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Two Chemical Engineers Look at the COVID-19 Pandemic.

ABSTRACT: Chemical engineering involves a skill set that is transferrable to a broad range of other areas. A case in point is the work that is being done by chemical engineers to better understand and fight the COVID-19 epidemic. In this study, we consider a problem that has eluded the COVID-19 research community, which is nevertheless very tractable with a chemical engineering mindset: the true or intrinsic mortality rate of COVID-19, i.e., the fraction or percentage of COVID-19 infected people that die of the disease. We solve this problem in two locations (Spain and the state of New York) for the epidemic's first wave with a combination of daily death data, a fit of a computer simulation of an epidemiological model with adjustable parameters, and independent results of immunological blood testing on a random sample of the population. Parallels are drawn with the problem of determining the turnover frequency of a catalyst based on a similar combination of data and approaches. It is concluded from the study that the intrinsic mortality rate of COVID-19 was 1.45 ± 0.45 % during the first wave, a number that reflects OECD countries. By incorporating data on the age dependence of the mortality rate, a relationship f _mort = (3.0 ± 0.7)×10^-5 exp(0.1a), where a is the age in years, is tentatively put forward for the mortality rate as a fraction. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

SUBMITTER: De Visscher A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9350226 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Two Chemical Engineers Look at the COVID-19 Pandemic.

De Visscher Alex A Pinheiro Patrício Paôlla Chrystine PC

The Canadian journal of chemical engineering 20220716

Chemical engineering involves a skill set that is transferrable to a broad range of other areas. A case in point is the work that is being done by chemical engineers to better understand and fight the COVID-19 epidemic. In this study, we consider a problem that has eluded the COVID-19 research community, which is nevertheless very tractable with a chemical engineering mindset: the true or intrinsic mortality rate of COVID-19, i.e., the fraction or percentage of COVID-19 infected people that die ...[more]

PMID: 35942051

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Project description:BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has left an indelible effect on healthcare delivery and education system, including residency training. Particularly, neurosurgical departments worldwide had to adapt their operating model to the constantly changing pandemic landscape. This review aimed to quantify the reduction in neurosurgical operative volume and describe the impact of these trends on neurosurgical residency training.MethodsWe performed a comprehensive search of PubMed and EMBASE between December 2019 and October 2022 to identify studies comparing pre-pandemic and pandemic neurosurgical caseloads as well as articles detailing the impact of COVID-19 on neurosurgery residency training. Statistical analysis of quantitative data was presented as pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).ResultsA total of 49 studies met the inclusion criteria, of which 12 (24.5%) were survey-based. The case volume of elective surgeries and non-elective procedures decreased by 70.4% (OR=0.296, 95%CI 0.210-0.418) and 68.2% (OR=0.318, 95%CI 0.193-0.525), respectively. A significant decrease was also observed in functional (OR=0.542, 95%CI 0.394-0.746), spine (OR=0.545, 95%CI 0.409-0.725), and skull base surgery (OR=0.545, 95%CI 0.409-0.725), whereas the caseloads for tumor (OR=1.029, 95%CI 0.838-1.263), trauma (OR=1.021, 95%CI 0.846-1.232), vascular (OR=1.001, 95%CI 0.870-1.152), and pediatric neurosurgery (OR=0.589, 95%CI 0.344-1.010) remained relatively the same between pre-pandemic and pandemic periods. The reduction in caseloads had caused concerns among residents and program directors in regard to the diminished clinical exposure, financial constraints, and mental well-being. Some positives highlighted were rapid adaptation to virtual educational platforms and increasing time for self-learning and research activities.ConclusionWhile COVID-19 has brought about significant disruptions in neurosurgical practice and training, this unprecedented challenge has opened the door for technological advances and collaboration that broaden the accessibility of resources and reduce the worldwide gap in neurosurgical education.

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Two Chemical Engineers Look at the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Publications

Two Chemical Engineers Look at the COVID-19 Pandemic.

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