Articles: coronavirus.
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Flexible laryngoscopy, the gold-standard evaluation of the larynx and the pharynx, is one of the most commonly performed procedures in otolaryngology. During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, flexible laryngoscopy represents a risk for patients and an occupational hazard for otolaryngologists and any clinic staff involved with the procedure or endoscope reprocessing. Here we present a set of recommendations on flexible laryngoscopy performance during the pandemic, including patient selection, personal protective equipment, and endoscope disinfection, based on a consensus reached during a virtual webinar on March 24, 2020, attended by approximately 300 participants from the American laryngology community.
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Residents in long-term care facilities (LTCF) are a vulnerable population group. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19)-related deaths in LTCF residents represent 30-60% of all COVID-19 deaths in many European countries. This situation demands that countries implement local and national testing, infection prevention and control, and monitoring programmes for COVID-19 in LTCF in order to identify clusters early, decrease the spread within and between facilities and reduce the size and severity of outbreaks.
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We report the effectiveness of automated text messaging for active surveillance of asymptomatic close contacts of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the Cork/Kerry region of Ireland. In the first 7 weeks of the COVID-19 outbreak, 1,336 close contacts received 12,421 automated texts. Overall, 120 contacts (9.0%) reported symptoms which required referral for testing and 35 (2.6%) tested positive for COVID-19. Non-response was high (n = 2,121; 17.1%) and this required substantial clinical and administrative resources for follow-up.
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Comment Letter
Will Virtual Teaching Continue After the COVID-19 Pandemic?
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To evaluate the clinical value of abnormal laboratory results of multiple organs in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-2019) and to help clinicians perform correct treatment. ⋯ Peripheral blood samples were collected from 93 confirmed COVID-19 patients. The samples were examined for lymphocyte (LYM) subsets by flow cytometry and cytokine profiles by specific immunoassays. The receiver operating characteristic curve was applied to determine the best diagnostic thresholds for laboratory results, and principal component analysis was used to screen the major risk factors. The prognostic values were assessed using the Kaplan-Meier curve and univariate and multivariate COX regression models.