INTRODUCTION: Health literacy plays an essential role in one's ability to acquire and understand critical medical information in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infodemic and in other pandemics. We aimed to summarise the assessment, levels and determinants of pandemic-related health literacy and its associated clinical outcomes. METHODS: A systematic review was performed in Medline ® , Embase ® , PsycINFO ® , CINAHL ® and four major preprint servers. Observational and interventional studies that evaluated health literacy related to the novel COVID-19, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) were included. Items used in health literacy instruments were grouped under the themes of knowledge, attitudes and practices. Determinants of health literacy were grouped into five domains: sociodemographic, medical, psychological/psychiatric, health systems-related and others. RESULTS: Of the 2,065 articles screened, 70 articles were included. Of these, 21, 17 and 32 studies evaluated health literacy related to COVID-19, SARS and MERS, respectively. The rates of low pandemic health literacy ranged from 4.3% to 57.9% among medical-related populations and from 4.0% to 82.5% among nonmedical populations. Knowledge about the symptoms and transmission of infection, worry about infection, and practices related to mask usage and hand hygiene were most frequently evaluated. Sociodemographic determinants of health literacy were most frequently studied, among which higher education level, older age and female gender were found to be associated with better health literacy. No studies evaluated the outcomes associated with health literacy. CONCLUSION The level of pandemic-related health literacy is suboptimal. Healthcare administrators need to be aware of health literacy determinants when formulating policies in pandemics.
Humans ; Health Literacy ; COVID-19/epidemiology* ; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome/epidemiology* ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Pandemics ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Coronavirus Infections/epidemiology* ; Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus ; Female ; Male

Compared with normal medical consumables, the management of epidemic prevention consumables in response to COVID-19 is special. Based on the practical management experience of a hospital in Shanghai, this article expounds through various aspects such as classified protection requirements, interpretation of domestic and foreign standards for epidemic prevention consumables, targeted use countermeasures, material supply of Hubei medical teams, and the management of inbound and outbound of epidemic prevention consumables, covering the whole process of epidemic prevention consumables management. The purpose of this paper is to provide ideas and references for the management of epidemic prevention materials.
Betacoronavirus ; China ; Coronavirus Infections ; epidemiology ; prevention & control ; therapy ; Epidemics ; Hospitals ; Humans ; Pandemics ; prevention & control ; Pneumonia, Viral ; epidemiology ; prevention & control ; therapy

Since December 2019, a series of highly infectious cases of unexplained pneumonia have been discovered in Wuhan, Hubei Province, which have been confirmed as '2019 corona virus disease' caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). SARS-CoV-2 virus can invade many human systems including the lungs. Patients with central nervous system involvement may show a series of neurological symptoms, which is easy to be misdiagnosed and neglected, thereby increasing the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Hereditary ataxia is a large group of neurodegenerative diseases with great clinical and genetic heterogeneity and high mortality and disability. In view of the seriousness of the COVID-19 epidemic, a series of prevention and control measures adopted by the government have restricted the follow-up, diagnosis and treatment of patients by the hospitals, which has a great impact on their mental and physical health. In order to standardize the management of patients during the prevention and control of COVID-19 epidemic, the Specialized Committee of Neurogenetics of the Neurophysician Branch of Chinese Medical Doctor Association has formulated this consensus, with an aim to help patients to overcome the difficulties and pass the epidemic prevention period safely.
Betacoronavirus ; China ; epidemiology ; Consensus ; Coronavirus Infections ; complications ; epidemiology ; Epidemics ; Health Status ; Humans ; Mental Health ; Nervous System Diseases ; virology ; Pandemics ; Pneumonia, Viral ; complications ; epidemiology ; Spinocerebellar Degenerations ; complications ; diagnosis ; prevention & control ; therapy

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the psychological and behavior status of minor children of medical staff in Hubei province during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic. METHODS: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted through WeChat from March 13 to 15, 2020, which included a general data questionnaire and Conners parental assessment questionnaire (PSQ). The questionnaires received from outside of Hubei province were excluded through IP address, and the questionnaires with answer time <150 s were also excluded. The influence of parental work status on the psychological behavior was analyzed in children of different age groups. RESULTS: A total of 391 valid questionnaires were collected, there were 207 males (52.9%) and 184 females (47.1%); 91 (23.3%) aged 3 to 6, 183 (46.8%) aged 6 to 10, and 117 (29.9%) aged 10 to 16. Both parents were medical staff in 87 participants(22.3%), one parent was medical staff in 139(35.5%) participants, and no parents were medical staff in 165 (42.2%) participants. In 3-<6 years group, there was no significant difference in the PSQ scores of the children in each factor level (all >0.05) between children with parents as medical staff and those without. In 6-<10 years group, children with both parents as medical staff had higher hyperactivity-impulse factor score, learning problem factor score and total score than those without parents as medical staff (all <0.05), while they had higher learning problem factor score than those with one parent as medical staff (<0.05); the anxiety score of children with one or both parents as medical staff was higher than that of those without parents as medical staff (all <0.05). In 10 to 16 years group, the behavior problems, learning problems, hyperactivity-impulse, more dynamic index and the total score in children with one parent as medical staff were lower than those with both parents as medical staff or without parents as medical staff (<0.05 or <0.01); while there were no significant differences in psychosomatic problems, anxiety factor scores between children with one parent as medical staff and other two groups (all >0.05). CONCLUSIONS s During COVID-19 epidemic period, the psychological and behavior status of minor children of Hubei medical staff with different ages shows differences with those without parents as medical staff, particularly in 6-<10 years and 10 to 16 year groups. It is necessary to pay attention to the psychological and behavioral status of children of medical staff in these age groups.
Adolescent ; Betacoronavirus ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Coronavirus ; Coronavirus Infections ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Medical Staff ; statistics & numerical data ; Mental Health ; statistics & numerical data ; Pandemics ; Pneumonia, Viral ; Surveys and Questionnaires

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the usage of mental health assistance hotline during COVID-19 in Zhejiang province from January 25th to February 29th 2020, and summarize the characteristics of the demand for mental health services and the dynamic changes of public mental health status during COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used. The calls related to pandemic were divided into four categories: medical, psychological, information and the others. The secondary categories of psychological calls were determined by text analysis. The number of calls were calculated weekly and the number of various types of calls over time were analyzed. We used stratified random sampling method to extract 600 cases of all kinds of calls related to pandemic and conducted a semantic analysis, through marking new, similar combination to form a feature set, then summed up the call content characteristics of each stage. Two hundred callers were followed up to understand how they felt about the call process in four aspects: the waiting time, call duration, the degree of problem-solving and the way to end the call. RESULTS: In a total of 13 746 calls, 8978 were related to pandemic, among which 12.59%(1130/8978) were about medical issues, 26.50%(2379/8978) were about mental health, 27.18%(2440/8978) were about information regarding the pandemic and 33.74%(3029/8978) were about other pandemic related issues. Pandemic situation, relevant policy release, frequency of advertising campaigns were predictors of the number of calls per day during the pandemic (<0.05 or <0.01). The number of calls differed by gender and identities of callers (both <0.05). Finally 181 callers accepted telephone follow-up. Among them, 51.38%(93/181) of the callers thought that the waiting time was too long, 33.15%(60/181) of the callers thought that the call time was insufficient, 80.66%(146/181) of callers believed that the hotline could partially or completely resolve their concerns, and 39.23%(71/181) of the callers said the operator proposed to end the call. CONCLUSIONS s The changes of the number and content of the mental health assistance hotline calls reflected that the public mental health status experienced four stages during the pandemic: confusion, panic, boredom, and adjustment. The specialized mental health assistance hotlines should be further strengthened, and the efficiency should be improved. Mental health interventions should be tailored and adopted according to the characteristics of the public mental health status at different stages of the pandemic.
China ; epidemiology ; Coronavirus Infections ; epidemiology ; Hotlines ; statistics & numerical data ; Humans ; Mental Health ; statistics & numerical data ; Pandemics ; statistics & numerical data ; Pneumonia, Viral ; epidemiology ; Public Health ; statistics & numerical data

OBJECTIVE: To establish a SEIR epidemic dynamics model that can be used to evaluate the COVID-19 epidemic, and to predict and evaluate the COVID-19 epidemic in Hubei province using the proposed model. METHODS: COVID-19 SEIR transmission dynamics model was established, which took transmission ability in latent period and tracking quarantine interventions into consideration. Based on the epidemic data of Hubei province from January 23, 2020 to February 24, 2020, the parameters of the newly established modified SEIR model were fitted. By using Euler integral algorithm to solve the modified SEIR dynamics model, the epidemic situation in Hubei province was analyzed, and the impact of prevention and control measures such as quarantine and centralized treatment on the epidemic development was discussed. RESULTS: The theoretical estimation of the epidemic situation by the modified SEIR epidemic dynamics model is in good agreement with the actual situation in Hubei province. Theoretical analysis showed that prevention and control quarantine and medical follow-up quarantine played an important inhibitory effect on the outbreak of the epidemic.The centralized treatment played a key role in the rapid decline in the number of infected people. In addition, it is suggested that individuals should improve their prevention awareness and take strict self-protection measures to curb the increase in infected people. CONCLUSIONS The modified SEIR model is reliable in the evaluation of COVID-19 epidemic in Hubei province, which provides a theoretical reference for the decision-making of epidemic interventions.
Algorithms ; Betacoronavirus ; isolation & purification ; China ; epidemiology ; Coronavirus Infections ; epidemiology ; Humans ; Models, Biological ; Pandemics ; Pneumonia, Viral ; epidemiology

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a grade B infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). In pace with the spreading of the disease, biosafety risk of the biological specimen preservation in biobanks has been significantly increased and biosafety protection during biological specimen preservation become increasingly important. According to the related national rules and the corresponding guidelines of Chinese Medical Association, this paper introduced the etiology about SARS-CoV-2, epidemiology about COVID-19, and the biosafety protection principles of individuals and biological specimen storage places in the process of personal protection, protection of collection, transport, handling, preservation, detection, post-detection disposal and emergencies of biological specimen. Emphasized to carry out a strict biosafety-risk assessment on biological specimen basing on virus load information, infectivity, and sample type (possible contact transmission, aerosol transmission, and fecal oral transmission).
Betacoronavirus ; isolation & purification ; Containment of Biohazards ; standards ; Coronavirus Infections ; epidemiology ; prevention & control ; transmission ; Humans ; Pandemics ; prevention & control ; Pneumonia, Viral ; epidemiology ; prevention & control ; transmission ; Prevalence ; Risk Assessment ; Specimen Handling ; standards

The current epidemic situation of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) still remained severe. As the National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine is the primary medical care center for COVID-19 in Zhejiang province. Based on the present expert consensus carried out by National Health Commission and National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, our team summarized and established an effective treatment strategy centered on "Four-Anti and Two-Balance" for clinical practice. The "Four-Anti and Two-Balance" strategy included antivirus, anti-shock, anti-hyoxemia, anti-secondary infection, and maintaining of water, electrolyte and acid base balance and microecological balance. Meanwhile, integrated multidisciplinary personalized treatment was recommended to improve therapeutic effect. The importance of early viralogical detection, dynamic monitoring of inflammatory indexes and chest radiograph was emphasized in clinical decision-making. Sputum was observed with the highest positive rate of RT-PCR results. Viral nucleic acids could be detected in 10%patients' blood samples at acute period and 50%of patients had positive RT-PCR results in their feces. We also isolated alive viral strains from feces, indicating potential infectiousness of feces.Dynamic cytokine detection was necessary to timely identifying cytokine storms and application of artificial liver blood purification system. The "Four-Anti and Two-Balance" strategy effectively increased cure rate and reduced mortality. Early antiviral treatment could alleviate disease severity and prevent illness progression, and we found lopinavir/ritonavir combined with abidol showed antiviral effects in COVID-19. Shock and hypoxemia were usually caused by cytokine storms. The artificial liver blood purification system could rapidly remove inflammatory mediators and block cytokine storm.Moreover, it also favored the balance of fluid, electrolyte and acid-base and thus improved treatment efficacy in critical illness. For cases of severe illness, early and also short period of moderate glucocorticoid was supported. Patients with oxygenation index below 200 mmHg should be transferred to intensive medical center. Conservative oxygen therapy was preferred and noninvasive ventilation was not recommended. Patients with mechanical ventilation should be strictly supervised with cluster ventilator-associated pneumonia prevention strategies. Antimicrobial prophylaxis was not recommended except for patients with long course of disease, repeated fever and elevated procalcitonin (PCT), meanwhile secondary fungal infection should be concerned.Some patients with COVID-19 showed intestinal microbial dysbiosis with decreased probiotics such as and , so nutritional and gastrointestinal function should be assessed for all patients.Nutritional support and application of prebiotics or probiotics were suggested to regulate the balance of intestinal microbiota and reduce the risk of secondary infection due to bacterial translocation. Anxiety and fear were common in patients with COVID-19. Therefore,we established dynamic assessment and warning for psychological crisis. We also integrated Chinese medicine in treatment to promote disease rehabilitation through classification methods of traditional Chinese medicine. We optimized nursing process for severe patients to promote their rehabilitation. It remained unclear about viral clearance pattern after the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Therefore, two weeks' quarantine for discharged patients was required and a regular following up was also needed.The Zhejiang experience and suggestions have been implemented in our center and achieved good results. However, since COVID-19 was a newly emerging disease, more work was warranted to improve strategies of prevention, diagnosis and treatment for COVID-19.
Betacoronavirus ; isolation & purification ; China ; epidemiology ; Coronavirus Infections ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; therapy ; virology ; Disease Management ; Early Diagnosis ; Feces ; virology ; Humans ; Pandemics ; Pneumonia, Viral ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; therapy ; virology ; Sputum ; virology

A novel coronavirus that emerged in late 2019 rapidly spread around the world. Most severe cases need endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation, and some mild cases may need emergent surgery under general anesthesia. The novel coronavirus was reported to transmit via droplets, contact and natural aerosols from human to human. Therefore, aerosol-producing procedures such as endotracheal intubation and airway suction may put the healthcare providers at high risk of nosocomial infection. Based on recently published articles, this review provides detailed feasible recommendations for primary anesthesiologists on infection prevention in operating room during COVID-19 outbreak.
Anesthesiologists ; standards ; Betacoronavirus ; Coronavirus Infections ; epidemiology ; prevention & control ; transmission ; Cross Infection ; epidemiology ; prevention & control ; transmission ; Disease Outbreaks ; prevention & control ; Humans ; Intubation, Intratracheal ; methods ; standards ; Operating Rooms ; methods ; standards ; Pandemics ; prevention & control ; Pneumonia, Viral ; epidemiology ; prevention & control ; transmission

Betacoronavirus ; COVID-19 ; Cardiovascular Diseases/complications* ; Consensus ; Coronavirus Infections/epidemiology* ; Epidemics ; Humans ; Pandemics ; Pneumonia, Viral/epidemiology* ; SARS-CoV-2