1.Decrease in emergency department attendances during COVID-19 especially in school-going children.
Hannah Hui En ANG ; Eunizar OMAR ; Jen Heng PEK
Annals of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore 2021;50(2):184-187
Adolescent
;
COVID-19/prevention & control*
;
Child
;
Child, Preschool
;
Emergency Service, Hospital/trends*
;
Facilities and Services Utilization/trends*
;
Female
;
Health Policy
;
Humans
;
Infant
;
Infant, Newborn
;
Male
;
Pandemics
;
Patient Acceptance of Health Care/statistics & numerical data*
;
Retrospective Studies
;
Singapore/epidemiology*
2.No Effects of Meteorological Factors on the SARS-CoV-2 Infection Fatality Rate.
Aleix SOLANES ; Carlos LAREDO ; Mar GUASP ; Miquel Angel FULLANA ; Lydia FORTEA ; Ignasi GARCIA-OLIVÉ ; Marco SOLMI ; Jae Il SHIN ; Xabier URRA ; Joaquim RADUA
Biomedical and Environmental Sciences 2021;34(11):871-880
Objective:
Previous studies have shown that meteorological factors may increase COVID-19 mortality, likely due to the increased transmission of the virus. However, this could also be related to an increased infection fatality rate (IFR). We investigated the association between meteorological factors (temperature, humidity, solar irradiance, pressure, wind, precipitation, cloud coverage) and IFR across Spanish provinces (
Methods:
We estimated IFR as excess deaths (the gap between observed and expected deaths, considering COVID-19-unrelated deaths prevented by lockdown measures) divided by the number of infections (SARS-CoV-2 seropositive individuals plus excess deaths) and conducted Spearman correlations between meteorological factors and IFR across the provinces.
Results:
We estimated 2,418,250 infections and 43,237 deaths. The IFR was 0.03% in < 50-year-old, 0.22% in 50-59-year-old, 0.9% in 60-69-year-old, 3.3% in 70-79-year-old, 12.6% in 80-89-year-old, and 26.5% in ≥ 90-year-old. We did not find statistically significant relationships between meteorological factors and adjusted IFR. However, we found strong relationships between low temperature and unadjusted IFR, likely due to Spain's colder provinces' aging population.
Conclusion
The association between meteorological factors and adjusted COVID-19 IFR is unclear. Neglecting age differences or ignoring COVID-19-unrelated deaths may severely bias COVID-19 epidemiological analyses.
Adult
;
Aged
;
Aged, 80 and over
;
COVID-19/virology*
;
Humans
;
Meteorological Concepts
;
Middle Aged
;
Pandemics/statistics & numerical data*
;
SARS-CoV-2/physiology*
;
Spain/epidemiology*
;
Weather
;
Young Adult
3.Educational case series of electrocardiographs during the COVID-19 pandemic and the implications for therapy.
Ching-Hui SIA ; Jinghao Nicholas NGIAM ; Nicholas CHEW ; Darius Lian Lian BEH ; Kian Keong POH
Singapore medical journal 2020;61(8):406-412
Adenosine Monophosphate
;
analogs & derivatives
;
therapeutic use
;
Adult
;
Aged
;
Alanine
;
analogs & derivatives
;
therapeutic use
;
Anti-Arrhythmia Agents
;
therapeutic use
;
Arrhythmias, Cardiac
;
diagnosis
;
epidemiology
;
Coronavirus Infections
;
diagnosis
;
drug therapy
;
epidemiology
;
Echocardiography
;
Electrocardiography
;
methods
;
statistics & numerical data
;
Female
;
Follow-Up Studies
;
Humans
;
Male
;
Pandemics
;
statistics & numerical data
;
Pneumonia, Viral
;
diagnosis
;
drug therapy
;
epidemiology
;
Sampling Studies
;
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
;
diagnosis
;
epidemiology
;
Singapore
;
Treatment Outcome
4.Trauma and orthopaedics in the COVID-19 pandemic: breaking every wave.
Keng Jin Darren TAY ; Yee Han Dave LEE
Singapore medical journal 2020;61(8):396-398
Coronavirus Infections
;
epidemiology
;
prevention & control
;
Elective Surgical Procedures
;
statistics & numerical data
;
Female
;
Humans
;
Infection Control
;
methods
;
Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional
;
prevention & control
;
Male
;
Occupational Health
;
statistics & numerical data
;
Orthopedic Procedures
;
methods
;
statistics & numerical data
;
Outcome Assessment, Health Care
;
Pandemics
;
prevention & control
;
statistics & numerical data
;
Patient Safety
;
statistics & numerical data
;
Pneumonia, Viral
;
epidemiology
;
prevention & control
;
Risk Assessment
;
Safety Management
;
Singapore
;
Wounds and Injuries
;
diagnosis
;
epidemiology
;
surgery
5.A midpoint perspective on the COVID-19 pandemic.
Li Yang HSU ; Po Ying CHIA ; Shawn VASOO
Singapore medical journal 2020;61(7):381-383
6.Qualitative study on working experience of COVID-19 care nurses.
Jinying WANG ; Jiangjuan HE ; Jianmei ZHU ; Jiangying QIU ; Huafen WANG ; Hongzhen XU
Journal of Zhejiang University. Medical sciences 2020;49(4):480-486
OBJECTIVE:
To study the working experience of COVID-19 care nurses.
METHODS:
Twenty two nurses taking care of COVID-19 patients were interviewed by means of descriptive phenomenology. All the data were transcribed and recorded, and then processed into WORD documents. The Colaizzi 7 footwork was used to classify, encode, establish nodes and extract themes based on Nvivo11.0 software.
RESULTS:
Two main themes were extracted: one is the positive feelings of nurses, including the sense of professional mission and pride, the sense of achievement and happiness, the improvement of self-worth and ability, the powerful support system and the power of role models; the other is the negative experience of nurses, including the worry and anxiety at work, the lack of experience and trust, the difficulty of work, and the inconvenience of isolating life.
CONCLUSIONS
s While fully affirming the work value of nurses, it is necessary for the society, hospitals and patients to give extensive and continuous support, care and respect to nurses, so as to stimulate their working enthusiasm and sense of professional achievement. Hospital managers need to implement all kinds of security work, meet the safety needs of nurses, pay attention to the physical and mental health of nurses, strengthen the training of nursing talents for critical and severe diseases and infectious diseases, improve the allocation of human resources, and enhance the ability of material allocation and reserve for major health events, so as to make adequate preparations for coping with public health events in the future.
Betacoronavirus
;
Coronavirus Infections
;
Hospitals
;
statistics & numerical data
;
Humans
;
Nurses
;
statistics & numerical data
;
Pandemics
;
Pneumonia, Viral
;
Qualitative Research
;
Workplace
;
statistics & numerical data
7.Psychological and behavior status of minor children of medical staff during the COVID-19 epidemic in Hubei province.
Li GUO ; Shiqian BAI ; Jingyi FAN
Journal of Zhejiang University. Medical sciences 2020;49(4):474-479
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
8.Impact of public health emergency on public psychology: analysis of mental health assistance hotlines during COVID-19 in Zhejiang province.
Weidan WANG ; Fangzhong XU ; Songquan XU ; Jianmin ZHANG ; Ning ZHANG
Journal of Zhejiang University. Medical sciences 2020;49(4):409-418
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
9.Follow-up testing of viral nucleic acid in discharged patients with moderate type of COVID-19.
Youjiang LI ; Yingying HU ; Xiaodong ZHANG ; Yuanyuan YU ; Bin LI ; Jianguo WU ; Yingping WU ; Xiaoping XIA ; Jian XU
Journal of Zhejiang University. Medical sciences 2020;49(2):270-274
OBJECTIVE:
To investigate the clinical outcome of patients with moderate type of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) after discharge by retesting viral nucleic acid.
METHODS:
Seven patients with moderate COVID-19 met the discharge criteria enacted by National Health Commission were quarantined in hospital for 7 days, then continuously quarantined at home for 4 weeks after discharged. During the quarantined period, the symptoms and signs were documented, and sputum or nasal swab and feces samples were collected to test SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid by RT-PCR method.
RESULTS:
There was no symptoms and signs during the quarantine period in all 7 patients. However, respiratory swabs from 3 patients were confirmed positive of SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid at 5 to 7 days after they met the discharge criteria.
CONCLUSIONS
There is a relatively high incidence of positive viral nucleic acid in patients met the discharge criteria, and it is suggested that patients met the current discharge criteria should be quarantined in hospital for another 7 days and the follow-up viral testing is necessary.
Betacoronavirus
;
isolation & purification
;
Coronavirus Infections
;
diagnosis
;
Feces
;
chemistry
;
virology
;
Follow-Up Studies
;
Humans
;
Pandemics
;
Patient Discharge
;
statistics & numerical data
;
Pneumonia, Viral
;
diagnosis
;
Quarantine
;
statistics & numerical data
;
RNA, Viral
;
analysis
;
Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
;
Time Factors
10.Analysis of medication characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine in treating coronavirus disease-19 based on data mining.
Tiantian FAN ; Yongcan CHEN ; Yu BAI ; Fengqi MA ; Hengcang WANG ; Yiping YANG ; Jinxu CHEN ; Yuqi LIN
Journal of Zhejiang University. Medical sciences 2020;49(1):260-269
OBJECTIVE:
To analysis the medication characteristics of the prescriptions issued via open channel by the National and Provincial Health Committee and the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine in treating coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
METHODS:
We collected the data of traditional Chinese medicine related to treatment plans published by the National and Provincial Health Committee and the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine from the start of COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan to February 19, 2020. The frequency analysis, cluster analysis and correlation analysis were performed.
RESULTS:
The study collected 4 national and 34 regional prevention and treatment plans, 578 items, 84 traditional Chinese formulations, 60 Chinese patent medicines, and 230 Chinese herbs. The high frequently used herbs were , , , and . The commonly used traditional formulations included Decoction, Powder, and Decoction. The Chinese patent drugs included Pill, Injection, and Capsule. The most common paired medications were and , and . Two core combinations and one novel formula were discovered in the study.
CONCLUSIONS
Powder and Decoction are the basic formulations for syndrome of COVID-19. In addition, Decoction, Powder, Decoction and Decoction are the basic formulations for syndrome of COVID-19. The main medication characteristics are clearing heat, entilating lung, removing toxicity and removing turbidity. It shows that removing toxicity and eliminating evil are the prescription thought in treating epidemic disease of traditional Chinese medicine.
Betacoronavirus
;
Cluster Analysis
;
Coronavirus Infections
;
therapy
;
Data Mining
;
Drugs, Chinese Herbal
;
analysis
;
therapeutic use
;
Humans
;
Medicine, Chinese Traditional
;
statistics & numerical data
;
Pandemics
;
Pneumonia, Viral
;
therapy

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