Articles: coronavirus.
-
The COVID-19 pandemic forced many surgeons to adopt "virtual medicine" practices, defined as telehealth services for patient care and online platforms for continuing medical education. The purpose of this study was to assess spine surgeon reliance on virtual medicine during the pandemic and to discuss the future of virtual medicine in spine surgery. ⋯ COVID-19 has changed spine surgery by triggering rapid adoption of virtual medicine practices. The demonstrated global interest in virtual medicine suggests that it may become part of the "new normal" for surgeons in the post-pandemic era.
-
Symptoms of COVID-19 vary in severity and presentation. When admitting patients to the hospital, it is desirable to isolate patients with COVID-19 from those without the disease. However, reliably identifying patients with COVID-19 in the emergency department before hospital admission is often limited by the speed and availability of testing. Previous studies determined a low lymphocyte count is commonly found in patients with COVID-19. We sought to explore the sensitivity of absolute lymphocyte count in patients presenting to the emergency department requiring subsequent hospitalization who were found to have COVID-19. ⋯ Knowing the sensitivity of absolute lymphocyte count in patients with COVID-19 may help identify patients who are unlikely to have the disease. Additionally, absolute lymphocyte count can be used as a marker of disease severity in patients with COVID-19.
-
J Infect Public Health · Aug 2021
Observational StudyClinical characteristics and predictors of mortality among COVID-19 patients in Saudi Arabia.
The new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has caused more than 1.8 million deaths, with a fatality rate of 2.5% in more than 200 countries as of January 4, 2021. Analysis of COVID-19 clinical features can help predict disease severity and risk of mortality, early identification of high-risk patients, and provide knowledge to inform clinical interventions. ⋯ In this cohort, COVID-19 patients within the older age group (≥65 years) admitted to the ICU with increased C-reactive protein levels in particular, were associated with increased odds of mortality. Further clinical observations are warranted to support these findings and enhance the mapping and control of this pandemic.
-
Surgery for hip fractures within 48 hours of admission is considered standard. During the lockdown period due to the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) epidemic, our medical staff was reduced. ⋯ During the COVID-19 epidemic, despite the limited staff and the lack of therapeutic sequence, there was no impairment in the quality of treatment and a decrease in 90-day mortality was noted.
-
Southern medical journal · Aug 2021
Developing a Transitions of Care Elective for Medical Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond.
Health care in the United States is costly, fragmented, and often ineffective. Transitions of care (TOC), particularly from the inpatient to the outpatient setting, is an especially complicated time and one that is potentially fraught with errors that contribute to negative outcomes. The coronavirus 2019 pandemic exacerbated many of these challenges. In particular, vulnerable patient populations have experienced more barriers to successful care transitions. Effective care transitions should include interprofessional teamwork, robust patient education, and seamless communication among the various healthcare team members. Increasingly, medical schools are working toward graduating systems-ready physicians who demonstrate competency in the health system sciences and are able to operate effectively within the healthcare system, including being able to navigate complex transitions of care issues. Undergraduate medical education, however, continues to provide experiential learning in the traditional silos of inpatient versus outpatient medicine, so that learners do not have the opportunity to directly participate in transitions of care. Although transitions of care is a pivotal part of patient care, it is rarely taught at the undergraduate level, and when it is, it is typically relegated to the classroom setting. ⋯ Participation of students in TOC is a valuable educational experience and contributes a value-added component to patient care and interprofessional teamwork. Moreover, an appreciation of the failures of the current system is pivotal as learners start to reimagine, explore, and design improved patient-centered systems in the future.