Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has immobilized and impaired the operation of hospitals, clinics, and other health-care facilities leaving a plethora of patients and persons-at-risk in a more precarious position. Cancer patients were vulnerable to infections and complications due to the nature of the malignancy. Their caregivers were likewise predisposed to infection while taking care of them. This paper focused on determining the concerns of both gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) patients and their caregivers and identified possible factors of improvement in the delivery of essential cancer care. Objective: The objective of the study was to describe the different concerns of GTN patients and their caregivers during chemotherapy and other adjunctive treatments during the COVID-19 pandemic in a Tertiary Government Hospital. Materials and methods: A qualitative type of research was employed in this research, for which an in-depth interview was used. A total of 12 respondents, 6 patients and 6 caregivers, were interviewed using a semi-structured pretested questionnaire. Results: Findings showed that infection with COVID-19, financial and logistical constraints exacerbated by the pandemic were the main concerns of both patients and caregivers. Other concerns recorded include change in their attending physician, survivability of the patient, and the availability of caregivers. Conclusions Despite the recorded apprehensions from the patients and caregivers, there was a general satisfaction in the delivery of health care at the Division of Trophoblastic Diseases due to the clarity in the follow-up and treatment schedules which have been optimized through the revised guidelines and protocols set by the division to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Objective: This paper aims to determine the respiratory manifestations, radiologic findings, and management of coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) among the hospitalized children of different age groups based on a systematic review of literature.

Methodology: We searched the MEDLINE, Google Scholar, Cochrane, and MedRvrix databases for relevant studies on pediatric COVID-19 done between January 1 to May 25, 2020. Data on demographic features, pulmonary symptoms, chest imaging findings, and oxygen support were extracted in a data abstraction form and analyzed among the different pediatric age groups.

Results:?Sixteen studies were included in this systematic review, with a total of 61 patients. Thirty-nine patients (64%) belong to the 2 to 12 year age group. Cough was the most commonly reported respiratory symptoms among children older than one month. Most of the patients, particularly adolescents, had asymptomatic or mild infection. On chest imaging, infiltrates and ground-glass opacities were the most common abnormalities. Oxygen supplementation via nasal cannula, non-invasive ventilation, and mechanical ventilation was noted in three cases.

Conclusion: Our systematic review shows that COVID-19 can present with a spectrum of respiratory manifestations and disease severity as well as a variety of radiologic abnormalities across different pediatric age groups. Whilemost children do not develop hypoxemia warranting oxygen supplementation, a severe respiratory infection can still manifest in children. Asymptomatic and milder infections are common and highlight the need for appropriate respiratory precautions. More pediatric studies on the pulmonary manifestations and management of children with COVID-19 can aid in a better understanding of this novel disease.

Introduction: Cancer patients are more susceptible to coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) infection because they are immunosuppressed by their disease or therapy, most of them have coexisting medical conditions, and they frequently visit hospitals for treatment and surveillance. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of COVID-19 infection among gynecologic oncology patients receiving treatment in a COVID-19 referral hospital. Materials and Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study involving 47 gynecologic cancer patients receiving treatment from June 2020 to December 2020 was performed. All patients underwent SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) swab test and symptom and exposure assessment before the start of cancer treatment. Patients with negative SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR swab test results received their planned treatment, and a repeat swab test and triage assessment were done midtreatment and after treatment. Results: Five (10.6%) patients had positive baseline SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR swab results, but all proceeded with treatment after negative results were obtained. Only 1 (2.13%) patient had a positive SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR swab test result at midtreatment. All patients had no COVID-19-associated symptoms and none of them tested positive for COVID-19 infection posttreatment. Conclusion The prevalence of COVID-19 infection among gynecologic cancer patients receiving cancer treatment is 2.13%. All patients who had positive SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR swab test results at baseline or midtreatment were able to continue and complete treatment. There were no severe clinical events or mortalities among those affected with COVID-19 infection.
COVID-19

Background: The prone position has been seen to benefit patients experiencing acute respiratory distress syndrome. However, performing this position in pregnant patients has been difficult and raises safety concerns. Objective: The current study aimed to test the use of a supportive pillow (Prone Pillow for Pregnant Patients or 4P) to address concerns regarding pregnant patients in prone position. Methods: The study prospectively evaluated the use of the prone pillow for patient comfort and usability among healthcare workers with qualitative and quantitative measures. Results: A total of three patients were recruited alongside 16 healthcare workers assisting pregnant patients to the prone position. Overall, awake pregnant patients found the pillow to be comfortable while healthcare workers perceived the pillow to be useful in improving quality of care among awake and intubated pregnant patients. Conclusion The 4P is a potentially useful and beneficial product in placing pregnant patients in the prone position during episodes of acute respiratory distress. However, due to the limited sample size, more clinical trials are needed to evaluate the impact of this innovation in improving patient and healthcare worker safety.
Covid-19

Objectives: The use of a scoring system that integrates various factors helps in decision-making and triage for Medically Necessary, Time Sensitive (MeNTS) surgical procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to determine the clinical characteristics and outcomes of cases who were screened and underwent elective gynecologic surgery at a tertiary hospital using the MeNTS tool for prioritization. Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out using data collected through medical chart review of all gynecologic cases screened in a 6-month period, from June 18, 2020 to December 18, 2020. Results: A total of 155 gynecologic cases were screened, with 134 (86.4%) MeNTS cases and 21 (13.5%) non-MeNTS cases. The median length of stay (5 days), the median operating room time (3 hours and 30 minutes), and median estimated blood loss (400ml) were within the acceptable expected outcome as with the scoring system, albeit with some cases (53%) requiring blood transfusion attributed to low baseline hemoglobin levels. There were no cases with post-operative COVID-19 transmission, needing ICU care and intubation, nor mortalities reported. Conclusions The MeNTS scoring system allowed efficient handling of the backlog of elective gynecologic cases with minimal morbidity and absence of mortality. The study supports the utility of this scoring system in addressing the need of the healthcare system not just to optimally utilize and fairly allocate hospital resources but also to ensure the safety of the patient with the best health service delivery during the pandemic.
Covid-19

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and its effects such as community restrictions, lockdowns, and unemployment have greatly affected the household food security status in urban poor communities leading to poor accessibility of sufficient nutritious food and subsequently affecting the nutrition of children. Objectives: This present study aims to determine the prevalence of household food insecurity in households with children aged 0-10 amid the COVID-19 pandemic in an urban poor community in Quezon City. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was done to evaluate the food security status and experiences of households amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: A total of 405 households were surveyed to answer questions designed to determine their general profile relative to their food security experiences during the pandemic. It was observed that the majority of the households in the urban poor community belong to Class D earning between PhP 8,001.00 - PhP 15,000.00. The heads of these households as well as caregivers mostly belong to the high school graduate level. Based on the conducted survey, it was revealed that 59.5% of the households were severely food insecure (90% CI: 55.4-63.4) and only 4.2% ( 90% CI: 2.8-6.2) were food secure. Conclusion The prevalence of food insecurity in the urban poor community is determined to be high, with 31.6% households having moderate food insecurity, while only 4.2% households are food secure. The majority of surveyed households were anxious and uncertain about their food supply, and also reported experiencing varying levels of food insecurity related to sufficiency of food quality.
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The question, “what does life mean?" used to be considered as a paradigm of philosophical investigation. As a researcher, life is meaningless without paradigm and perspective. These are indispensable in peoples' lives as we encounter research in our daily lives. According to James Tartaglia (Veal, 2017), when properly defined, the topic of life's purpose is "the keystone of philosophy," serving to "lock its traditional preoccupations in place" and "allow them to bear weight in an intellectual culture dominated by science." He also contends that we should consider this idea as he rejects the premise of the question and draw the conclusion that "life is meaningless." More precisely, James Tartaglia is one philosopher who is not at all happy about it; in fact, he appears to be absolutely furious about it, as readers who have read this journal's recent symposium on Thaddeus Metz's book Meaning in Life: An Analytic Study would be aware. What enrages Tartaglia the most, it seems, is that the "traditional" topic of life's meaning has been completely disregarded by what he refers to as the "new paradigm" in analytic philosophy, which is purportedly devoted to exploring this question. He further states that the conventional question of life's purpose is not only the only genuine, legitimately philosophical inquiry of life's meaning, but it is also the most important one.
COVID-19

Introduction: Globally, COVID – 19 (SARS COV -2) became an enormous challenge with serious threat to the healthcare workers. This study aimed to provide the psychological coping mechanisms among healthcare workers in tertiary hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic in the locale of Eastern Visayas. Objective: This study was conducted to determine the psychological coping mechanisms among healthcare workers in tertiary hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic. The secondary objectives were to determine the demographic profile of health care workers as to: age, sex, civil status, profession and area of assignment, to identify the issues of concern that contribute to the mental or psychological stress affecting the healthcare workers, to identify the psychological coping mechanisms of healthcare workers to ease their stress and to determine the correlation between issues of concern and coping mechanisms to the demographic profile of the healthcare workers. Methods: Utilized a cross-sectional descriptive study with analytical component. Sample size of 142 was computed using the Epi Info 7 software with confidence interval of 95% and the margin of error of 5%. Descriptive analysis was utilized to identify the socio- demographic profile of HCWs and Pearson r tests in SPSS used in correlation to issues of concern and psychological coping mechanisms. Results: One hundred forty two healthcare workers were included in the study. Of these, almost all respondents belong to aged 20-39 (92.3%). Majority were female and single. As to profession, many were physicians and nurses while as to area of assignments, some in the COVID Ward (24.6%). As to issues of concern, the results showed moderately in physical issues (2.55), mental and emotional issues (2.12). With regards to coping mechanisms, appraisal- focused (adaptive –cognitive) (3.55), emotion- focused (3.50) and problem- focused (adaptive – behavioral) coping mechanisms (3.18) were all very important. The correlational analysis showed that issues of concern and psychological coping mechanisms experienced by HCWs were not significantly related or associated to their demographics profile. Conclusion Based on the findings, the appraisal- focused (adaptive – cognitive), emotion- focused and problem- focused (adaptive – behavioral) coping mechanisms were all very important coping mechanisms among HCWs. Demographic profiles were not significantly associated with issues of concern and psychological coping mechanisms of HCWs in a tertiary hospital during COVID-19 pandemic.
COVID-19

Introduction: The coronavirus pandemic has affected millions worldwide. Better understanding of COVID-19 in pediatric hematology-oncology patients in a resource-limited setting is crucial to improve care as the pandemic ensues. Objectives: This study describes the clinical profile and outcomes of pediatric hematology oncology patients with COVID-19 seen at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH). Methods: A retrospective, descriptive review of pediatric hematology oncology patients with COVID-19 seen between March 2020 to March 2021 in PGH was done. Results: Forty patients were identified. Seventeen percent had non-malignant hematologic conditions, 40% had leukemias, and 42.5% had solid tumors. Fever and cough were the most common manifestations. Seventy-six percent were on treatment, 9% were newly diagnosed, and 7% were in relapse or disease progression. Fifty-five percent had mild COVID-19; 5% and 2.5% had severe and critical COVID-19, respectively. Thirty-seven percent were asymptomatic. Cancer-related therapy was placed on hold for most patients. There were two mortalities, none was due to COVID-19. Conclusion Results suggest that patients with hematologic and oncologic conditions have a mild course, with majority showing recovery from COVID-19. Delays in cancer-related therapy however, may contribute to disease progression and mortality.
COVID-19

BACKGROUND: The practice of Unang Yakap or Essential Intrapartum and Newborn Care (EINC) during the COVID-19 pandemic poses a safety concern with regards to a newborn’s exposure to their COVID-19 suspected mother. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to describe the experiences of COVID-19-suspected mothers and explore the factors influencing their decision to allow healthcare professionals to practice full EINC. Specifically, it aims to: 1) describe the experiences of mothers prior to, during, and immediately after delivery, and during postpartum care leading to their decision; and 2) explore the factors that influence the participant’s decision to practice EINC amidst the pandemic. METHODOLOGY: For this phenomenological case study, online interviews with nine (9) participants were conducted using a 13-item questionnaire describing their experience. Thematic analysis using the inductive and semantic approach was conducted to identify the common themes or factors. RESULTS: Of the nine (9) participants, five (5) experienced EINC, while four (4) did not. The COVID-19 status and the choice to undergo Unang Yakap were not a causal relationship. Two main influences, mother-related factors, and hospital-related factors, were identified and were found to have weight in decision-making. The mother-related factors include prior knowledge and perception towards EINC, COVID-19 status, personal beliefs, and information from social media; while the hospital-related factors are hospital facilities, hospital protocols, and HCW-patient relationship. CONCLUSION By delineating the different factors that influence mothers’ decisions, this study allows for the identification of possible bottlenecks in the practice of EINC, as well as effective and efficient means to encourage its practice.
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