Project description:Objective To describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of pediatric COVID-19 in Thailand, where favipiravir is the mainstay of antiviral treatment. Methods We conducted a hospital based observational cohort study of COVID-19 among children. The study included children (age <15 years) with confirmed positive reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction for SARS-CoV-2 from nasopharyngeal swab. Results From April to July 2021, 416 cases with a median age of 7.1 (interquartile range 2.7–11.6) years were included in the study. The spectrum of disease included 82 (20%) asymptomatic, 232 (56%) mild and 102 (24%) with pneumonia. Abnormal chest x-ray findings included ground-glass opacities (46%), focal infiltrations (27%), perihilar opacities (19%), reticular infiltrations (15%) and other non-specific findings (4%). Only 12 children (3%) required oxygen support. Favipiravir was prescribed to 129 children (31%); 102 patients with pneumonia and 27 patients at risk for disease progression. Pneumonia was more common in age <3 years compared with those aged 3–<12 years (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 0.30, 95% CI 0.17–0.52), 12–15 years (aOR 0.40, 95% CI 0.21–0.77) and in patients with comorbidities (aOR 2.36, 95% CI 1.09–5.12). Conclusions One-fourth of pediatric COVID-19 patients had pneumonia, but few required oxygen support. Off-label use of Favipiravir in pediatric COVID-19 patients in a recent outbreak in Bangkok is reported.
Project description:There is limited information describing the characteristics and clinical outcomes of patients infected with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) especially those in underserved urban area with minority population in the United States. This is a retrospective single-center study for patients who were admitted with COVID-19 infection. Data collection was from 1 March through 24 April 2020. Demographic, clinical, laboratory, and treatment data were presented using descriptive statistics and frequencies. The χ2 test and multivariate logistic regression were used to determine association of risk factors and clinical outcomes. A total of 242 inpatients were included with a mean age of 66 ± 14.75 (±standard deviation). A total of 50% were female and 70% were African American. Comorbidities included hypertension (74%), diabetes mellitus (49%), and 19% had either COPD or asthma. Older age was associated with higher risk of inpatient death odds ratio (OR): 1.056 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.023-1.090; P = .001). Inpatient mortality occurred in 70% who needed mechanical ventilation (OR: 29.51; 95% CI: 13.28-65.60; P < .0001), 58% who required continuous renal replacement therapy/hemodialysis (CRRT/HD) (OR: 6.63; 95% CI: 2.74-16.05; P < .0001), and 69% who needed vasopressors (OR: 30.64; 95% CI: 13.56-69.20; P < .0001). Amongst biomarkers of disease severity, only baseline CRP levels (145 ± 116 mg/L) were associated with mortality OR: 1.008 (95% CI: 1.003-1.012; P = .002). Majority of hospitalized patients had hypertension and diabetes. Older age was an independent risk factor for inpatient mortality. Requirement of mechanical ventilation, vasopressor use, and CRRT/HD was associated significantly with inpatient mortality. Higher baseline CRP was significantly associated with inpatient death.
Project description:ImportanceThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has burdened health care resources and disrupted care of patients with cancer. Virtual care (VC) represents a potential solution. However, few quantitative data support its rapid implementation and positive associations with service capacity and quality.ObjectiveTo examine the outcomes of a cancer center-wide virtual care program in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.Design, setting, and participantsThis cohort study applied a hospitalwide agile service design to map gaps and develop a customized digital solution to enable at-scale VC across a publicly funded comprehensive cancer center. Data were collected from a high-volume cancer center in Ontario, Canada, from March 23 to May 22, 2020.Main outcomes and measuresOutcome measures were care delivery volumes, quality of care, patient and practitioner experiences, and cost savings to patients.ResultsThe VC solution was developed and launched 12 days after the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 22 085 VC visits (mean, 514 visits per day) were conducted, comprising 68.4% (range, 18.8%-100%) of daily visits compared with 0.8% before launch (P < .001). Ambulatory clinic volumes recovered a month after deployment (3714-4091 patients per week), whereas chemotherapy and radiotherapy caseloads (1943-2461 patients per week) remained stable throughout. No changes in institutional or provincial quality-of-care indexes were observed. A total of 3791 surveys (3507 patients and 284 practitioners) were completed; 2207 patients (82%) and 92 practitioners (72%) indicated overall satisfaction with VC. The direct cost of this initiative was CAD$ 202 537, and displacement-related cost savings to patients totaled CAD$ 3 155 946.Conclusions and relevanceThese findings suggest that implementation of VC at scale at a high-volume cancer center may be feasible. An agile service design approach was able to preserve outpatient caseloads and maintain care quality, while rendering high patient and practitioner satisfaction. These findings may help guide the transformation of telemedicine in the post COVID-19 era.
Project description:ObjectiveTo evaluate the outcome of patients with ROCM (Rhino-orbito-cerebral mucormycosis) following their medical and surgical management.Materials and methodsIt is a prognostic study based in a tertiary care center in North-Western India. Patients who developed ROCM post COVID-19 infection from 1st September 2020 to 30th June 2021 were included in this study. Surgical debridement and administration of antifungal therapy was done for the post-COVID-19 ROCM patients. Disease progression and survival was studied up to 5 months of follow-up in the second wave.ResultsA total of 145 ROCM patients were included. The mean age at presentation, male: female ratio was 48.2 years and 2:1 respectively. As per our proposed new staging system and treatment strategy, the majority of patients belonged to stage II (31.72%) and stage III (31.03%). On a follow-up period of 5 months, 26 (18%) patients have lost their life and rest of the patients are on strict follow-up.ConclusionROCM is an extremely aggressive fungal infection which rapidly became an epidemic following the COVID-19 pandemic. The diverse and unique presentation led us to evolve a new strategy to classify and manage these patients.
Project description:PurposeTo assess differences in referral and pathologic outcomes for uro-oncology cases prior to and during the COVID pandemic, comparing clinical and pathological data of cancer surgeries performed at an academic referral center between 2019 and 2020.MethodsWe collected data of 880 prostate biopsies, 393 robot-assisted radical prostatectomies (RARP) for prostate cancer (PCa), 767 trans-urethral resections of bladder tumor (TURB) and 134 radical cystectomies (RC) for bladder cancer (BCa), 29 radical nephro-ureterectomies (RNU) for upper tract urothelial carcinoma, 130 partial nephrectomies (PN) and 12 radical nephrectomies (RN) for renal cancer, and 41 orchifunicolectomies for testicular cancer. Data of patients treated in 2019 (before COVID-19 pandemic) were compared to patients treated in 2020 (during pandemic).ResultsNo significant decline in uro-oncological surgical activity was seen between 2019 and 2020. No significant increase in time between diagnosis and surgery was observed for all considered cancers. No differences in terms of main pathologic features were observed in patients undergoing RARP, TURB, RNU, RN/PN, or orchifunicolectomy. A higher proportion of ISUP grade 3 and 4 PCa were diagnosed in 2020 at biopsy (p = 0.001), but this did not translate into worse pathological grade/stage at RARP. In 2020, more advanced disease features were seen after RC, including lymph node involvement (p = 0.01) and non-organ confined disease (p = 0.02).ConclusionNeither decline in uro-oncologic activity nor delay between diagnosis and treatment was observed at our institution during the first year of COVID-19 pandemic. No significant worsening of cancer disease features was found in 2020 except for muscle-invasive BCa.
Project description:ObjectivesCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread globally and become a pandemic. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) not only infects the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and causes GI symptoms, but also increases nosocomial transmission risk during endoscopic procedures for aerosol generation. We hereby share our infection control strategies aiming to minimize COVID-19 transmission in the endoscopy center.MethodsWe established our infection control strategies based on the guidance of Chinese Society of Digestive Endoscopy and inputs from hospital infection control experts: admission control through the procedure and patient triage, environmental control to reduce possible virus exposure, proper usage of personal protective equipment (PPE), and scope disinfection and room decontamination. All endoscopic procedures accomplished during COVID-19 outbreak and progress of stepwise resumption of elective endoscopy procedures were retrospectively reviewed.ResultsOnly urgent or semi-urgent procedures were performed during COVID-19 outbreak. After no local new-onset COVID-19 case in Beijing for four weeks, we reopened the endoscopy center for elective procedures and monitored the outbreak continuously while maintaining a sustainable endoscopy service.ConclusionsIt is imperative that all endoscopy centers should establish standard infection control strategies in order to fight COVID-19 pandemic based on national guidance and academic society guidelines and tailor them to individual resources. These measures and setup can also be reserved for future pandemics.
Project description:Routine karyotyping combined with CMA testing should be provided for fetuses with omphalocele. WES is an option if karyotype and CMA tests are normal. In addition, if conventional karyotype, CMA detection and WES detection are normal, then further molecular biology methods can be used to rule out disease phenotypes like BWS syndrome. We analyzed the ultrasonographic features, genetic characteristics, and maternal and fetal outcomes of fetuses with omphalocele and provide a reference for perinatal management of such cases.
Project description:BackgroundIt is vital to know which healthcare personnel (HCP) have a higher chance of testing positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (COVID-19).MethodsA retrospective analysis was conducted at Stanford Children's Health (SCH) and Stanford Health Care (SHC) in Stanford, California. Analysis included all HCP, employed by SCH or SHC, who had a COVID-19 reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test resulted by the SHC Laboratory, between March 1, 2020 and June 15, 2020. The primary outcome was the RT-PCR percent positivity and prevalence of COVID-19 for HCP and these were compared across roles.ResultsSCH and SHC had 24,081 active employees, of which 142 had at least 1 positive COVID-19 test. The overall HCP prevalence of COVID-19 was 0.59% and percent positivity was 1.84%. Patient facing HCPs had a significantly higher prevalence (0.66% vs 0.43%; P = .0331) and percent positivity (1.95% vs 1.43%; P = .0396) than nonpatient facing employees, respectively. Percent positivity was higher in food service workers (9.15%), and environmental services (5.96%) compared to clinicians (1.93%; P < .0001) and nurses (1.46%; P < .0001), respectively.Discussion and conclusionHCP in patient-facing roles and in support roles had a greater chance of being positive of COVID-19.
Project description:BackgroundThe coronavirus 19 (COVID-19) pandemic has heightened the threat to the health and lives of patients with comorbid diseases. Infection by COVID-19 is especially detrimental to patients on hemodialysis. In this study, we evaluated the clinical characteristics, laboratory findings, treatments and prognoses of hemodialysis patients with COVID-19.MethodsA total of 16 hemodialysis patients with COVID-19 were recruited from Wuhan Fourth Hospital from 5 February to 20 March 2020 for a retrospective, single-center study. A total of 62 non-dialysis patients with COVID-19 were the control group. We collected data on the clinical characteristics, laboratory findings, treatments, and clinical outcomes of patients affected by the virus.ResultsHemodialysis patients with COVID-19 had a lower incidence of fever (P = 0.001) and relatively higher incidence of pre-admission comorbidities and shortness of breath than non-dialysis patients with COVID-19 (75% vs. 61%, P = 0.467 50% vs. 33.87%, P = 0.248 ). Hemodialysis patients had lower levels of hemoglobin (P < 0.001), white blood cell counts (P = 0.015), neutrophils (P = 0.016), AST (P = 0.037), ALT (P < 0.001) and procalcitonin (P < 0.001), and higher levels of D-dimer (P < 0.001) and thrombin time (P < 0.001). Hemodialysis patients had a higher incidence of pulmonary effusion, cord-like high-density shadows, pleural thickening, and atelectasis (P < 0.05). Hemodialysis patients also had relatively higher rates of mortality and prolonged hospital stays compared with the control group.ConclusionsHemodialysis patients typically present with multiple comorbidities and are considered to be a high-risk group for COVID-19 infections. Hemodialysis patients with COVID-19 may have prolonged hospital stays and unfavorable prognoses and should be closely monitored.
Project description:BackgroundLittle is known on the clinical manifestations of coconut allergy. Our knowledge to date is mainly based on case reports.ObjectiveTo characterize the allergic reactions to coconut and suggest diagnostic cutoffs for specific immunoglobulin E (sIgE) and skin prick testing (SPT) to predict clinically reactive coconut allergy.MethodsMethods include retrospective chart review at an urban tertiary care center of patients with positive testing result for coconut. Probability curves were computed by logistic regression for SPT and coconut sIgE.ResultsOf 275 records reviewed, 69 patients reported coconut reactions and 206 were sensitized only or nonallergic. The reactions occurred with breastfeeding (n = 2), contact (n = 10), or oral ingestion (n = 57). Approximately 50% of oral ingestion reactions were associated with mild/moderate anaphylaxis. Clinical reactivity vs sensitization was more common in topical coconut users (2-fold) (P = .02). Although not statistically significant, there was a trend toward more coconut allergy vs sensitization in Asian and African American patients. The probability of allergy with positive SPT result was approximately 50% and with sIgE was approximately 60%. At an SPT of 9 mm wheal or sIgE of 58 kU of allergen/L, there is a 95% probability of reaction. Cosensitization with tree nuts, legumes, and seeds was common. Macadamia nut had the strongest correlation with coconut (r = 0.81, P < .001, n = 101).ConclusionAlthough the rate of reactivity to coconut in sensitized individuals is low, half of the reactions from consumption met the criteria for anaphylaxis. Clinicians should be aware of the spectrum of reactions and diagnostic use of sIgE and SPT.