Collateral Benefit of COVID-19 Control Measures on Influenza Activity, Taiwan.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Kuo SC
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7392415 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:BackgroundIt is hypothesized that anxiety and behavioral responses are intense at the beginning of an epidemic. The objective of this study was to investigate anxiety symptoms and use of preventive measures against COVID-19. The study also compared the association between preventive measures and anxiety symptoms during the week immediately preceding the study and those symptoms and measures at the beginning of the outbreak.MethodsA cross-sectional population survey using an online questionnaire commenced on 14 February 2020. The study participants were residents of Taiwan ages 20 to 70 years. The 6-item state version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-6) was used to assess anxiety symptoms. The questions about preventive measures asked participants about their personal protection, cough etiquette, contact precautions, voluntary quarantine, and prompt reporting. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine the factors influencing an increase in the preventive measures scores.ResultsOf a total of 3555 completed responses, a total of 52.1% (95% confidence interval [CI] 50.4-53.7) of the respondents reported moderate to severe levels of anxiety symptoms in the past week, whereas 48.8% (95%CI 47.2-50.5) reported moderate to severe anxiety symptoms at the beginning of the outbreak. With a higher score indicating greater anxiety, the median scores for anxiety symptoms in the past week and at the beginning of the outbreak were 46.7 (IQR [interquartile range] 36.7-53.3) and 43.3 (IQR 36.7-53.3), respectively. The median scores for the preventive measures taken in the past week and at the beginning of the outbreak were 26.0 (IQR 21.0-30.0) and 24.0 (IQR 19.0-28.0), respectively, out of a maximum score of 36. In the multivariable analysis, an increased anxiety symptom score from the beginning of the outbreak to the past week (adjusted OR = 7.38, 95%CI 6.28-8.66) was a strongly significant determinant of an increased preventive measures score in the past week compared with the score at the beginning of the outbreak.ConclusionsAnxiety and preventive measures scores were high and increased with the epidemic rate. Higher anxiety was associated with an increased use of preventive measures against COVID-19.
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Project description:Most of the communicable diseases have contact, airborne and/or droplet mode of transsmission. Following the outbreak of COVID-19, the Taiwan government implemented the use of masks and sanitizer, as well as other preventive measures like social distancing for prevention. This public response likely contributed significantly to the decline in the outbreak of other infectious diseases.
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Project description:BackgroundPrevention measures for palliative care and the provision of discharge planning services for inpatients in Taiwan before and during the COVID-19 pandemic had not been investigated. This study was aimed to investigate the factors associated with heightened palliative care needs and increased mortality rates.MethodsThis research adopts a retrospective case-control study design. The investigation encompasses patients admitted before the pandemic (from January 1, 2019, to May 31, 2019) and during the COVID-19 pandemic (from January 1, 2020, to May 31, 2020). The case group consisted of 231 end-of-life inpatients during the pandemic, control group was composed of the pool of inpatients with pre-pandemic and matched with cases by sex and age in a 1:1 ratio.ResultsThe results showed that the prevalence of respiratory failure symptoms (p = 0.004), residing in long-term care facilities (p = 0.017), palliative care needs assessment scores (p = 0.010), as well as the provision of guidance for nasogastric tube feeding (p = 0.002), steam inhalation (p = 0.003), turning and positioning (p < 0.001), percussion (p < 0.001), passive range of motion (p < 0.001), and blood pressure measurement (p < 0.001). Furthermore, the assessment of the necessity for assistive devices, including hospital beds, also exhibited statistically significant variations (p < 0.001). Further investigation of the factors associated with high palliative care needs and the risk of mortality for both the case and control groups. Risk factors for high palliative care needs encompassed assessments of daily activities of living, the presence of pressure ulcers, and the receipt of guidance for ambulation. Risk factors for mortality encompassed age, a diagnosis of cancer, palliative care needs assessment scores, and the provision of guidance for disease awareness.ConclusionThis research highlights the heightened risk of COVID-19 infection among end-of-life inpatients during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings of this study may advance care planning to alleviate avoidable suffering. To meet the needs of inpatients during pandemic, healthcare professionals should undergo comprehensive palliative care training and receive policy support.
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Project description:In Taiwan, lower nonpolio enterovirus activity during the coronavirus disease pandemic in 2020 compared with 2014-2019 might be attributable to adherence to nonpharmaceutical interventions. The preventable fraction among unexposed persons indicated that 90% of nonpolio enterovirus activity might have been prevented during 2014-2019 by adopting the same measures enforced in 2020.
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Project description:Government restrictions to the movement of people due to the COVID-19 pandemic have had a wide range of effects on scientific activity. Here, we show that during the pandemic there has been a reduction in the number of registered non-COVID-19 clinical trials. Furthermore, using the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker Stringency Index (SI) as an indicator of COVID-19-related workplace adjustment (e.g., restrictions on gatherings, workplace closures, and stay-at-home orders), we demonstrate that this drop in clinical trial registration has been greater in countries with a higher SI. This could have significant consequences for the discovery of treatments that are required to reduce the global burden of disease.
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Project description:Social interactions play an extremely important role in maintaining health and well-being. The COVID-19 pandemic and associated physical distancing measures, however, restricted the number of people one could physically interact with on a regular basis. A large percentage of social interactions moved online, resulting in reports of "Zoom fatigue," or exhaustion from virtual interactions. These reports focused on how online communication differs from in-person communication, but it is possible that when in-person interactions are restricted, virtual interactions may benefit mental health overall. In a survey conducted near the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic (N2020 = 230), we found that having a greater number of virtual interaction partners was associated with better mental health. This relationship was statistically mediated by decreased loneliness and increased perceptions of social support. We replicated these findings during the pandemic 1 year later (N2021 = 256) and found that these effects held even after controlling for the amount of time people spent interacting online. Convergent with previous literature on social interactions, these findings suggest that virtual interactions may benefit overall mental health, particularly during physical distancing and other circumstances where opportunities to interact in-person with different people are limited.Open Science Framework repository: https://osf.io/6jsr2/ .
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Project description:Convalescent plasma can provide passive immunity during viral outbreaks, but the benefit is uncertain for the treatment of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Our goal is to assess the efficacy of COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP). In all, 526 hospitalized patients with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 at an academic health system were analyzed. Among them, 263 patients received CCP and were compared to 263 matched controls with standard treatment. The primary outcome was 28-day mortality with a subanalysis at 7 and 14 days. No statistical difference in 28-day mortality was seen in CCP cases (25·5%) compared to controls (27%, P = 0·06). Seven-day mortality was statistically better for CCP cases (9·1%) than controls (19·8%, P < 0·001) and continued at 14 days (14·8% vs. 23·6%, P = 0·01). After 72 h, CCP transfusion resulted in transitioning from nasal cannula to room air (median 4 days vs. 1 day, P = 0·02). The length of stay was longer in CCP cases than controls (14·3 days vs. 11·4 days, P < 0·001). Patients with COVID-19 who received CCP had a decreased risk of death at 7 and 14 days, but not 28 days after transfusion. To date, this is the largest study demonstrating a mortality benefit for the use of CCP in patients with COVID-19 compared to matched controls.
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Project description:Following successful non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) aiming to control COVID-19, many jurisdictions reopened their economies and borders. As little immunity had developed in most populations, re-establishing higher contact carried substantial risks, and therefore many locations began to see resurgence in COVID-19 cases. We present a Bayesian method to estimate the leeway to reopen, or alternatively the strength of change required to re-establish COVID-19 control, in a range of jurisdictions experiencing different COVID-19 epidemics. We estimated the timing and strength of initial control measures such as widespread distancing and compared the leeway jurisdictions had to reopen immediately after NPI measures to later estimates of leeway. Finally, we quantified risks associated with reopening and the likely burden of new cases due to introductions from other jurisdictions. We found widely varying leeway to reopen. After initial NPI measures took effect, some jurisdictions had substantial leeway (e.g., Japan, New Zealand, Germany) with > 0.99 probability that contact rates were below 80% of the threshold for epidemic growth. Others had little leeway (e.g., the United Kingdom, Washington State) and some had none (e.g., Sweden, California). For most such regions, increases in contact rate of 1.5-2 fold would have had high (> 0.7) probability of exceeding past peak sizes. Most jurisdictions experienced June-August trajectories consistent with our projections of contact rate increases of 1-2-fold. Under such relaxation scenarios for some regions, we projected up to ∼100 additional cases if just one case were imported per week over six weeks, even between jurisdictions with comparable COVID-19 risk. We provide an R package covidseir to enable jurisdictions to estimate leeway and forecast cases under different future contact patterns. Estimates of leeway can establish a quantitative basis for decisions about reopening. We recommend a cautious approach to reopening economies and borders, coupled with strong monitoring for changes in transmission.
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