case frequency and mortality of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among various states in the United States.
To utilize publicly reported, state-level data to identify factors associated with the frequency of cases, tests, and mortality in the USA. ⋯ There were wide variations in testing and case frequencies of COVID-19 among different states in the US. States with higher population density had a higher case and testing rate. States with larger population of elderly and higher tourism had a higher mortality. Key messages There were wide variations in testing and case frequencies of COVID-19 among different states in the USA. States with higher population density had a higher case and testing rate. States with larger population of elderly and higher tourism had a higher mortality.