title: Clinical Characteristics of COVID-19 After Gynecologic Oncology Surgery in Three Women: A Retrospective Review of Medical Records

text: From a large medical center in Wuhan, the epicenter of the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), we report clinical features and prognosis for three women diagnosed with COVID-19 after gynecologic oncology surgery and hospitalized in January 2020. The incidence of COVID-19 was 0.77% (3 of 389) of total hospitalizations and 1.59% (3 of 189) of patients undergoing surgeries in the ward. The infection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 may be related to the older age, comorbidities, malignant tumor, and surgery in gynecologic hospitalizations. By February 20, 2020, only two of the three patients had met the clinical discharge criteria. Given the long and uncertain incubation period of COVID-19, screening for the virus infection should be carried out for all patients, both preoperatively and postoperatively. Postponement of scheduled gynecologic surgery for patients in the epidemic area should be considered.


title: In-Hospital Use of Statins Is Associated with a Reduced Risk of Mortality among Individuals with COVID-19

text: Statins are lipid-lowering therapeutics with favorable anti-inflammatory profiles and have been proposed as an adjunct therapy for COVID-19. However, statins may increase the risk of SARS-CoV-2 viral entry by inducing ACE2 expression. Here, we performed a retrospective study on 13,981 patients with COVID-19 in Hubei Province, China, among which 1,219 received statins. Based on a mixed-effect Cox model after propensity score-matching, we found that the risk for 28-day all-cause mortality was 5.2% and 9.4% in the matched statin and non-statin groups, respectively, with an adjusted hazard ratio of 0.58. The statin use-associated lower risk of mortality was also observed in the Cox time-varying model and marginal structural model analysis. These results give support for the completion of ongoing prospective studies and randomized controlled trials involving statin treatment for COVID-19, which are needed to further validate the utility of this class of drugs to combat the mortality of this pandemic.


Gastroenterology department operational reorganisation at the time of covid-19 outbreak: an Italian and Chinese experience


Sonographer safety issues during the COVID-19 pandemic


When hospitals Harm: Multi-modal entry of SARS-CoV-2 into inpatient healthcare


Developing a sustainable exit strategy for COVID-19: health, economic and public policy implications


Priorisierung von Pflegeheimbewohnern aus notfallmedizinischer Sicht : Corona-Pandemie 2020./ [Prioritization of geriatric patients in care homes and residential homes in the context of the COVID pandemic]


docid: bbolfmhw

title: Prevalence and Predictors of Anxiety and Depression Symptoms during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Compliance with Precautionary Measures: Age and Sex Matter

text: Effective management of the global pandemic caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (also known as COVID-19), resulted in the implementation of severe restrictions in movement and enforcement of social distancing measures. This study aimed to understand and characterize the psychosocial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the general population and to identify risks and protective factors that predict changes in mental health status. In addition, the study investigated compliance with precautionary measures (PM) to halt the spread of the virus. The online anonymous survey collected information on sociodemographic data, compliance with PM, quality of life (QOL), and mental health via the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). A total of 1642 adult participants (71.6% women, 28.4% men) completed the survey in the European island country, Cyprus. A large percentage (48%) reported significant financial concerns and 66.7% significant changes in their QOL. About 41% reported symptoms associated with mild anxiety; 23.1% reported moderate-severe anxiety symptoms. Concerning depression, 48% reported mild and 9.2% moderate-severe depression symptoms. Women, younger age (18-29), student status, unemployment status, prior psychiatric history, and those reporting greater negative impact on their QOL, were at higher risk for increased anxiety and depression symptoms (p < 0.05). The youngest age group and males also reported lower levels of compliance with PM. Higher compliance with PM predicted lower depression scores (p < 0.001) but higher anxiety for measures related to personal hygiene. The results of this study provide important data on the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on mental health and QOL and identify a variety of personal and social determinants that serve as risks and protective factors. Furthermore, it has implications for policy makers demonstrating the need for effective mental health programs and guidance for the implementation of PM as a public health strategy.


title: Old and re-purposed drugs for the treatment of COVID-19

text: INTRODUCTION: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has developed since December 2019. It has caused a global pandemic with more than three hundred thousand case fatalities. However, apart from supportive care by respirators, no standard medical therapy is validated. AREAS COVERED: This paper presents old drugs with potential in vitro efficacy against SARS-CoV-2. The in vitro database, adverse effects, and potential toxicities of these drugs are reviewed regarding their feasibility of clinical prescription for the treatment of patients with COVID-19. To obtain convincing recommendations, we referred to opinions from the US National Institute of Health regarding drugs repurposed for COVID-19 therapy. EXPERT OPINION: Although strong evidence of well-designed randomized controlled studies regarding COVID-19 therapy is presently lacking, remdesivir, teicoplanin, hydroxychloroquine (not in combination with azithromycin), and ivermectin might be effective antiviral drugs and are deemed promising candidates for controlling SARS-CoV-2. In addition, tocilizumab might be considered as the supplementary treatment for COVID-19 patients with cytokine release syndrome. In future, clinical trials regarding a combination of potentially effective drugs against SARS-CoV-2 need to be conducted to establish the optimal regimen for the treatment of patients with moderate-to-severe COVID-19.


Considerations for ventilator triage during the COVID-19 pandemic


Colchicine as a potent anti-inflammatory treatment in COVID-19: can we teach an old dog new tricks?


docid: hjwasevb

title: Mechanisms of recoverable prevalence and extinction of viruses on linearly growing scale-free networks

text: We investigate mechanisms of the typically observed recoverable prevalence in epidemic spreading. Assuming the time-independent connectivity correlations, we analyze the dynamics of spreading on linearly growing scale-free (SF) networks, and derive the extinction condition related to the rates of network growth, infection, and immunization of viruses. The behavior is consistent with the previous results for SF networks by a mean-field approximation without connectivity correlations. In particular, it is suggested that the growing must be stopped to prevent the spreading of infection. This insight helps to understand the spreading phenomena on communication or social networks.


Horizontal transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 to a premature infant: multiple organ injury and association with markers of inflammation


docid: skmkosrg

title: Pandemie de COVID-19 : aspects cardiologiques


China coronavirus: labs worldwide scramble to analyse live samples


Mitigating the wider health effects of covid-19 pandemic response


Managing patients with choroidal melanoma in the COVID-19 era: a personal perspective


title: COVID-19 and the US response: accelerating health inequities

text: Health inequities have long defined health and the healthcare system in the USA. The clinical and research capacity across the USA is unparalleled, yet compared to other high and even some middle-income countries, the average health indicators of the population remain suboptimal in 2020, a finding at least in part explained by inequity in healthcare access. In this context, COVID-19 has rapidly emerged as a major threat to the public's health. While it was initially thought that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 would be the great equaliser as it would not discriminate, it is clear that COVID-19 incidence and mortality have rapidly reinforced health disparities drawn by historical and contemporary inequities. Here, we synthesise the data highlighting specific risks among particular marginalised and under-resourced communities including those in jails, prisons and detention centers, immigrants and the undocumented, people with disabilities and people experiencing homelessness across the USA. The drivers of these disparities are pervasive structural risks including limited access to preventive services, inability to comply with physical distancing recommendations, underlying health disparities and intersecting stigmas particularly affecting racial and ethnic minorities across the country, including African Americans, Latinx Americans and Native Americans. Advancing the COVID-19 response, saving lives and restarting the economy necessitate rapidly addressing these inequities rather than ignoring and even reinforcing them.


A Case of Catatonia in a Man With COVID-19


Controversial Relationship Between Renin-Angiotensin System Inhibitors and Severity of COVID-19: Announcing a Large Multicentre Case-Control Study in Italy


Post discharge positive re-tests in COVID-19: common but clinically non-significant


title: Doubling Time of the COVID-19 Epidemic by Province, China

text: In China, the doubling time of the coronavirus disease epidemic by province increased during January 20-February 9, 2020. Doubling time estimates ranged from 1.4 (95% CI 1.2-2.0) days for Hunan Province to 3.1 (95% CI 2.1-4.8) days for Xinjiang Province. The estimate for Hubei Province was 2.5 (95% CI 2.4-2.6) days.


Covid-19-related pancreatic injury


Acute meningoencephalitis in a patient with COVID-19


title: Assumptions for disparities in case-fatality rates of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) across the globe

text: In a short span, Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has become the world pandemic by rapidly spreading almost to all the countries around the globe, irrespective of the continent, population size, economic status and healthcare system. Despite the number of cases increasing exponentially in most of the countries, there exist certain disparities in terms of case-fatality rates. As of April 24, 2020, the case-fatality rate of COVID-19 is about 7.0%, with 193,671 deaths and 2,761,121 confirmed cases around the world. Although the United States of America (USA), Spain, Italy, France, and Germany are the top-most affected counties in terms of confirmed cases; France, Italy and Spain are leading the list in terms of case-fatality rates. Therefore, through this mini-review, authors sought to brief on possible assumptions (five D's) that might contribute to the varying case-fatality rates among different countries across the globe.


Cases of coronavirus disease-2019 in HIV-infected transgender women


title: Clinical and Epidemiological Features of a Family Cluster of Symptomatic and Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infection

text: This report describes the clinical and virological characteristics of three children in a family cluster experiencing infection with SARS-CoV2. While the youngest child was not infected, both parents and the two 2- and 5 years-old children became infected. The children were only briefly symptomatic with predominant gastrointestinal symptoms. They initially shed infectious virus from the upper respiratory tract, but cleared the virus after five to six days in the nasopharynx. However, SARS-CoV2 RNA was continuously detected in the stools of the children for more than 4 weeks indicating a predominant replication within the gastrointestinal tract.


Chest CT Findings in a Pregnant Patient with 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease


title: Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19): From causes to preventions in Hong Kong

text: Hong Kong has been recently attacked by the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). In late January 2020, it's shown a steadily increasing trend of confirmed cases. There is a 257 in total infected cases confirmed including 4 deaths until 20th of March 2020. To prevent further outbreak of COVID-19, this article discusses the current understanding of COVID-19 and compares with the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 in 2003 of Hong Kong from the causes, transmission, symptoms, diagnosis, treatments and preventions to study for an applicable measurement to control COVID-19.


title: The factors predicting pneumonia in COVID-19 patients: preliminary results of a university hospital in Turkey

text: BACKGROUND/AIM: Pneumonia is the most serious clinical presentation of COVID-19. This study is aimed to determine the demographic, clinical, and laboratory findings that can properly predict COVID-19 pneumonia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was conducted in Gazi University hospital. All hospitalized patients with confirmed and suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection between 16 March 2020, and 30 April 2020, were analyzed retrospectively. COVID-19 patients were separated into two groups as pneumonia and non-pneumonia and compared to determine predicting factors for COVID-19 pneumonia. Variables with a p-value of less than 0.20 and not correlated with each other were included in the logistic regression model. RESULTS: Of the 247 patients included in the study, the median age was 40, 58% was female. COVID-19 was confirmed in 70.9% of these patients. 21.4% of COVID-19 confirmed cases had pneumonia. In the multivariate analysis male sex (p = 0.028), hypertension (p = 0.022) and shortness of breath on hospital admission (p = 0.025) were significant factors predicting COVID-19 pneumonia Conclusion: Shortness of breath, male gender, and hypertension were significant for predicting COVID-19 pneumonia on admission. The patients with those factors should be evaluated more carefully for diagnostic procedures, such as thorax CT.


title: Risk stratification in patients undergoing nonoperating room anesthesia

text: PURPOSE OF REVIEW: A growing numerical and complexity of patients requiring nonoperating room anesthesia (NORA) necessitates a multidisciplinary approach of a highly experienced team in a highly technological setting of the cathlab or radiology suite. These requirements are even more magnified in the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. RECENT FINDINGS: This review describes the aspects of risk stratification both in adults and children with respect to patient morphology, airway management, cardiorespiratory function and finally future developments, which could beneficially interfere with imminent management in NORA. Moreover, some particular features related to COVID-19 are also discussed. SUMMARY: Apart from a thorough preoperative assessment, preventive strategies and well-chosen monitoring should be implemented to preclude inadvertent events in sometimes high-risk patients. Timely preventive measures and early recognition of complications could only be achieved by a multidisciplinary cooperating team. In addition, the implementation of safety measurements due to the infectious transmission to both the patients and care givers is crucial.


New Issues in Nursing Management During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy


title: Effect of the social distancing measures on the spread of COVID-19 in 10 highly infected countries

text: From the end of 2019, an unprecedented novel coronavirus, which was named COVID-19 by the World Health Organization (WHO) emerged from Wuhan city, China. Despite rigorous global containment and quarantine efforts, the incidence of COVID-19 has continued to rise, with over 4 million confirmed-cases and over 300,000 deaths worldwide until mid-May. This study aims to present the effect of the promulgation of social distancing measures on the spread of COVID-19 in the cases of 10 highly infected countries. The authors focus on the statistics of the COVID-19 confirmed-cases and deaths in 10 highly infected countries, including The U.S., Spain, Italy, The U.K., France, Germany, Russia, Turkey, Iran and China, and the response to the pandemic of these countries in the period from January 11 to May 2, 2020. The relationships between the social distancing measures and the statistics of COVID-19 confirmed-cases and deaths were analyzed in order to elucidate the effectiveness of the social distancing measures on the spread of COVID-19 in 10 highly infected countries. The results showed it took1-4 weeks since the highest level of social distancing measures promulgation until the daily confirmed-cases and deaths showed signs of decreasing. The effectiveness of the social distancing measures on the spread of COVID-19 was different between the 10 focused countries. This variation is due to the difference in the levels of promulgated social distancing measures, as well as the difference in the COVID-19 spread situation at the time of promulgation between the countries.


Systemically comparing host immunity between survived and deceased COVID-19 patients


title: Dealing with Corona virus anxiety and OCD

text: The world is reeling under the crisis caused by corona virus disease (COVID-19), print, electronic and social media are flooded with numerous advisories issued by governments and other national & international agencies. While all this is being done with best of intentions so as to contain the spread of this viral disease, this is causing a significant negative impact on mental health of people specially person of obsessive-compulsive disorder with fear of contamination and excessive washing of hands.


A Tale of Two Cities: Insight and Practical Considerations During the Covid Pandemic


title: Persistence of intestinal SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with COVID-19 leads to re-admission after pneumonia resolved

text: The current reports of COVID-19 focus on the respiratory system, however, intestinal infections caused by SARS-CoV-2 are also worthy of attention. This paper reported persistence of intestinal SARS-CoV-2 infection leads to re-admission after pneumonia resolved in three cases with COVID-19.


title: A predictive tool for identification of SARS-CoV-2 PCR-negative emergency department patients using routine test results

text: BACKGROUND: Testing for COVID-19 remains limited in the United States and across the world. Poor allocation of limited testing resources leads to misutilization of health system resources, which complementary rapid testing tools could ameliorate. OBJECTIVE: To predict SARS-CoV-2 PCR positivity based on complete blood count components and patient sex. STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective case-control design for collection of data and a logistic regression prediction model was used. Participants were emergency department patients > 18 years old who had concurrent complete blood counts and SARS-CoV-2 PCR testing. 33 confirmed SARS-CoV-2 PCR positive and 357 negative patients at Stanford Health Care were used for model training. Validation cohorts consisted of emergency department patients > 18 years old who had concurrent complete blood counts and SARS-CoV-2 PCR testing in Northern California (41 PCR positive, 495 PCR negative), Seattle, Washington (40 PCR positive, 306 PCR negative), Chicago, Illinois (245 PCR positive, 1015 PCR negative), and South Korea (9 PCR positive, 236 PCR negative). RESULTS: A decision support tool that utilizes components of complete blood count and patient sex for prediction of SARS-CoV-2 PCR positivity demonstrated a C-statistic of 78 %, an optimized sensitivity of 93 %, and generalizability to other emergency department populations. By restricting PCR testing to predicted positive patients in a hypothetical scenario of 1000 patients requiring testing but testing resources limited to 60 % of patients, this tool would allow a 33 % increase in properly allocated resources. CONCLUSIONS: A prediction tool based on complete blood count results can better allocate SARS-CoV-2 testing and other health care resources such as personal protective equipment during a pandemic surge.


Opportunities for Research for COVID-19 in the Mission of NIDDK


title: Measures for diagnosing and treating infections by a novel coronavirus responsible for a pneumonia outbreak originating in Wuhan, China

text: On 10 January 2020, a new coronavirus causing a pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan City in central China was denoted as 2019-nCoV by the World Health Organization (WHO). As of 24 January 2020, there were 887 confirmed cases of 2019-nCoV infection, including 26 deaths, reported in China and other countries. Therefore, combating this new virus and stopping the epidemic is a matter of urgency. Here, we focus on advances in research and development of fast diagnosis methods, as well as potential prophylactics and therapeutics to prevent or treat 2019-nCoV infection.


title: Hospitalization Rates and Characteristics of Patients Hospitalized with Laboratory-Confirmed Coronavirus Disease 2019 - COVID-NET, 14 States, March 1-30, 2020

text: Since SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), was first detected in December 2019 (1), approximately 1.3 million cases have been reported worldwide (2), including approximately 330,000 in the United States (3). To conduct population-based surveillance for laboratory-confirmed COVID-19-associated hospitalizations in the United States, the COVID-19-Associated Hospitalization Surveillance Network (COVID-NET) was created using the existing infrastructure of the Influenza Hospitalization Surveillance Network (FluSurv-NET) (4) and the Respiratory Syncytial Virus Hospitalization Surveillance Network (RSV-NET). This report presents age-stratified COVID-19-associated hospitalization rates for patients admitted during March 1-28, 2020, and clinical data on patients admitted during March 1-30, 2020, the first month of U.S. surveillance. Among 1,482 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, 74.5% were aged ≥50 years, and 54.4% were male. The hospitalization rate among patients identified through COVID-NET during this 4-week period was 4.6 per 100,000 population. Rates were highest (13.8) among adults aged ≥65 years. Among 178 (12%) adult patients with data on underlying conditions as of March 30, 2020, 89.3% had one or more underlying conditions; the most common were hypertension (49.7%), obesity (48.3%), chronic lung disease (34.6%), diabetes mellitus (28.3%), and cardiovascular disease (27.8%). These findings suggest that older adults have elevated rates of COVID-19-associated hospitalization and the majority of persons hospitalized with COVID-19 have underlying medical conditions. These findings underscore the importance of preventive measures (e.g., social distancing, respiratory hygiene, and wearing face coverings in public settings where social distancing measures are difficult to maintain) to protect older adults and persons with underlying medical conditions, as well as the general public. In addition, older adults and persons with serious underlying medical conditions should avoid contact with persons who are ill and immediately contact their health care provider(s) if they have symptoms consistent with COVID-19 (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html) (5). Ongoing monitoring of hospitalization rates, clinical characteristics, and outcomes of hospitalized patients will be important to better understand the evolving epidemiology of COVID-19 in the United States and the clinical spectrum of disease, and to help guide planning and prioritization of health care system resources.


title: Abrupt deterioration and pulmonary embolism in COVID-19: a case report

text: A case is presented highlighting pulmonary embolism as an important complication of COVID-19 and the abruptness with which deterioration and widespread pulmonary infiltrates can develop even after relatively normal initial investigations, illustrating the importance of follow-up. The role of CT scanning in COVID-19 is also discussed.


docid: gykudnxf

title: In silico prediction of potential inhibitors for the Main protease of SARS-CoV-2 using molecular docking and dynamics simulation based drug-repurposing

text: BACKGROUND: The rapidly enlarging COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel SARS-corona virus-2 is a global public health emergency of an unprecedented level. Unfortunately no treatment therapy or vaccine is yet available to counter the SARS-CoV-2 infection, which substantiates the need to expand research efforts in this direction. The indispensable function of the main protease in virus replication makes this enzyme a promising target for inhibitors screening and drug discovery to treat novel coronavirus infection. The recently concluded α-ketoamide ligand-bound X-ray crystal structure of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro (PDB ID: 6Y2F) from Zhang et al. has revealed the potential inhibitor binding mechanism and the molecular determinants responsible for substrate binding. METHODS: For the study, we have targeted the SARS-CoV-2 Mpro for the screening of FDA approved antiviral drugs and carried out molecular docking based virtual screening. Further molecular dynamic simulation studies of the top three selected drugs carried out to investigated for their binding affinity and stability in the SARS-CoV-2 Mpro active site. The phylogenetic analysis was also performed to know the relatedness between the SARS-CoV-2 genomes isolated from different countries. RESULTS: The phylogenetic analysis of the SARS-CoV-2 genome reveals that the virus is closely related to the Bat-SL-CoV and does not exhibit any divergence at the genomic level. Molecular docking studies revealed that among the 77 drugs, screened top ten drugs shows good binding affinities, whereas the top three drugs: Lopinavir-Ritonavir, Tipranavir, and Raltegravir were undergone for molecular dynamics simulation studies for their conformational stability in the active site of the SARS-CoV-2 Mpro protein. CONCLUSIONS: In the present study among the library of FDA approved antiviral drugs, the top three inhibitors Lopinavir-Ritonavir, Tipranavir, and Raltegravir show the best molecular interaction with the main protease of SARS-CoV-2. However, the in-vitro efficacy of the drug molecules screened in this study further needs to be corroborated by carrying out a biochemical and structural investigation.


title: Quadruple therapy for asymptomatic COVID-19 infection patients

text: Introduction: The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is currently in epidemic stage. After large-scale interpersonal infection, asymptomatic patients appear. Whether asymptomatic patients are contagious or not and whether they need medication are the arguments among clinical experts.Areas covered: This paper reports a special asymptomatic couple with COVID-19, of which the male patient is an intercity bus driver but has not induced confirmed infection of his 188 passengers. The patients were treated with four combinations of lopinavir/ritonavir tablets, arbidol tablets, Lianhuaqingwen granules, and recombinant human interferon-α2b (IFN-α2b) injection via aerosol. Their clinical characteristics and medication were summarized and analyzed.Expert opinion: The two asymptomatic patients far away from Wuhan did not seem to be highly contagious. They improved obviously, after treatment with the quadruple therapy, but the effective drug is still unknown. It should be noted that lopinavir/ritonavir tablets have many drug interactions and are the most likely drugs to cause hyperlipidemia and hyperglycemia in these two patients. IFN-α2b is more effective in the early stage of virus infection. Arbidol instruction dose may not be sufficient to inhibit the novel coronavirus in vivo. The evidence-based medicine of Lianhuaqingwen granules for treating various viral infections is just based on Chinese patients.


title: Observations about Symptomatic and Asymptomatic infections of 494 patients with COVID-19 in Shanghai,China

text: BACKGROUND: Humans are generally susceptible to SARS-CoV-2, which has caused a global pandemic of COVID-19. The screening of infected people in the population still mainly depends on clinical symptoms. However, there is limited research on the characteristics of clinical symptoms in different populations, especially in imported cases. METHODS: To retrospectively analyze the clinical data of 494 confirmed COVID-19 patients admitted to a designated hospital in Shanghai from January 20, 2020, to March 31, 2020, we compared the clinical manifestations in different populations and their influencing factors in COVID-19 patients. RESULTS: (1) Of the 494 patients, 453 (91.7%) had different symptoms at admission, and 39 (7.89%) patients were asymptomatic. (2) We compared the symptoms of patients according to different stratifications and found the following results: a. The proportion of dyspnea was significantly higher in male patients than in female patients (P < 0.05). b. The proportions of a stuffy nose, sore throat, and olfactory and gustatory dysfunction were significantly higher in children than in adult patients (P < 0.05). c. The proportions of fever, chest tightness, shortness of breath, and fatigue were significantly higher in local cases than in imported cases. In comparison, the proportions of nasal congestion, stuffy nose, sore throat, headache, and olfactory and gustatory dysfunction were significantly lower in imported cases than in imported cases (P < 0.05). d. The proportions of chest tightness, shortness of breath, and dyspnea were significantly higher in severely ill patients than in those with mild symptoms (P < 0.05). (3) Thirty-one asymptomatic patients were significantly younger than symptomatic patients, and they had a higher proportion of imported cases, white blood cell (WBC) and lymphocyte (LYM) count levels, and fewer abnormal CT cases than the group of symptomatic patients (P < 0.05). (4) The number of days since the onset of the disease needed for the symptoms to disappear was associated with the epidemiological history (imported cases), the number of days until the pharyngeal swab nucleic acid test turned negative, the days of hospitalization, the days of onset, and the WBC and LYM count levels (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The majority of COVID-19 patients (91.7%) had early symptoms. whereas 7.89% of COVID-19 patients were asymptomatic. Younger patients had fewer symptoms, mainly the upper respiratory symptoms, and the illness condition was milder, which was more common in imported cases. Elderly male patients had severe symptoms when admitted. The number of days needed for the patient's symptoms to disappear was closely related to the number of days necessary for the pharyngeal swab nucleic acid test to turn negative.


title: Development and clinical application of a rapid IgM-IgG combined antibody test for SARS-CoV-2 infection diagnosis

text: The outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) quickly spread all over China and to more than 20 other countries. Although the virus (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus [SARS-Cov-2]) nucleic acid real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test has become the standard method for diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection, these real-time PCR test kits have many limitations. In addition, high false-negative rates were reported. There is an urgent need for an accurate and rapid test method to quickly identify a large number of infected patients and asymptomatic carriers to prevent virus transmission and assure timely treatment of patients. We have developed a rapid and simple point-of-care lateral flow immunoassay that can detect immunoglobulin M (IgM) and IgG antibodies simultaneously against SARS-CoV-2 virus in human blood within 15 minutes which can detect patients at different infection stages. With this test kit, we carried out clinical studies to validate its clinical efficacy uses. The clinical detection sensitivity and specificity of this test were measured using blood samples collected from 397 PCR confirmed COVID-19 patients and 128 negative patients at eight different clinical sites. The overall testing sensitivity was 88.66% and specificity was 90.63%. In addition, we evaluated clinical diagnosis results obtained from different types of venous and fingerstick blood samples. The results indicated great detection consistency among samples from fingerstick blood, serum and plasma of venous blood. The IgM-IgG combined assay has better utility and sensitivity compared with a single IgM or IgG test. It can be used for the rapid screening of SARS-CoV-2 carriers, symptomatic or asymptomatic, in hospitals, clinics, and test laboratories.


title: The immune system and COVID-19: Friend or foe?

text: AIM: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a novel highly contagious infection caused by SARS-CoV-2, which has been became a global public health challenge. The pathogenesis of this virus is not yet clearly understood, but there is evidence of a hyper-inflammatory immune response in critically ill patients, which leads to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and multi-organ failure. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A literature review was performed to identify relevant articles on COVID-19 published up to April 30, 2020. The search resulted in 361 total articles. After reviewing the titles and abstracts for inclusion, some irrelevant papers were excluded. Additional relevant articles were identified from a review of citations referenced. KEY FINDINGS: SARS-CoV-2, directly and indirectly, affects the immune system and avoids being eliminated in early stages. On the other hand, the secretion of inflammatory cytokines creates critical conditions that lead to multi-organ failure. SIGNIFICANCE: The immune system which is affected by the virus tries to respond via a cytokine storm and hyperinflammation, which itself leads to further multi-organ damage and even death.


Protective role of Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitors in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and COVID-19


Amplification of human ß-glucuronidase gene for appraising the accuracy of negative SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR results in upper respiratory tract specimens


Towards the rational utilization of SARS-CoV-2 serological tests in clinical practice


title: Covid-19 and its impact on nephropathic patients: the experience at Ospedale "Guglielmo da Saliceto" in Piacenza

text: Roberto Scarpioni and colleagues recount their experience with the Covid-19 epidemic at the Nephrology and Dialysis Center of the "Guglielmo da Saliceto" Hospital in Piacenza, where everybody is still fighting to this moment to contain the spread of the disease and face an increasingly unsustainable clinical situation Piacenza is only 15 km away from the main cluster of cases in the country (Codogno, in the Lodi province) and, after the closure of the Hospital in Codogno, saw an escalation in the number of patients testing positive to Covid-19 The authors describe their efforts and the practices they adopted to contain the spread of the disease among inpatients visiting the hospital's Hemodialysis Clinic They also reflect on some of the data available on the 25/03/2020, such as the number of patients testing positive and the mortality rate, unfortunately very high Their aim is to help all colleagues that have yet to face this epidemic in its full force


title: Chest Imaging in Patients Hospitalized With COVID-19 Infection - A Case Series

text: COVID-19 (Corona Virus Disease-19) is a zoonotic illness first reported in the city of Wuhan, China in December 2019, and is now officially a global pandemic as declared by the World Health Organization. The infection is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). COVID-19 infected patients can be asymptomatic carriers or present with mild-to-severe respiratory symptoms. Imaging, including computed tomography is not recommended to screen/diagnose COVID-19 infections, but plays an important role in management of these patients, and to rule out alternative diagnoses or coexistent diseases. In our multicenter case series, we outline the clinical presentations and illustrate the most common imaging manifestations in patients hospitalized with COVID-19.


Single-cell RNA sequencing data suggest a role for angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 in kidney impairment in patients infected with 2019-novel coronavirus


Systematic analysis of acute liver injury during SARS-CoV-2 infection


docid: ggmtrskv

title: [Comparison of two epidemic patterns of COVID-19 and evaluation of prevention and control effectiveness: an analysis based on Guangzhou and Wenzhou]

text: Objective: To compare the epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 in Guangzhou and Wenzhou, and evaluate the effectiveness of their prevention and control measures. Methods: Data of COVID-19 cases reported in Guangzhou and Wenzhou as of 29 February, 2020 were collected. The incidence curves of COVID-19 in two cities were constructed. The real time reproduction number (R(t)) of COVID-19 in two cities was calculated respectively. Results: A total of 346 and 465 confirmed COVID-19 cases were analysed in Guangzhou and Wenzhou, respectively. In two cities, most cases were aged 30-59 years (Guangzhou: 54.9%; Wenzhou: 70.3%). The incidence curve peaked on 27 January, 2020 in Guangzhou and on 26 January, 2020 in Wenzhou, then began to decline in both cities. The peaks of imported COVID-19 cases from Hubei occurred earlier than the peak of COVID-19 incidences in two cities, and the peak of imported cases from Hubei occurred earlier in Wenzhou than in Guangzhou. In early epidemic phase, imported cases were predominant in both cities, then the number of local cases increased and gradually took the dominance in Wenzhou. In Guangzhou, the imported cases was still predominant. Despite the different epidemic pattern, the R(t) and the number of COVID-19 cases declined after strict prevention and control measures were taken in Guangzhou and in Wenzhou. Conclusion: The time and scale specific differences of imported COVID-19 resulted in different epidemic patterns in two cities, but the spread of the disease were effectively controlled after taking strict prevention and control measures.


title: Comparison of two epidemic patterns of COVID-19 and evaluation of prevention and control effectiveness: an analysis based on Guangzhou and Wenzhou

text: Objective To compare the epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 in Guangzhou and Wenzhou, and evaluate the effectiveness of their prevention and control measures Methods Data of COVID-19 cases reported in Guangzhou and Wenzhou as of 29 February, 2020 were collected The incidence curves of COVID-19 in two cities were constructed The real time reproduction number ( R t ) of COVID-19 in two cities was calculated respectively Results A total of 346 and 465 confirmed COVID-19 cases were analysed in Guangzhou and Wenzhou, respectively In two cities, most cases were aged 30-59 years (Guangzhou: 54 9%;Wenzhou: 70 3%) The incidence curve peaked on 27 January, 2020 in Guangzhou and on 26 January, 2020 in Wenzhou, then began to decline in both cities The peaks of imported COVID-19 cases from Hubei occurred earlier than the peak of COVID-19 incidences in two cities, and the peak of imported cases from Hubei occurred earlier in Wenzhou than in Guangzhou In early epidemic phase, imported cases were predominant in both cities, then the number of local cases increased and gradually took the dominance in Wenzhou In Guangzhou, the imported cases was still predominant Despite the different epidemic pattern, the R t and the number of COVID-19 cases declined after strict prevention and control measures were taken in Guangzhou and in Wenzhou Conclusion The time and scale specific differences of imported COVID-19 resulted in different epidemic patterns in two cities, but the spread of the disease were effectively controlled after taking strict prevention and control measures


docid: jakcemws

title: Maintaining high quality multidisciplinary pain medicine fellowship programs: Part II: Innovations in clinical care workflow, clinical supervision, job satisfaction and postgraduation mentorship for pain fellows during the Covid-19 pandemic

text: BACKGROUND: Pain fellowship programs are facing unique challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Restrictions by state governments and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have resulted in a rapidly changing and evolving learning environment for today's fellows. Innovative solutions must be sought to maintain proper education and ensure the well-being of our trainees. METHODS: : We assembled a panel of pain program directors who serve as officers/board members of the Association of Pain Program Directors, offering guidance and recommendations to pain fellowship directors nationwide. Panel members evaluate best available evidence and expert opinion on use of remote and virtual platforms in clinical care, adaptability to alterations in clinic and referral management, and provide guidance on post-graduate impact. CONCLUSIONS: The country is in the midst of an unprecedented pandemic. The impact on pain management fellowships has been significant and will likely last for months, resulting in extraordinary challenges to the administration of pain fellowship programs and the education of our fellows. Several strategies will help address these challenges, including employing telehealth capabilities to continue clinical experiences, and providing trainees with opportunities to continue their professional growth beyond fellowship completion. Together, we can implement innovative solutions to overcome these challenges.


docid: meqqokwc

title: A Familial Cluster of Infection Associated With the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Indicating Possible Person-to-Person Transmission During the Incubation Period

text: An ongoing outbreak of pneumonia associated with 2019 novel coronavirus was reported in China. It is unclear whether the virus is infective exists during the incubation period, although person-to-person transmission has been reported elsewhere. We report the epidemiological features of a familial cluster of 4 patients in Shanghai, including an 88-year-old man with limited mobility who was exposed only to asymptomatic family members whose symptoms developed later. The epidemiological evidence has shown possible transmission of 2019 novel coronavirus during the incubation period.


title: Neurologic complications of COVID-19

text: BACKGROUND: Much of the focus regarding the global pandemic of coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) has been on the cardiovascular, pulmonary, and hematologic complications. However, neurologic complications have arisen as an increasingly recognized area of morbidity and mortality. OBJECTIVE: This brief report summarizes the neurologic complications associated with COVID-19 with an emphasis on the emergency medicine clinician. DISCUSSION: COVID-19 has infected over 3.5 million people and killed over 240,000 people worldwide. While pulmonary complications are profound, the neurologic system is also significantly impacted, with complications including acute cerebrovascular events, encephalitis, Guillain-Barré syndrome, acute necrotizing hemorrhagic encephalopathy, and hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. Additionally, patients on immunosuppressive medications for pre-existing neurologic issues are at an increased risk for complications with COVID-19 infection, and many of the currently proposed COVID-19 therapies can interact with these medications. CONCLUSIONS: When caring for COVID-19 patients, emergency medicine clinicians should be aware of the neurologic complications from COVID-19.


title: Children of COVID-19: pawns, pathfinders or partners?

text: Countries throughout the world are counting the health and socioeconomic costs of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the strategies necessary to contain it. Profound consequences from social isolation are beginning to emerge, and there is an urgency about charting a path to recovery, albeit to a 'new normal' that mitigates them. Children have not suffered as much from the direct effects of COVID-19 infection as older adults. Still, there is mounting evidence that their health and welfare are being adversely affected. Closure of schools has been a critical component of social isolation but has a far broader impact than the diminution of educational opportunities, as important as these are. Reopening of schools is therefore essential to recovery, with some countries already tentatively implementing it. Children's interests are vital considerations in any recovery plan, but the question remains as to how to address them within the context of how society views children; should they be regarded as pawns, pathfinders or partners in this enterprise?


Hydroxychloroquine for Coronavirus: The Urgent Need for a Moratorium on Prescriptions


Concerns and needs of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus regarding hydroxychloroquine supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic: results from a patient-centred survey


The jury is still out: COVID-19 and male reproduction


title: Pandemic News: Facebook Pages of Mainstream News Media and the Coronavirus Crisis -- A Computational Content Analysis

text: The unfolding of the COVID-19 pandemic has been an unprecedented challenge for news media around the globe. While journalism is meant to process yet unknown events by design, the dynamically evolving situation affected all aspects of life in such profound ways that even the routines of crisis reporting seemed to be insufficient. Critics noted tendencies to horse-race reporting and uncritical coverage, with journalism being too close to official statements and too affirmative of political decisions. However, empirical data on the performance of journalistic news media during the crisis has been lacking thus far. The current study analyzes the Facebook messages of journalistic news media during the early Coronavirus crisis, based on a large German data set from January to March 2020. Using computational content analysis methods, reach and interactions, topical structure, relevant actors, negativity of messages, as well as the coverage of fabricated news and conspiracy theories were examined. The topical structure of the near-time Facebook coverage changed during various stages of the crisis, with just partial support for the claims of critics. The initial stages were somewhat lacking in topical breadth, but later stages offered a broad range of coverage on Corona-related issues and societal concerns. Further, journalistic media covered fake news and conspiracy theories during the crisis, but they consistently contextualized them as what they were and debunked the false claims circulating in public. While some criticism regarding the performance of journalism during the crisis received mild empirical support, the analysis did not find overwhelming signs of systemic dysfunctionalities. Overall, journalistic media did not default to a uniform reaction nor to sprawling, information-poor pandemic news, but they responded with a multi-perspective coverage of the crisis.


title: Discovery and development of safe-in-man broad-spectrum antiviral agents

text: Viral diseases are one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the world. Virus-specific vaccines and antiviral drugs are the most powerful tools to combat viral diseases. However, broad-spectrum antiviral agents (BSAAs, i.e. compounds targeting viruses belonging to two or more viral families) could provide additional protection of the general population from emerging and re-emerging viral diseases, reinforcing the arsenal of available antiviral options. Here, we review discovery and development of BSAAs and summarize the information on 120 safe-in-man agents in a freely accessible database (https://drugvirus.info/). Future and ongoing pre-clinical and clinical studies will increase the number of BSAAs, expand the spectrum of their indications, and identify drug combinations for treatment of emerging and re-emerging viral infections as well as co-infections.


title: Tele-Neuro-Ophthalmology: Vision for 20/20 and Beyond

text: BACKGROUND: Telehealth provides health care to a patient from a provider at a distant location. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic adoption of telehealth modalities was increasing slowly but steadily. During the public health emergency rapid widespread telehealth implementation has been encouraged to promote patient and provider safety and preserve access to health care. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: Evidence was acquired from English language Internet-searches of medical and business literature and following breaking news on the COVID-19 pandemic and responses from health care stakeholders including policy makers, payers, physicians and health care organizations, and patients. We also had extensive discussions with colleagues who are developing telehealth techniques relevant to neuro-ophthalmology. RESULTS: Regulatory, legal, reimbursement and cultural barriers impeded the widespread adoption of telehealth prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the increased use of telehealth in response to the public health emergency, we are rapidly accumulating experience and an evidence base identifying opportunities and challenges related to the widespread adoption of tele-neuro-ophthalmology. One of the major challenges is the current inability to adequately perform funduscopy remotely. CONCLUSIONS: Telehealth is an increasingly recognized means of healthcare delivery. Tele-neuro-ophthalmology adoption is necessary for the sake of our patients, the survival of our subspecialty, and the education of our trainees and students. Telehealth does not supplant but supplements and complements in-person neuro-ophthalmologic care. Innovations in digital optical fundus photography, mobile vision testing applications, artificial intelligence and principles of channel management will facilitate further adoption of tele-neuro-ophthalmology and bring the specialty to the leading edge of healthcare delivery.


title: Efficacy and safety of Chinese herbal medicine for Coronavirus disease 2019: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

text: BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global pandemic caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). There is no specific cure for this disease, and the clinical management mainly depends on supportive treatment. Traditional Chinese medicines (CHM) is widely used in treating COVID-19 in China. METHODS: A comprehensive literature search will be conducted. Two methodological trained researchers will read the title, abstract, and full texts and independently select the qualified literature according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. After assessment of the risk of bias and data extraction, we will conduct meta-analyses for outcomes related to COVID-19. The heterogeneity of data will be investigated by Cochrane χ and I tests. Then publication bias assessment will be conducted by funnel plot analysis and Egger test. RESULTS: The results of our research will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. CONCLUSION: Our study aims to systematically present the clinical evidence of CHM in the treatment of COVID-19, which will be of guiding significance for further research and clinical practice. OSF REGISTRATION NUMBER: 10.17605/OSF.IO/H7GMU.


Prevalence of COVID-19 in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: Implications for Bystander CPR


Estimation of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Burden and Potential for International Dissemination of Infection From Iran


title: Frontline Workers in the Backrooms of COVID-19

text: OBJECTIVES: To review the response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in a forensics center that integrates an academic department of pathology with multiple regional county medical examiners' offices. METHODS: Faculty and staff were asked to volunteer stories, data, and photographs describing their activities from March through May 2020. The information was assembled into a narrative summary. RESULTS: Increased deaths challenged capacity limits in a hospital morgue and a large urban medical examiner's office (MEO) successfully managed by forensic teams and monitored by an institutional command center. Autopsies of suspected and proven cases of COVID-19 were performed in both facilities. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) testing of decedents was performed in a MEO serving a large urban area. Scene investigators worked directly with families to meet needs unique to a pandemic. Artful photographs of decedent's hands and/or tattoos were offered to those unable to have in-person viewings. Pathologists and social workers were available to families of the deceased and created novel solutions to facilitate the grieving process. CONCLUSIONS: Forensic pathology is important to successfully navigating emerging diseases like the COVID-19 pandemic. Direct conversations with families are common in forensic pathology and serve as a model for patient- and family-centered care.


Utprøvende behandling for covid-19 bør foregå i randomiserte studier


title: Hate multiverse spreads malicious COVID-19 content online beyond individual platform control

text: We show that malicious COVID-19 content, including hate speech, disinformation, and misinformation, exploits the multiverse of online hate to spread quickly beyond the control of any individual social media platform. Machine learning topic analysis shows quantitatively how online hate communities are weaponizing COVID-19, with topics evolving rapidly and content becoming increasingly coherent. Our mathematical analysis provides a generalized form of the public health R0 predicting the tipping point for multiverse-wide viral spreading, which suggests new policy options to mitigate the global spread of malicious COVID-19 content without relying on future coordination between all online platforms.


China's experience on mental health in response to the COVID-19 pandemic


title: Analytical comparisons of SARS-COV-2 detection by qRT-PCR and ddPCR with multiple primer/probe sets

text: Different primers/probes sets have been developed all over the world for the nucleic acid detection of SARS-CoV-2 by quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) as a standard method. In our recent study, we explored the feasibility of droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) for clinical SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid detection compared with qRT-PCR using the same primer/probe sets issued by Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) targeting viral ORF1ab or N gene, which showed that ddPCR could largely minimize the false negatives reports resulted by qRT-PCR [Suo T, Liu X, Feng J, et al. ddPCR: a more sensitive and accurate tool for SARS-CoV-2 detection in low viral load specimens. medRxiv [Internet]. 2020;2020.02.29.20029439. Available from: https://medrxiv.org/content/early/2020/03/06/2020.02.29.20029439.abstract]. Here, we further stringently compared the performance of qRT-PCR and ddPCR for 8 primer/probe sets with the same clinical samples and conditions. Results showed that none of 8 primer/probe sets used in qRT-PCR could significantly distinguish true negatives and positives with low viral load (10-4 dilution). Moreover, false positive reports of qRT-PCR with UCDC-N1, N2 and CCDC-N primers/probes sets were observed. In contrast, ddPCR showed significantly better performance in general for low viral load samples compared to qRT-PCR. Remarkably, the background readouts of ddPCR are relatively lower, which could efficiently reduce the production of false positive reports.


title: Applying principles of behaviour change to reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission

text: Human behaviour is central to transmission of SARS-Cov-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and changing behaviour is crucial to preventing transmission in the absence of pharmaceutical interventions. Isolation and social distancing measures, including edicts to stay at home, have been brought into place across the globe to reduce transmission of the virus, but at a huge cost to individuals and society. In addition to these measures, we urgently need effective interventions to increase adherence to behaviours that individuals in communities can enact to protect themselves and others: use of tissues to catch expelled droplets from coughs or sneezes, use of face masks as appropriate, hand-washing on all occasions when required, disinfecting objects and surfaces, physical distancing, and not touching one's eyes, nose or mouth. There is an urgent need for direct evidence to inform development of such interventions, but it is possible to make a start by applying behavioural science methods and models.


Neuro-ophthalmology in the Era of COVID-19: Future Implications of a Public Health Crisis


Management of ovarian cancer patients in affected areas during COVID-19 pandemic: Japan and Korea


Sore throat in COVID-19: Comment on "Clinical characteristics of hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection: A single arm meta-analysis"


title: Analyzing the epidemiological outbreak of COVID-19: A visual exploratory data analysis approach

text: There is an obvious concern globally regarding the fact about the emerging coronavirus 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) as a worldwide public health threat. As the outbreak of COVID-19 causes by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) progresses within China and beyond, rapidly available epidemiological data are needed to guide strategies for situational awareness and intervention. The recent outbreak of pneumonia in Wuhan, China, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 emphasizes the importance of analyzing the epidemiological data of this novel virus and predicting their risks of infecting people all around the globe. In this study, we present an effort to compile and analyze epidemiological outbreak information on COVID-19 based on the several open datasets on 2019-nCoV provided by the Johns Hopkins University, World Health Organization, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, National Health Commission, and DXY. An exploratory data analysis with visualizations has been made to understand the number of different cases reported (confirmed, death, and recovered) in different provinces of China and outside of China. Overall, at the outset of an outbreak like this, it is highly important to readily provide information to begin the evaluation necessary to understand the risks and begin containment activities.


Darunavir does not prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection in HIV patients


title: Acute necrotizing encephalopathy with SARS-CoV-2 RNA confirmed in cerebrospinal fluid

text: Here we report a case of Covid-19-related acute necrotizing encephalopathy (ANE) where SARS-CoV-2 RNA was found in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) 19 days after symptom onset after testing negative twice. Even though monocytes and protein levels in CSF were only marginally increased, and our patient never experienced a hyperinflammatory state, her neurological function deteriorated into coma. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain showed pathological signal symmetrically in central thalami, subinsular regions, medial temporal lobes and brain stem. Extremely high concentrations of the neuronal injury markers neurofilament light (NfL) and tau, as well as an astrocytic activation marker, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAp), were measured in CSF. Neuronal rescue proteins and other pathways were elevated in the in-depth proteomics analysis. The patient received intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) and plasma exchange (PLEX). Her neurological status improved and she was extubated four weeks after symptom onset. This case report highlights the neurotropism of SARS-CoV-2 in selected patients and emphasizes the importance of repeated lumbar punctures and CSF analyses in patients with suspected Covid-19 and neurological symptoms.


An affordable videolaryngoscope for use during the COVID-19 pandemic


Protecting the rare during a rare pandemic


title: Evaluation of the auxiliary diagnostic value of antibody assays for the detection of novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2)

text: The spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has taken on pandemic proportions, affecting over 100 countries in a matter of weeks. The goal of this study was to assess the diagnostic values of different methods of detecting and estimating the SARS-CoV-2 infection, and the auxiliary diagnostic potential of antibody assays. By retrospectively analyzing the data of viral RNAs and serum immunoglobulin M-immunoglobulin G antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 from 38 cases with confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 in the Second People's Hospital of Fuyang, we found that, in the early phase of the illness, the viral RNA was most abundant in the sputum specimens, followed by that in the throat swabs, while the antibody assays identified fewer positive cases at this stage. However, the sensitivity of the antibody assays overtook that of RNA test from the eighth day of disease onset. Simultaneous use of antibody assay and reverse transcription-quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction improved the sensitivity of the diagnoses. Moreover, we found that most of these cases with no detectable viral RNA load during the early stages were able to be seropositive after 7 days. Our findings indicate that the antibody detection could be used as an effective supplementary indicator of SARS-CoV-2 infection in suspected cases with no detectable viral RNA, and in conjunction with nucleic acid detection in confirming the infection.


COVID-19: Protecting Healthcare Workers is a priority


title: Clinically Applicable AI System for Accurate Diagnosis, Quantitative Measurements, and Prognosis of COVID-19 Pneumonia Using Computed Tomography

text: Many COVID-19 patients infected by SARS-CoV-2 virus develop pneumonia (called novel coronavirus pneumonia, NCP) and rapidly progress to respiratory failure. However, rapid diagnosis and identification of high-risk patients for early intervention are challenging. Using a large computed tomography (CT) database from 3,777 patients, we developed an AI system that can diagnose NCP and differentiate it from other common pneumonia and normal controls. The AI system can assist radiologists and physicians in performing a quick diagnosis especially when the health system is overloaded. Significantly, our AI system identified important clinical markers that correlated with the NCP lesion properties. Together with the clinical data, our AI system was able to provide accurate clinical prognosis that can aid clinicians to consider appropriate early clinical management and allocate resources appropriately. We have made this AI system available globally to assist the clinicians to combat COVID-19.


title: Design of engineered surfaces for prospective detection of Sars-CoV-2 using quartz crystal microbalance based techniques

text: INTRODUCTION: Rapid transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 has affected the whole world and forced it to a halt (lockdown). A fast and label free detection method for the novel coronavirus needs to be developed along with the existing enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) based methods. AREAS COVERED: In this report, biophysical aspects of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike glycoprotein are outlined based on its recent reported electron microscopy structure. Protein binding sites are analyzed theoretically, which consisted of hydrophobic and positive charged amino acid residues. Different strategies to form mixed self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of hydrophobic (CH3) and negatively charged (COOH) groups are discussed to be used for the specific and strong interactions with spike protein. Bio-interfacial interactions between the spike protein and device (sensor) surface and its implications towards designing suitable engineered surfaces are summarized. EXPERT OPINION: Implementation of the engineered surfaces in quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) based detection techniques for the diagnosis of the novel coronavirus from oral swab samples is highlighted. The proposed strategy can be explored for the label free and real time detection with sensitivity up to ng level. These engineered surfaces can be reused after desorption.


title: Biochemical characterization of a novel α-L-fucosidase from Pedobacter sp. and its application in synthesis of 3'-fucosyllactose and 2'-fucosyllactose

text: Fucosyllactoses have gained much attention owing to their multiple functions, including prebiotic, immune, gut, and cognition benefits. In this study, human milk oligosaccharide (HMO) 2'-fucosyllactose (α-L-Fuc-(1,2)-D-Galß-1,4-Glu, 2'FL) and its isomer 3'-fucosyllactose (α-L-Fuc-(1,3)-D-Galß-1,4-Glu, 3'FL) with potential prebiotic effect were synthesized efficiently by a novel recombinant α-L-fucosidase. An α-L-fucosidase gene (PbFuc) from Pedobacter sp. CAU209 was successfully cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli (E. coli). The deduced amino acid sequence shared the highest identity of 36.8% with the amino sequences of other reported α-L-fucosidases. The purified α-L-fucosidase (PbFuc) had a molecular mass of 50 kDa. The enzyme exhibited specific activity (26.3 U/mg) towards 4-nitrophenyl-α-L-fucopyranoside (pNP-FUC), 3'FL (8.9 U/mg), and 2'FL (3.4 U/mg). It showed the highest activity at pH 5.0 and 35 °C, respectively. PbFuc catalyzed the synthesis of 3'FL and 2'FL through a transglycosylation reaction using pNP-FUC as donor and lactose as acceptor, and total conversion ratio was up to 85% at the optimized reaction conditions. The synthesized mixture of 2'FL and 3'FL promoted the growth of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus NRRL B-548, L. casei subsp. casei NRRL B-1922, L. casei subsp. casei AS 1.2435, and Bifidobacterium longum NRRL B-41409. However, the growths of E. coli ATCC 11775, S. enterica AS 1.1552, L. monocytogenes CICC 21635, and S. aureus AS 1.1861 were not stimulated by the mixture of 2'FL and 3'FL. Overall, our findings suggest that PbFuc possesses a great potential for the specific synthesis of fucosylated compounds.Key Pointsâ¢ A novel α-L-fucosidase (PbFuc) from Pedobacter sp. was cloned and expressed.â¢ PbFuc showed the highest hydrolysis activity at pH 5.0 and 35 °C, respectively.â¢ It was used for synthesis of 3'-fucosyllactose (3'FL) and 2'-fucosyllactose (2'FL).â¢ The mixture of 3'FL and 2'FL promoted the growth of some Lactobacillus sp. and Bifidobacteria sp.


title: Oropharyngeal Dysphagia and Aspiration Pneumonia Following Coronavirus Disease 2019: A Case Report

text: Cranial nerve involvement is a finding often observed in patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 during the pandemic outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). To our knowledge, this is the first report of oropharyngeal dysphagia associated with COVID-19. A 70-year-old male developed dysphagia and consequent aspiration pneumonia during recovery from severe COVID-19. He had altered sense of taste and absent gag reflex. Videoendoscopy, videofluorography, and high-resolution manometry revealed impaired pharyngolaryngeal sensation, silent aspiration, and mesopharyngeal contractile dysfunction. These findings suggested that glossopharyngeal and vagal neuropathy might have elicited dysphagia following COVID-19. The current case emphasizes the importance of presuming neurologic involvement and concurrent dysphagia, and that subsequent aspiration pneumonia might be overlooked in severe respiratory infection during COVID-19.


Type 1 diabetes triggered by covid-19 pandemic: A potential outbreak?


Exanthema and eosinophilia in COVID-19 patients: has viral infection a role in drug induced exanthemas?


title: Machine learning approach for prediction of hearing preservation in vestibular schwannoma surgery

text: In vestibular schwannoma patients with functional hearing status, surgical resection while preserving the hearing is feasible. Hearing levels, tumor size, and location of the tumor have been known to be candidates of predictors. We used a machine learning approach to predict hearing outcomes in vestibular schwannoma patients who underwent hearing preservation surgery: middle cranial fossa, or retrosigmoid approach. After reviewing the medical records of 52 patients with a pathologically confirmed vestibular schwannoma, we included 50 patient's records in the study. Hearing preservation was regarded as positive if the postoperative hearing was within serviceable hearing (50/50 rule). The categorical variable included the surgical approach, and the continuous variable covered audiometric and vestibular function tests, and the largest diameter of the tumor. Four different algorithms were lined up for comparison of accuracy: support vector machine(SVM), gradient boosting machine(GBM), deep neural network(DNN), and diffuse random forest(DRF). The average accuracy of predicting hearing preservation ranged from 62% (SVM) to 90% (DNN). The current study is the first to incorporate machine learning methodology into a prediction of successful hearing preservation surgery. Although a larger population may be needed for better generalization, this study could aid the surgeon's decision to perform a hearing preservation approach for vestibular schwannoma surgery.


Continuous positive airway pressure to avoid intubation in SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia: a two-period retrospective case-control study


La semFYC y la Medicina de Familia en tiempos del Coronavirus./ [semFYC and Family Medicine in the time of the Coronavirus]


title: [Comparison of clinical and pathological features between severe acute respiratory syndrome and coronavirus disease 2019]

text: Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) shared similar pathogenetic, clinical and pathological features. Fever and cough were the most common symptoms of both diseases, while myalgia and diarrhea were less common in patients with COVID-19. Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) was the most severe pulmonary complication that caused high mortality rate. Histologically, diffuse alveolar damage (DAD) was the most characteristic finding in non-survivors with either SARS or COVID-19. Cases of patients died less than 10-14 days of disease duration demonstrated acute-phase DAD, while cases beyond 10-14 days of disease duration exhibited organizing-phase DAD in SARS. Meanwhile, organization and fibrosis were usually accompanied by exudation. Coronavirus was mostly detected in pneumocytes, but less in macrophages and bronchiolar epithelial cells. Hemorrhagic necrosis and lymphocyte depletion were found in lymph nodes and spleen in both SARS and COVID-19, indicating a pathological basis of lymphocytopenia. Thrombosis was commonly observed in small vessels and microvasculaturr in lungs accompanying DAD. Microthrombosis was also found in extrapulmonary organs in COVID-19, that was less reported in SARS. Damages in multiple extrapulmonary organs were observed, but coronavirus was not detected in some of those organs, indicating an alternative mechanism beyond viral infection, such as hypoxemia, ischemia and cytokine storm induced immunological injury. DAD due to viral infection and immunological injury, as well as multi-organ dysfunction and extensive microthrombus formation, brought huge challenge to the management of patients with severe SARS or COVID-19.


title: Methylprednisolone added to tocilizumab reduces mortality in SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia: An observational study

text: Although there are few randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the efficacy of drugs to treat COVID-19, different molecules have been used empirically and with great interest in those intended to control the excessive inflammatory response produced by SARS-CoV-2. By blocking the IL-6 receptor, tocilizumab has a role in controlling the inflammatory response. Clinical improvement of respiratory parameters and hospital stay have been described in small series in a series of patients without a control group [1]. There are currently numerous ongoing clinical trials aimed to clarifying the role of this molecule in COVID-19. The guidelines for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia from the Spanish Ministry of Health contemplate the use of tocilizumab as a therapeutic tool for those patients with severe respiratory failure or rapid respiratory deterioration with criteria for admission to the intensive care unit (ICU).


COVID-19 and Future Implications for Gastroenterology Trainees


Life in the pandemic: Social isolation and mental health


docid: gtstymep

title: Non-communicable disease management in vulnerable patients during Covid-19

text: It is now well established that non-communicable diseases (NCD), like diabetes mellitus, hypertension,, respiratory and heart disease, particularly among the elderly, increase the susceptibility to COVID-19 disease. Mortality in 60%-90% of the COVID-19 cases is attributed to either one or more of these comorbidities. However, healthcare management for control of COVID-19 involves public health and policy decisions that may critically undermine the existing health needs of the most vulnerable NCD patients. Temporary closure of outpatient health facilities in some secondary and tertiary care hospitals have deprived millions of NCD patients of their regular medication and diagnostic health needs. The lack of robust primary healthcare facilities in most states, and the failure to maintain physical distancing norms due to inadequate infrastructure is also problematic. In the absence of effective public health interventions, socioeconomically vulnerable patients are likely to become non-adherent increasing manifold their risk of disease complications. In this context, the feasibility of dispensing longer than usual drug refills for chronic NCD conditions at functional government health facilities, home delivery of essential drugs, running dedicated NCD clinics at PHCs, and utilisation of telemedicine opportunities for care and support to patients warrant aggressive exploration. Keywords: Covid-19, NCDs, Medical ethics, epidemic, India.


title: Ocular manifestation as first sign of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Interest of telemedicine during the pandemic context

text: We report here the case of a 27-year-old man who consulted by telemedicine during the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, due to foreign body sensation and left eye redness. Examination revealed unilateral eyelid edema and moderate conjunctival hyperemia. A few hours later, the patient experienced intense headache and developed fever, cough and severe dyspnea. A nasopharyngeal swab proved positive for SARS-CoV-2. This case demonstrates that conjunctivitis can be the inaugural manifestation of the COVID-19 infection. It illustrates the interest of telemedicine in ophthalmology during the COVID-19 pandemic, since moderate conjunctival hyperemia can be the first sign of a severe respiratory distress.


title: Tracheostomy in the intensive care unit: Guidelines during COVID-19 worldwide pandemic

text: PURPOSE: COVID-19 has become a pandemic with significant consequences worldwide. About 3.2% of patients with COVID-19 will require intubation and invasive ventilation. Moreover, there will be an increase in the number of critically ill patients, hospitalized and intubated due to unrelated acute pathology, who will present underlying asymptomatic or mild forms of COVID-19. Tracheostomy is one of the procedures associated with an increased production of aerosols and higher risk of transmission of the virus to the health personnel. The aim of this paper is to describe indications and recommended technique of tracheostomy in COVID-19 patients, emphasizing the safety of the patient but also the medical team involved. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A multidisciplinary group made up of surgeons with privileges to perform tracheostomies, intensive care physicians, infectious diseases specialists and intensive pulmonologists was created to update previous knowledge on performing a tracheostomy in critically ill adult patients (>18 years) amidst the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in a high-volume referral center. Published evidence was collected using a systematic search and review of published studies. RESULTS: A guideline comprising indications, surgical technique, ventilator settings, personal protective equipment and timing of tracheostomy in COVID-19 patients was developed. CONCLUSIONS: A safe approach to performing percutaneous dilational bedside tracheostomy with bronchoscopic guidance is feasible in COVID-19 patients of appropriate security measures are taken and a strict protocol is followed. Instruction of all the health care personnel involves is key to ensure their safety and the patient's favorable recovery.


docid: sxydzbss

title: COVID-19 prevention and control strategies for psychiatric hospitals


title: Dataset of Vietnamese student's learning habits during COVID-19

text: A dataset was constructed to examine Vietnamese student's learning habits during the time schools were suspended due to the novel coronavirus - SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), in response to a call for interdisciplinary research on the potential effects of the coronavirus pandemic (Elsevier, 2020). The questionnaires were spread over a network of educational communities on Facebook from February 7 to February 28, 2020. Using the snowball sampling method, researchers delivered the survey to teachers and parents to provide formal consent before they forwarded it to their students and children. In order to measure the influence of students' socioeconomic status and occupational aspirations on their learning habits during school closures, the survey included three major groups of questions: (1) Individual demographics, including family socioeconomic status, school type, and occupational aspirations; (2) Student's learning habits, including hours of learning before and during the period of school suspension, with and without other people's support; and (3) Students' perceptions of their self-learning during the school closures. There was a total of 920 clicks on the survey link, but only 460 responses accompanied by consent forms were received. Non-credible answers (e.g., year of birth after 2009, more than 20 hours of learning per day) were eliminated. The final dataset included 420 valid observations.


From the editor’s desk


COVID-19 myocardial injury: We have much more to discover


Pathophysiology of the COVID-19 - entry to the CNS through the nose


title: Smart technologies for fighting pandemics: The techno- and human- driven approaches in controlling the virus transmission

text: How do governments in China and Western democracies differ in their technological response to control the transmission of the pandemic? Based on an analysis of academic papers, World Health Organization reports and newspapers, this research compares two opposing approaches, whereas the Chinese cities and government have adopted a techno-driven approach, Western governments have adopted a human-driven approach to control the transmission of Covid-19. The findings highlight that although the techno driven approach may be more productive to identify, isolate and quarantine infected individuals, it also results in the suppression and censoring the citizen views. It is further emphasized that human interaction with the technology is mediated by the political and institutional context in which the technologies are implemented. This paper contributes to literature by understanding the human-technology relationship, and offers five practical observations for controlling virus transmissions during pandemics.


title: How We Do It: Modified Residency Programming and Adoption of Remote Didactic Curriculum During the COVID-19 Pandemic

text: OBJECTIVE: To describe the modified operational plan we implemented for residents and faculty in our orthopedic surgery department to allow continuation of resident education and other core activities during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. DESIGN: Description of educational augmentation and programming modifications. SETTING: The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Baltimore, MD. PARTICIPANTS: Residents and faculty, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. METHODS: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we developed and implemented a modified operational schedule and remote curriculum in the orthopedic surgery department of our health system. Our plan was guided by the following principles: protecting the workforce while providing essential clinical care; maintaining continuity of education and research; and promoting social distancing while minimizing the impact on team psychosocial well-being. RESULTS: The operational schedule and remote curriculum have been implemented successfully and allow resident education and other core departmental functions to continue as our health care system responds to the pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: We have been proactive and deliberate in implementing these operational changes, without compromise of our workforce. This experience provides residents exposure to real-life systems-based practice. We hope that our early experience will provide a framework for other surgical residency programs facing this crisis.


docid: uhjbsnhl

title: Drought and COVID-19 in the Eastern Mediterranean Region of the WHO


Anxiety and depression in patients with confirmed and suspected COVID-19 in Ecuador


title: NanoSPC: a scalable, portable, cloud compatible viral nanopore metagenomic data processing pipeline

text: Metagenomic sequencing combined with Oxford Nanopore Technology has the potential to become a point-of-care test for infectious disease in public health and clinical settings, providing rapid diagnosis of infection, guiding individual patient management and treatment strategies, and informing infection prevention and control practices. However, publicly available, streamlined, and reproducible pipelines for analyzing Nanopore metagenomic sequencing data are still lacking. Here we introduce NanoSPC, a scalable, portable and cloud compatible pipeline for analyzing Nanopore sequencing data. NanoSPC can identify potentially pathogenic viruses and bacteria simultaneously to provide comprehensive characterization of individual samples. The pipeline can also detect single nucleotide variants and assemble high quality complete consensus genome sequences, permitting high-resolution inference of transmission. We implement NanoSPC using Nextflow manager within Docker images to allow reproducibility and portability of the analysis. Moreover, we deploy NanoSPC to our scalable pathogen pipeline platform, enabling elastic computing for high throughput Nanopore data on HPC cluster as well as multiple cloud platforms, such as Google Cloud, Amazon Elastic Computing Cloud, Microsoft Azure and OpenStack. Users could either access our web interface (https://nanospc.mmmoxford.uk) to run cloud-based analysis, monitor process, and visualize results, as well as download Docker images and run command line to analyse data locally.


title: Psychotherapists' preferences for television and movies during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic

text: This study investigated psychotherapists' media use since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 186 psychotherapists completed a 15-item self-report survey on the movies and TV shows they had watched, and the reasons for their choices, since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results indicated therapists primarily watched material they described as comedic, distracting, thought-provoking, and psychologically engaging. In addition, they reported choosing media that appealed to their spouses and/or children. It is theorized that therapists' media selections are reinforcing their regulatory flexibility, allowing them to grapple with the harsh reality of the pandemic while simultaneously providing themselves emotional safety and relief in the form of distancing and distraction.


Letter: Back Pain and Accesses to Emergency Departments During COVID-19 Lockdown in Italy


This article provides a brief overview of the state of discourse, politics and provision of abortion in the Anglophone West, including developments in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. It then surveys three promising directions for feminist abortion scholarship. The first is work inspired by the Reproductive Justice Movement, that points to the intersectional axes of inequality that shape abortion discourse and position us in relation to reproductive choice and access issues. The second is work that examines the particularity of the constitution of the aborting body, reflecting the particularity of the pregnant body. This is a specific body, with a specific history; abortion discourse draws from and makes a significant contribution to the meaning and lived experience of this body. The third area of scholarship we highlight is that which seeks to amplify the meaning of abortion as a social good. Much abortion scholarship is attuned to a critique of negative aspects of abortion-from its representation in popular culture to restrictive law and access issues. This is critical work but/and the performative nature of abortion scholarship, like all discourse, means that it can amplify the association of negativity with abortion. The article concludes by introducing the articles contained in the special section of Women's Studies International Forum, 'Abortion at the edges: Politics, practices, performances'.


COVID-19 pandemic through the lens of a gastroenterology fellow: looking for the silver lining


How to balance acute myocardial infarction and COVID-19: the protocols from Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital


Lessons Already Learnt From the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic


Getting out of the World Health Organization might not be as easy as Trump thinks


title: Stress resilience during the coronavirus pandemic

text: The epidemic of the 2019 novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, causing the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global public health emergency with multifaceted severe consequences for people's lives and their mental health. In this article, as members of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) Resilience, we will discuss the urgent need for a focus on resilience during the current coronavirus pandemic. Resilience is pivotal to cope with stress and vital to stay in balance. We will discuss the importance of resilience at the individual and societal level, but also the implication for patients with a psychiatric condition and health care workers. We not only advocate for an increased focus on mental health during the coronavirus pandemic but also highlight the urgent need of augmenting our focus on resilience and on strategies to enhance it.


COVID-19: some unanswered questions


Symptom management and end-of-life care of residents with COVID-19 in long-term care homes


Blueprint for a pop-up SARS-CoV-2 testing lab


title: Canadian Public Health Laboratory Network Best Practices for COVID-19

text: The ability to detect severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of COVID-19, is a foundational component of Canada's containment and mitigation strategies. Laboratory confirmation of COVID-19 cases allows the appropriate clinical management and public health interventions. Whether the local goal is containment or mitigation will depend on local epidemiology of the pandemic. The Respiratory Virus Infections Working Group of the Canadian Public Health Laboratory Network has developed comprehensive Best Practice Guidelines for detection of SARS-CoV-2. Best practices for specimen collection, transportation, testing and biosafety are addressed from the perspective of Canadian public health laboratories to ensure a consistent approach across the country: Population-based testing for COVID-19 should initially be carried out for surveillanceNasopharyngeal swab is the specimen of choice for routine testingNucleic acid amplification tests (such as real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) are the method of choice for routine testing of SARS-CoV-2The decentralization of nucleic acid amplification testing for COVID-19 to hospital or other high complexity medical laboratories should be promoted to increase test capacity and meet increased demandsIn the early stages of the pandemic, positive (approximately 10-20) and negative (approximately 50) tests by a provincial laboratory require confirmation at the National Microbiology LaboratoryCo-circulation of other viral agents associated with influenza-like Illnesses (e.g. influenza A and B and respiratory syncytial virus) should be monitored as capacity permits, as part of ongoing surveillanceOnce validated, serological testing may be utilized for assessing the presence/absence of immune response to the SARS-CoV-2 at either the population or individual level for select indications, but is likely to be of limited utility in diagnosis of acute COVID-19 illness These recommendations will be updated as new information becomes available.


title: Does recombinant human erythropoietin administration in critically ill COVID-19 patients have miraculous therapeutic effects?

text: An 80-year-old man with multiple comorbidities presented to the emergency department with tachypnea, tachycardia, fever, and critically low O2 saturation and definitive chest computerized tomography scan findings in favor of COVID-19 and positive PCR results in 48 hours. He received antiviral treatment plus recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) due to his severe anemia. After 7 days of treatment, he was discharged with miraculous improvement in his symptoms and hemoglobin level. We concluded that rhEPO could attenuate respiratory distress syndrome and confront the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 virus through multiple mechanisms including cytokine modulation, antiapoptotic effects, leukocyte release from bone marrow, and iron redistribution away from the intracellular virus.


Interpreting the COVID-19 Test Results: A Guide for Physiatrists


title: A recombinant Lactobacillus plantarum strain expressing the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2

text: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has become a global pandemic in the past four months and causes respiratory disease in humans of almost all ages. Although several drugs have been announced to be partially effective treatments for this disease, no approved vaccine is available. Here, we described the construction of a recombinant Lactobacillus plantarum strain expressing the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. The results showed that the spike gene with optimized codons could be efficiently expressed on the surface of recombinant L. plantarum and exhibited high antigenicity. The highest protein yield was obtained under the following conditions: cells were induced with 50 ng/mL SppIP at 37 °C for 6-10 h. The recombinant spike (S) protein was stable under normal conditions and at 50 °C, pH = 1.5, or a high salt concentration. Recombinant L. plantarum may provide a promising food-grade oral vaccine candidate against SARS-CoV-2 infection.


title: Intensive care management of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): challenges and recommendations

text: As coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spreads across the world, the intensive care unit (ICU) community must prepare for the challenges associated with this pandemic. Streamlining of workflows for rapid diagnosis and isolation, clinical management, and infection prevention will matter not only to patients with COVID-19, but also to health-care workers and other patients who are at risk from nosocomial transmission. Management of acute respiratory failure and haemodynamics is key. ICU practitioners, hospital administrators, governments, and policy makers must prepare for a substantial increase in critical care bed capacity, with a focus not just on infrastructure and supplies, but also on staff management. Critical care triage to allow the rationing of scarce ICU resources might be needed. Researchers must address unanswered questions, including the role of repurposed and experimental therapies. Collaboration at the local, regional, national, and international level offers the best chance of survival for the critically ill.


docid: vjtnjmni

title: Ovarian vein thrombosis after coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infection in a pregnant woman: case report

text: Corona virus outbreak started in December 2019, and the disease has been defined by the World Health Organization as a public health emergency. Coronavirus is a source of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) due to complications such as over-coagulation, blood stasis, and endothelial damage. In this study, we report a 26-year-old pregnant woman with coronavirus who was hospitalized with a right ovarian vein thrombosis at Besat Hospital in Sanandaj. Risk classification for deep vein thrombosis (DVT) disease is of crucial importance for the forecast of coronavirus.


Crucial role of temporary airborne infection isolation rooms in an intensive care unit: containing the COVID-19 outbreak in South Korea


Elder Abuse in the COVID-19 Era


title: Data-driven Analytical Models of COVID-2019 for Epidemic Prediction, Clinical Diagnosis, Policy Effectiveness and Contact Tracing: A Survey

text: The widely spread CoronaVirus Disease (COVID)-19 is one of the worst infectious disease outbreaks in history and has become an emergency of primary international concern. As the pandemic evolves, academic communities have been actively involved in various capacities, including accurate epidemic estimation, fast clinical diagnosis, policy effectiveness evaluation and development of contract tracing technologies. There are more than 23,000 academic papers on the COVID-19 outbreak, and this number is doubling every 20 days while the pandemic is still on-going [1]. The literature, however, at its early stage, lacks a comprehensive survey from a data analytics perspective. In this paper, we review the latest models for analyzing COVID19 related data, conduct post-publication model evaluations and cross-model comparisons, and collect data sources from different projects.


title: Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Italy: knowledge, management of patients and clinical experience of Italian dentists during the spread of contagion

text: BACKGROUND: The coronavirus infection that emerged in China in the last few months of 2019 has now spread globally. Italy registered its first case in the second half of February, and in a short time period, it became the top country in Europe in terms of the number of infected people and the first in the world in terms of deaths. The medical and scientific community has been called upon to manage the emergency and to take measures. Dentists also need to take new precautions during their clinical activity to protect themselves, coworkers and patients from the risks of contagion and to avoid further spread of infection. METHODS: Following the data published in the international literature as well as the guidelines and directives constantly updated by the WHO and by the national health authorities, a questionnaire to be completed anonymously was submitted online to Italian dentists using social tools and online professional platforms. The collected data were processed statistically, providing descriptive data and analysis of correlations of the most significant parameters using the Pearson's χ2, the Likelihood-Ratio χ2, Cramér's V, Fisher's exact test, Goodman and Kruskal's Î³, and Kendall's τb (p < 0.05). RESULTS: A total of 535 dentists from Italy participated in the survey. A good level of scientific knowledge about coronavirus and the extra precautionary measures needed to limit the spread was related to the age of respondents and their sex. Coming from areas with higher concentrations of cases affected knowledge, level of attention and perception of risk related to dental activity. CONCLUSIONS: At the moment, there are no therapies or vaccines to contain the infection with the new coronavirus that is causing many infections, many of which are fatal, worldwide. Dentists are one of the categories at highest risk of encountering diseases and infections because they work in close proximity with patients, and in their procedures, there is always contact with aerosols with high bacterial and viral potential. Therefore, during this COVID-19 emergency, it is important that dentists are properly informed and take the appropriate precautionary measures.


Are certain drugs associated with enhanced mortality in COVID-19?


title: Prevention and control strategies for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic

text: COVID-19 has had a major impact worldwide due to its high infectiousness. Patients with cancer are more susceptible to infection and more likely to have severe events than other patients. This paper proposes management strategies for cancer patients that are beneficial for pandemic control and reduce the impact of the pandemic on cancer patients.