A one-year hospital-based prospective COVID-19 open-cohort in the Eastern Mediterranean region: The Khorshid COVID Cohort (KCC) study.
The COVID-19 is rapidly scattering worldwide, and the number of cases in the Eastern Mediterranean Region is rising. Thus, there is a need for immediate targeted actions. We designed a longitudinal study in a hot outbreak zone to analyze the serial findings between infected patients for detecting temporal changes from February 2020. In a hospital-based open-cohort study, patients are followed from admission until one year from their discharge (the 1st, 4th, 12th weeks, and the first year). The patient recruitment phase finished at the end of August 2020, and the follow-up continues by the end of August 2021. The measurements included demographic, socio-economics, symptoms, health service diagnosis and treatment, contact history, and psychological variables. The signs improvement, death, length of stay in hospital were considered primary, and impaired pulmonary function and psychotic disorders were considered main secondary outcomes. Moreover, clinical symptoms and respiratory functions are being determined in such follow-ups. Among the first 600 COVID-19 cases, 490 patients with complete information (39% female; the average age of 57±15 years) were analyzed. Seven percent of these patients died. The three main leading causes of admission were: fever (77%), dry cough (73%), and fatigue (69%). The most prevalent comorbidities between COVID-19 patients were hypertension (35%), diabetes (28%), and ischemic heart disease (14%). The percentage of primary composite endpoints (PCEP), defined as death, the use of mechanical ventilation, or admission to an intensive care unit was 18%. The Cox Proportional-Hazards Model for PCEP indicated the following significant risk factors: Oxygen saturation < 80% (HR = 6.3; [CI 95%: 2.5,15.5]), lymphopenia (HR = 3.5; [CI 95%: 2.2,5.5]), Oxygen saturation 80%-90% (HR = 2.5; [CI 95%: 1.1,5.8]), and thrombocytopenia (HR = 1.6; [CI 95%: 1.1,2.5]). This long-term prospective Cohort may support healthcare professionals in the management of resources following this pandemic.
Ramin Sami, Forogh Soltaninejad, Babak Amra, Zohre Naderi, Shaghayegh Haghjooy Javanmard, Bijan Iraj, Somayeh Haji Ahmadi, Azin Shayganfar, Mehrnegar Dehghan, Nilufar Khademi, Nastaran Sadat Hosseini, Mojgan Mortazavi, Marjan Mansourian, Miquel Angel Mañanas, Hamid Reza Marateb, Peyman Adibi
ECT for a pregnant patient with bipolar disorder in the COVID-19 Era: A clinical conundrum.
Jessica M Gannon, Priya Gopalan, LalithKumar K Solai, Grace Lim, Jaclyn M Phillips, Stacy Beck, Eydie Moses-Kolko, Donald Miller, K N Roy Chengappa
COVID-19 and Health Professions Education: A 360° View of the Impact of a Global Health Emergency
Global Health, covid-19, Technology, CURRICULUM, health emergency
COVID-19 and the resulting lockdown policies have far ranging effects on health professions education (HPEd), with an impact in all its aspects, including curricula, teaching methods, student selection processes, educational outcomes, HPEd research, and student, teacher, and school welfare. Adaptations to the pandemic and lockdown measures have leaned heavily on technology. The effects may have differences across various health professions particularly those with an emphasis on psychomotor skills. There may also be differences among populations of students, teachers and schools related to the availability, accessibility and cost of technology. The rapid, forced change in the paradigms of health professions education across the globe may persist as long as lockdown measures and threat of resurgence remains, even as COVID-19 still sweeps across different countries.
Adrian Rabe, Michael Sy, Wayne Yik Wai Cheung, Don Eliseo Lucero-Prisno
Cross-Protection Induced by Encephalitis Vaccines against COVID-19 Might be a Reason for Relatively Lower Mortality Rate in Some Countries
covid-19, Cross-immunity, Encephalitis vaccine
COronaVIrus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), is an ongoing pandemic attributed to a novel virus SARSâ€CoVâ€2. The statistics of the incidence and the death rates between nations reveal that there is a discrepancy amongst compared with even those that share their borders. We herein present information from the literature on how cross-protection against COVID-19 conferred by the encephalitis vaccine could be the reason for lower fatality rate in the countries where immunization against encephalitis is widespread or included in national programs. This may pave way for arriving at efficient strategies of prevention as well as vaccine development.
Shojiro Katoh, Toshihiko Obayashi, Jegatheesan Saravana Ganesh, Masaru Iwasaki, Senthilkumar Preethy, Samuel Abraham
Medical emergencies. Critical care. Intensive care. First aid
Pride and Prejudice during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Misfortune of Inappropriate Clinical Trial Design
covid-19, Clinical trials, multicenter, Primary endpoint, Single-arm
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a rapidly evolving global pandemic for which more than a thousand clinical trials have been registered to secure therapeutic effectiveness, expeditiously. Most of these are single-center non-randomized studies rather than multi-center, randomized controlled trials. Single-arm trials have several limitations and may be conducted when spontaneous improvement is not anticipated, small placebo effect exists, and randomization to a placebo is not ethical. In an emergency where saving lives takes precedence, it is ethical to conduct trials with any scientifically proven design, however, safety must not be compromised. A phase II or III trial can be conducted directly in a pandemic with appropriate checkpoints and stopping rules. COVID-19 has two management paradigms- antivirals, or treatment of its complications. Simultaneous assessment of two different treatments can be done using 2 × 2 factorial schema. World Health Organization’s SOLIDARITY trial is a classic example of the global research protocol which can evaluate the preferred treatment to combat COVID-19 pandemic. Short of that, a trial design must incorporate the practicality of the intervention used, and an appropriate primary endpoint which should ideally be a clinical outcome. Collaboration between institutions is needed more than ever to successfully execute and accrue in randomized trials.
Shahrukh K. Hashmi, Edward De Vol, Fazal Hussain
Retraction: Lung ultrasound score in establishing the timing of intubation in COVID-19 interstitial pneumonia: A preliminary retrospective observational study.
The COVID-19 match: what Canadian anesthesia programs can do for the virtual match cycles.
Kacper Niburski, Pablo Ingelmo, Natalie Buu
Canadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d'anesthesie
Under-reported COVID-19 cases in South Asian countries [version 1; peer review: 1 approved, 2 approved with reservations]
Background: The purpose of the study was to compare trends in the progression of COVID-19 among South Asian countries with more developed Western countries. Methods: COVID-19 data from South Asian countries were used for this observational study. Data were taken up to April 21, 2020 from the outbreak of the COVID-19. Four of the seven countries met the inclusion criteria and were included in the analysis. Results: An exponential increase in the average number of weekly cases was reported after the fifth week following the first case. The correlation between reported cases and tests was found to be strong and significant (r=0.90, p=0.037). However, on average, 315.25 tests per million population were performed, which was at least 12 times lower than the number of tests performed in countries with a large number of COVID-19 cases. Conclusions: At present, the number of confirmed cases from South Asia was found to be significantly lower than in Western countries. However, this could be due to the smaller number of tests performed. Hence, an increase in the strength of performing diagnostic tests is highly recommended. Strict measures are required to make the people of these countries follow the instructions of social distancing and comply with preventive measures.
Muhanad Alhareky, Soban Qadir Khan, Imran Alam Moheet, Faraz Ahmed Farooqi, Faisal Alonaizan
Identifying the Quality Nuggets Amid the Explosion of COVID-19-Related Scientific Communication: An Insurmountable Challenge?
KEBIJAKAN POLITIK PRESIDEN JOKOWI TERHADAP MASALAH KEWARGANERAAN DALAM MERESPONS ISU GLOBAL: STUDI KASUS COVID-19
covid-19, global, kebijakan politik, kewarganegaraan
Kehadiran negara ialah memastikan dan menjamin keselamatan warga negara sebagaimana dalam pernyataan dalam pembukaan Undang-Undang Dasar 1945 bahwa kehadiran negara ialah melindungi segenap bangsa, mencerdaskan kehidupan bangsa, memajukan kesejahteraan umum dan ikut dalam perdamaian dunia. Peran negara menjadi penting dalam upaya menjawab tantangan kewarganegaraan. Fenomena penyebaran virus Corona yang pertama kali ditemukan di kota Wuhan, Tiongkok pada awal bulan Desember 2019 menjadi titik tolak awal kasus merebaknya virus Corona yang sampai sekarang menjadi persoalan dunia. Penelitian ini akan memfokuskan tentang kebijakan politik Presiden Jokowi dalam menanggapi isu internasional melalui studi kasus penyebaran Covid-19. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mendeskripsikan arah Presiden Joko Widodo dalam menangani tantangan kewarganegaraan pada konteks kebijakan dalam dan luar negeri untuk menanggapi isu global, yaitu pandemi Covid-19 yang oleh Indonesia juga telah ditetapkan sebagai bencana non alam dengan skala nasional. Metode penelitian ini adalah penelitian menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif dengan menggunakan analisa koherensi internal, interpretasi, heuristika, dan analisis wacana terhadap data yang bersumber dari pemerintah, media massa cetak maupun daring, buku, jurnal ilmiah, dan majalah. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa kebijakan politik Presiden Jokowi dalam menghadapi masalah kewarganegaraan dalam kasus penanganan kasus Covid-19 menekankan pada model kebijakan politik partisipatoris dan responsif.
Citizenship: Jurnal Pendidikan Pancasila dan Kewarganegaraan