Articles: personal-protective-equipment.
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Aim To investigate the relationship between adherence to preventive behaviors and risk of COVID-19 infection. Methods In this case-control study, 491 participants were selected through convenience sampling. First, the samples of the case group (COVID-19 patients) were selected, and then the control group was matched with the case group based on age, gender, and occupation. ⋯ The participants who never observed physical distancing and handwashing were 2.25 times more likely to get COVID-19 than those who always observed (95% CI:1.719-4.954; OR=2.258). Conclusion Participants who fail in following the protective measures, especially wearing a mask regardless of its type, had a higher risk of COVID-19 infection. Therefore, it is recommended to use a mask consistently, especially during the peak of COVID-19 waves.
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Tohoku J. Exp. Med. · Jun 2022
Concealment of Allergic Reactions to Alteplase by Face Masks in Non-Communicating Acute Stroke Patients: A Warning Call to Improve Our Physical Examination Practices during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Neurological emergencies, such as acute stroke, are especially challenging during the current Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Symptoms as aphasia or dysarthria are severely impacting cooperation and communication with patients. During physical examination, both the patient and the medical team are fitted routinely with surgical masks to minimize potential exposure to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). ⋯ Symptoms remained obscured by face masks through patient care at the referring stroke unit and during transportation, nevertheless they resolved after treatment. Most probably, there are a number of similar cases encountered at emergency departments and acute stroke units. To improve patient safety, a compromise between ensuring protection against the novel coronavirus and facilitating detection of potentially life-threatening physical signs must be found.
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International COVID-19 guidelines recommend that health care workers (HCWs) wear filtering facepiece (FFP) respirators to reduce exposure risk. However, there are concerns about FFP respirators causing hypercapnia via rebreathing carbon dioxide (CO2). Most previous studies measured the physiological effects of FFP respirators on treadmills or while resting, and such measurements may not reflect the physiological changes of HCWs working in the emergency department (ED). ⋯ We did not observe any clinical reflection of these changes in physiological values. Thus, we evaluated these changes to be clinically insignificant. We found that it is safe for healthy HCWs to wear medical masks plus FFP2 respirators during a 2-h working shift in the ED.
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The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted emergency medicine residents' education. Early in the pandemic, many facilities lacked adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), and intubation was considered particularly high risk for transmission to physicians, leading hospitals to limit the number of individuals present during the procedure. This posed difficulties for residents and academic faculty, as opportunities to perform endotracheal intubation during residency are limited, but patients with COVID-19 requiring intubation are unstable and have difficult airways. Case Scenario: When PPE is being rationed, who should be the one to perform an intubation on a patient with respiratory failure from severe COVID-19? ⋯ There exist compelling motivations for involving senior residents and attendings in high-risk intubations during the COVID-19 pandemic. A just strategy will preserve residents' role whenever possible, while maximizing supervision and providing alternative routes for intubation practice.