Articles: sars-cov-2.
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Various COVID-19 vaccines are being developed around the world. Important questions to be answered regarding vaccines are efficacy, safety, and whether antibodies are protective when used in different communities. This study aimed to determine seroconversion rates of the inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in healthcare workers in a hospital and short-term adverse events due to the vaccine. ⋯ The mean age of participants was 39.06±10.65 (min=21, max=65) with 43.6% males and 56.4% females. On day 28, after the second dose, the seroconversion rates were found to be 92.9% for total anti-spike and anti-nucleocapsid IgG and 15.2% for IgM and 98.2% for anti-S-RBD IgG antibodies and having natural COVID-19 prior to vaccination, age and comorbidity were found to be significant factors for immunogenicity. The incidence of at least one adverse event was found as 29.8% after the first dose and 24.1% after the second dose, with the most common adverse events of having pain at the injection site, weakness, fatigue, and headache.
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In this study, the efficacy of an IL-6 antagonist, Tocilizumab, administered in the early period was studied in intensive care patients with COVID-19 pneumonia followed by hypoxic and systemic inflammation not receiving mechanical ventilation support. ⋯ A total of 213 patients who were admitted with respiratory failure associated with COVID-19 to our third-level intensive care unit were evaluated. Of these patients, the study was conducted with 50 patients in the tocilizumab treatment group and 92 patients in the standard treatment group. During the intensive care period, 26 patients (28.3%) in the standard treatment group and 12 patients (24%) in the group receiving tocilizumab died. The adjusted hazard ratio for mortality in the tocilizumab group was 0.39 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.186 to 0.808; p = 0.001 by log-rank test). During the intensive care period, 22 patients (24.8%) in the standart treatment group and 16 patients (32%) in the tocilizumab group were intubated. The adjusted hazard ratio for a primary outcome intubation in the tocilizumab group was 0.71 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.355 to 1.424; p = 0.184 by log-rank test).
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We aimed to analyze the usefulness of such a reserved area for the admission of the patients' symptoms suggesting COVID-19 and compare the demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients with COVID-19 and without COVID-19 who were admitted to C1 during the first month of the COVID-19 outbreak in our hospital. ⋯ Early diagnosis of infected patients and ensuring adequate isolation are very important to control the spread of COVID-19. The purpose of setting up the COVID-19 first evaluation outpatient clinic was to prevent the overcrowding of ER due to mild or moderate infections, ensure appropriate distancing and isolation, and enable emergency services to serve for real emergencies. A wellplanned outpatient care area and teamwork including internal medicine, microbiology, and radiology specialists under the supervision of infectious diseases specialists allowed adequate management of the mild-to-moderate patients with suspicion of COVID-19.
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An 84-year-old man with an active smoking habit presented to the ED with dyspnea, hemoptysis, and thick phlegm that was difficult to clear. He reported no weight loss, no fever, and no chest pain or dysphonia. He denied both international travel and previous contact with confirmed cases of TB or SARS-CoV-2. ⋯ The patient's personal history included a resolved complete atrioventricular block that required a permanent pacemaker, moderate-to-severe COPD, rheumatoid arthritis (treated with oral prednisone, 2.5 mg/d) and B-chronic lymphocytic leukemia (treated with methotrexate and prophylactic oral supplements of ferrous sulfate). Moreover, he was in medical follow up because of a peptic ulcer, atrophic gastritis, and colonic diverticulosis. The patient also had a history of thoracic surgery after an episode of acute mediastinitis from an odontogenic infection, which required ICU management and temporal tracheostomy.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the admission of a high number of patients to the ICU, generally due to severe respiratory failure. Since the appearance of the first cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection, at the end of 2019, in China, a huge number of treatment recommendations for this entity have been published, not always supported by sufficient scientific evidence or with methodological rigor necessary. ⋯ We consider it necessary to create a document that includes recommendations that collect this evidence regarding the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19, but also aspects that other guidelines have not considered and that we consider essential in the management of critical patients with COVID-19. For this, a drafting committee has been created, made up of members of the SEMICYUC Working Groups more directly related to different specific aspects of the management of these patients.