Project description:Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been reported as a worldwide emergency. Due to the extensiveness of spread and death, it has been declared as a pandemic. This review focused on the current pandemic situation and understanding the prevention and control strategies of COVID-19. Data presented here was by April 3, 2020. A total of 1,016,399 cases of COVID-19 with 53,238 deaths was reported from 204 countries and territories including two international conveyances over the world. After China, most of the new cases were from Europe, particularly Italy acting as the source of importation to many of the other countries around the world. China has obtained success by ascribing control strategies against COVID-19. The implementation of China's strategy, as well as the development of a vaccine, may control the pandemic of COVID-19. Further robust studies are required for a clear understanding of transmission parameters, prevention, and control strategies of SARS-CoV-2. This review paper describes the nature of COVID-19 and the possible ways for the effective controlling of the COVID-19 or similar viral diseases that may come in the future.
Project description:Abstract The COVID?19 pandemic has transformed cardiac surgical practices. Limitations in intensive care resources and personal protective equipment have required many practices throughout the globe to pause elective operations and now slowly resume operations. However, much of cardiac surgery is not elective and patients continue to require surgery on an urgent or emergent basis during the pandemic. This continued need for providing surgical services has introduced several unique considerations ranging from how to prioritize surgery, how to ensure safety for cardiac surgical teams, and how best to resume elective operations to ensure the safety of patients. Additionally, the COVID?19 pandemic has required a careful analysis of how best to carry out heart transplantation, extra?corporeal membrane oxygenation, and congenital heart surgery. In this review, we present the many areas of multidisciplinary consideration, and the lessons learned that have allowed us to carry out cardiac surgery with excellence during the COVID?19 pandemic. As various states experience plateaus, declines, and rises in COVID?19 cases, these considerations are particularly important for cardiac surgical programs throughout the globe.
Project description:The first year of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been a year of unprecedented changes, scientific breakthroughs, and controversies. The radiology community has not been spared from the challenges imposed on global healthcare systems. Radiology has played a crucial part in tackling this pandemic, either by demonstrating the manifestations of the virus and guiding patient management, or by safely handling the patients and mitigating transmission within the hospital. Major modifications involving all aspects of daily radiology practice have occurred as a result of the pandemic, including workflow alterations, volume reductions, and strict infection control strategies. Despite the ongoing challenges, considerable knowledge has been gained that will guide future innovations. The aim of this review is to provide the latest evidence on the role of imaging in the diagnosis of the multifaceted manifestations of COVID-19, and to discuss the implications of the pandemic on radiology departments globally, including infection control strategies and delays in cancer screening. Lastly, the promising contribution of artificial intelligence in the COVID-19 pandemic is explored.
Project description:AIM:To describe evolving practices in the provision of mechanical thrombectomy (MT) services across the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic, the responses of and impact on MT teams, and the effects on training. MATERIALS AND METHODS:The UK Neurointerventional Group (UKNG) and the British Society of Neuroradiologists (BSNR) sent out a national survey on 1 May 2020 to all 28 UK neuroscience centres that have the potential capability to perform MT. RESULTS:Responses were received from 27/28 MT-capable centres (96%). Three of the 27 centres do not currently provide MT services. There was a 27.7% reduction in MTs performed during April 2020 compared with the first 3 months of the year. All MT patients in 20/24 centres that responded were considered as COVID-19 suspicious/positive unless or until proven otherwise. Twenty-two of the 24 centres reported delays to the patient pathway. Seventeen of the 24 centres reported that the COVID-19 pandemic had reduced training opportunities for specialist registrars (SpR). Fourteen of the 24 centres reported that the pandemic had hampered their development plans for their local or regional MT service. CONCLUSION:The present survey has highlighted a trend of decreasing cases and delays in the patient pathway during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic across UK centres.
Project description:The recipients of NIH's Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) have worked for over a decade to build informatics infrastructure in support of clinical and translational research. This infrastructure has proved invaluable for supporting responses to the current COVID-19 pandemic through direct patient care, clinical decision support, training researchers and practitioners, as well as public health surveillance and clinical research to levels that could not have been accomplished without the years of ground-laying work by the CTSAs. In this paper, we provide a perspective on our COVID-19 work and present relevant results of a survey of CTSA sites to broaden our understanding of the key features of their informatics programs, the informatics-related challenges they have experienced under COVID-19, and some of the innovations and solutions they developed in response to the pandemic. Responses demonstrated increased reliance by healthcare providers and researchers on access to electronic health record (EHR) data, both for local needs and for sharing with other institutions and national consortia. The initial work of the CTSAs on data capture, standards, interchange, and sharing policies all contributed to solutions, best illustrated by the creation, in record time, of a national clinical data repository in the National COVID-19 Cohort Collaborative (N3C). The survey data support seven recommendations for areas of informatics and public health investment and further study to support clinical and translational research in the post-COVID-19 era.
Project description:Global health education programs should strive continually to improve the quality of education, increase access, create communities that foster excellence in global health practices, and ensure sustainability. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the University of Minnesota's extensive global health education programs, which includes a decade of hybrid online and in-person programing, to move completely online. We share our experience, a working framework for evaluating global health educational programming, and lessons learned. Over the decades we have moved from a predominantly passive, lecture-based, in-person course to a hybrid online (passive) course with an intensive hands-on 2-week requirement. The pandemic forced us to explore new active online learning models. We retained our on-demand, online passive didactics, which used experts' time efficiently and was widely accessible and well received. In addition, we developed a highly effective synchronous online component that we felt replaced some of the hands-on activities effectively and led us to develop new and innovative "hands-on" experiences. This new, fully online model combining quality asynchronous and synchronous learning provided many unanticipated advantages, such as increasing access while decreasing our carbon footprint dramatically. By sharing our experience, lessons learned, and resources, we hope to inspire other programs likewise to innovate to improve quality, access, community, and sustainability in global health, especially if these innovations can help decrease negative aspects of global health education such as its environmental impact.
Project description:COVID-19 has presented a variety of challenges to the provision of psychology services. In the first month of the pandemic, pediatric consultation-liaison (CL) psychologists reported significant changes in methodology of service delivery (Steinberg et al. in Clin Pract Pediatr Psychol 9:1, 2020). To better understand how and if these changes persisted, as well as other emerging trends, a follow-up study examined changes and challenges six months into the pandemic. An anonymous questionnaire assessed topics related to pediatric CL psychology including practice changes, perception of changes, and institutional support. The questionnaire was sent to the APA Society of Pediatric Society's special interest group listservs. Thirty responses were analyzed. Quantitative results showed participants' beliefs that telemedicine is equally efficacious to in-person services for outpatient psychological care, but less effective for inpatient care. Participants reported their perception of how institutions supported their safety, psychology trainee safety and training goals, and patient care. Qualitative results demonstrated that most psychologists experienced changes related to their dynamics with medical teams, which included changes in team efficiency, workload, transition, and team collaboration.
Project description:PurposeTelemedicine use in otolaryngology waxed and waned during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in the U.S. Assessing the patterns of telemedicine use and its perceived limitations during the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 allows identification and correction of impediments to consistent telemedicine use by otolaryngologists.Materials and methodsFull-time faculty of 2 academic otolaryngology departments in New York City were surveyed regarding their telemedicine use from March through August 2020 during the "first wave" of the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on these findings, a method of "augmented outpatient otolaryngology teleconsultation" designed to enhance the quality of the physical examination was developed and employed from August to December 2020. Patients receiving this augmented teleconsult were anonymously surveyed about their telemedical experience.ResultsTelemedicine use by faculty was minimal prior to the pandemic, but as total outpatient volume decreased 65-84% across subspecialties, it was used by all otolaryngologists during COVID-19. Physicians were less confident in making a telemedical diagnosis at all phases of the study in all subspecialties. Patients who had an augmented otolaryngology teleconsultation were satisfied with it, believed it facilitated earlier care, limited the time and cost of travel to the physician's office and felt their physician was able to perform a sufficient physical examination.ConclusionsDuring the COVID-19 crisis, physicians utilized teleotolaryngology to provide care but were less satisfied with their ability to make an accurate diagnosis. Inexpensive direct-to-consumer digital otoscopes can improve the quality of the physical examination provided and can address both patient and physician needs.
Project description:The COVID-19 pandemic will likely lead to high rates of PTSD, depression, and substance misuse among survivors, victims' families, medical workers, and other essential personnel. The mental health response to the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks, culminating in a federally-funded health program, provides a template for how providers may serve affected individuals. Drawing on the 9/11 experience, we highlight effective prevention measures, likely short and long-term treatment needs, vulnerable subgroups, and important points of divergence between 9/11 and the COVID-19 pandemic. Mental health monitoring, early identification of at-risk individuals, and treatment irrespective of financial barriers are essential for minimizing chronic distress.
Project description:The development of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines began in March 2020 in response to a request from the White House Coronavirus Task Force. Within 4 days of the request, the NIH COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel was established and the first meeting took place (virtually-as did subsequent meetings). The Panel comprises 57 individuals representing 6 governmental agencies, 11 professional societies, and 33 medical centers, plus 2 community members, who have worked together to create and frequently update the guidelines on the basis of evidence from the most recent clinical studies available. The initial version of the guidelines was completed within 2 weeks and posted online on 21 April 2020. Initially, sparse evidence was available to guide COVID-19 treatment recommendations. However, treatment data rapidly accrued based on results from clinical studies that used various study designs and evaluated different therapeutic agents and approaches. Data have continued to evolve at a rapid pace, leading to 24 revisions and updates of the guidelines in the first year. This process has provided important lessons for responding to an unprecedented public health emergency: Providers and stakeholders are eager to access credible, current treatment guidelines; governmental agencies, professional societies, and health care leaders can work together effectively and expeditiously; panelists from various disciplines, including biostatistics, are important for quickly developing well-informed recommendations; well-powered randomized clinical trials continue to provide the most compelling evidence to guide treatment recommendations; treatment recommendations need to be developed in a confidential setting free from external pressures; development of a user-friendly, web-based format for communicating with health care providers requires substantial administrative support; and frequent updates are necessary as clinical evidence rapidly emerges.