Reflections on Nursing Ingenuity During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The Journal of neuroscience nursing: journal of the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses

Newby, Jamison C.; Mabry, Madison C.; Carlisle, Byron A.; Olson, DaiWai M.; Lane, Blair E.

Abstract

Introduction: This reflections article provides insight toward nursing innovations to reduce the overuse of personal protective equipment while maintaining a safe environment for staff taking care of COVID-19 patients. The secondary aim of this paper to capitalize on recent advances in mass electronic communication through social media to encourage nurses across the globe to share their knowledge and expertise during this pandemic.The many innovations that have been implemented fall into 3 categories of: reducing unnecessary use of personal protective equipment (PPE), promoting staff safety and readiness, and reducing foot traffic.

Summary: These strategies are being shared to promote dissemination of innovative nursing interventions that will save lives during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords

Clinical aspects, diagnosis, treatment

COVID-19 Global Pandemic: Options for Management of Gynecologic Cancers

International journal of gynecological cancer: official journal of the International Gynecological Cancer Society

Ramirez, Pedro T.; Chiva, Luis; Eriksson, Ane Gerda Z.; Frumovitz, Michael; Fagotti, Anna; Gonzalez Martin, Antonio; Jhingran, Anuja; Pareja, Rene

Abstract

Our world is facing a devastating crisis in the growing pandemic associated with the coronavirus (COVID-19) disease. As many nations take steps to implement strategies to contain the spread of this disease, we continue to see the tremendous impact this is having on the numerous healthcare workers who unite to overcome this tragic infection. We also recognize the concerns by both physicians and patients as it pertains to the management of patients diagnosed with cancer. We recognize that in this special situation we must continue to provide our gynecologic oncology patients with the highest quality of medical services and at the same time assure that we maximize the safety not only of our patients and their families but also of the medical staff and all associated teams that care for patients both in the inpatient and outpatient settings. To that end, the Editorial Team of the International Journal of Gynecological Cancer have compiled evidence-based data using established guidelines to propose strategies to optimize care of our patients while at the same time offering potential options to alleviate the burden to the healthcare system when resources may need to be diverted to the direct care of patients affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) disease. Our proposal is intended as a tool for consideration and certainly not as a strategy for permanent change in patterns of practice. The goal is to share options, as gathered collectively by our team, in both the management and surveillance of patients diagnosed with gynecologic cancers during this time of global crisis.

Keywords

Epidemiology

The Anesthesiologist and COVID-19

Brazilian Journal of Anesthesiology (English Edition)

Vinícius CaldeiraQuintão, Cláudia MarquezSimões, Laís Helena Navarro eLima, Guilherme Antônio Moreira deBarros, Marcello FonsecaSalgado-Filho, Gabriel Magalhães NunesGuimarãesfRodrigo LealAlves, Ana Maria MenezesCaetano, André PratoSchmidt, Maria José Carvalho Carmona 

Abstract

In December 2019, China reported clusters of pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, epidemiologically related to transmission from animals. On December, 31, 2019, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention of China described a new coronavirus and announced the first stage of an outbreak. In addition to coronavirus SARS-CoV and coronavirus MERS-CoV, the world would be facing a new virus that was named SARS-CoV-2, which could lead to a severe acute respiratory syndrome and was named by the World Health Organization Covid-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019).

Keywords

Epidemiology

How Sick Will The Coronavirus Make You? The Answer May Be In Your Genes

Science

Kaiser, Jocelyn

Introduction

COVID-19, caused by the new pandemic coronavirus, is strangely—and tragically—selective. Only some infected people get sick, and although most of the critically ill are elderly or have complicating problems such as heart disease, some killed by the disease are previously healthy and even relatively young. Researchers are now gearing up to scour the patients’ genomes for DNA variations that explain this mystery. The findings could be used to identify those most at risk of serious illness and those who might be protected, and they might also guide the search for new treatments.

Keywords

Clinical Aspects, Diagnosis, Treatment

Weakened Defences

New Scientist
Volume 245, Issue 3275, 28 March 2020, Pages 20-21

Whyte, Chelsea

Introduction

The way society functions in the US has made it more vulnerable to pandemics. Could things be different, asks Chelsea Whyte.

The coronavirus outbreak is a once-in-a-century event – and it seems the US has spent the past 100 years unwittingly weakening its defences.

In fact, the US is probably the developed economy with the worst type of healthcare system to tackle COVID-19. Many economic and healthcare policies it has enacted don't prioritise public health, and it is finding out first-hand how dangerous that can be.

The impact of this has been seen in the past month or so in the lack of testing – as of 23 March, the US has done 238,632 tests compared with 338,036 in South Korea, a far smaller country.

Keywords

Epidemiology

Separated pathways in the endoscopy unit for COVID-19 patients

Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

Valdivia, Pablo Cortegoso; le Grazie, Marco; Gaiani, Federica; Decembrino, Francesco; Luigi de’Angelis, Gian.

To the Editor:

Recently, Repici et al1 proposed a model for prevention of COVID-19 infection spread in endoscopic units. The topic is of utmost importance because of the potential for fecal–oral transmission of the SARS-CoV-2,2 its prolonged persistence on different surfaces,3 and the fact that, from now on, an increasing number of procedures in patients known to be COVID-19 positive will be performed.

Keywords

Clinical aspects, diagnosis, treatment

$100M in Dislocated Worker grants available

Federal Grants & Contracts
Volume 44, 2020, Issue

.

About

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has announced the availability of up to $100 million for Dislocated Worker Grants (DWGs) to help address the workforce‐related impacts of the public health emergency related to COVID‐19, also known as novel coronavirus.

“As Americans make sacrifices to combat the spread of coronavirus, President Trump's priority is to protect and sustain America's workers and their families,” U.S. Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia said in a statement. “The availability of Dislocated Worker Grants will help states and communities strengthen their economies as we fight to slow the spread of the virus and regain our economic momentum.”

Quarantine Vehicle Scheduling for Transferring High-Risk Individuals in Epidemic Areas

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2020
Volume 17, Issue 7, March 2020, Page 2275

Zhang, Min-Xia; Yan, Hong-Fan; Wu, Jia-Yu; Zheng, Yu-Jun

Abstract

In a large-scale epidemic outbreak, there can be many high-risk individuals to be transferred for medical isolation in epidemic areas. Typically, the individuals are scattered across different locations, and available quarantine vehicles are limited. Therefore, it is challenging to efficiently schedule the vehicles to transfer the individuals to isolated regions to control the spread of the epidemic. In this paper, we formulate such a quarantine vehicle scheduling problem for high-risk individual transfer, which is more difficult than most well-known vehicle routing problems. To efficiently solve this problem, we propose a hybrid algorithm based on the water wave optimization (WWO) metaheuristic and neighborhood search. The metaheuristic uses a small population to rapidly explore the solution space, and the neighborhood search uses a gradual strategy to improve the solution accuracy. Computational results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm significantly outperforms several existing algorithms and obtains high-quality solutions on real-world problem instances for high-risk individual transfer in Hangzhou, China, during the peak period of the novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19).

Keywords

Clinical aspects, diagnosis, treatment; Epidemiology

Public Health Responses to COVID-19 Outbreaks on Cruise Ships - Worldwide, February-March 2020

MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report
Volume 69, March 2020, Issue 12, p 347-352

Moriarty, L. F.; Plucinski, M. M.; Marston, B. J.; Kurbatova, E. V.; Knust, B.; Murray, E. L.; Pesik, N.; Rose, D.; Fitter, D.; Kobayashi, M.; Toda, M.; Canty, P. T.; Scheuer, T.; Halsey, E. S.; Cohen, N. J.; Stockman, L.; Wadford, D. A.; Medley, A. M.; Green, G.; Regan, J. J.; Tardivel, K.; White, S.; Brown, C.; Morales, C.; Yen, C.; Wittry, B.; Freeland, A.; Naramore, S.; Novak, R. T.; Daigle, D.; Weinberg, M.; Acosta, A.; Herzig, C.; Kapella, B. K.; Jacobson, K. R.; Lamba, K.; Ishizumi, A.; Sarisky, J.; Svendsen, E.; Blocher, T.; Wu, C.; Charles, J.; Wagner, R.; Stewart, A.; Mead, P. S.; Kurylo, E.; Campbell, S.; Murray, R.; Weidle, P.; Cetron, M.; Friedman, C. R.

Abstract

An estimated 30 million passengers are transported on 272 cruise ships worldwide each year* (1). Cruise ships bring diverse populations into proximity for many days, facilitating transmission of respiratory illness (2). SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was first identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 and has since spread worldwide to at least 187 countries and territories. Widespread COVID-19 transmission on cruise ships has been reported as well (3). Passengers on certain cruise ship voyages might be aged >/=65 years, which places them at greater risk for severe consequences of SARS-CoV-2 infection (4). During February-March 2020, COVID-19 outbreaks associated with three cruise ship voyages have caused more than 800 laboratory-confirmed cases among passengers and crew, including 10 deaths. Transmission occurred across multiple voyages of several ships. This report describes public health responses to COVID-19 outbreaks on these ships. COVID-19 on cruise ships poses a risk for rapid spread of disease, causing outbreaks in a vulnerable population, and aggressive efforts are required to contain spread. All persons should defer all cruise travel worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords

Epidemiology

The Coronavirus Pandemic: "The Show Must NOT Go On"

The International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
Volume 11, March 2020, Issue 2, pp 63-64

Habibzadeh, F.; Lang, T.

Abstract

This year, the Chinese New Year celebration coincided with the emergence of a SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in the country. The infection soon spread around the world, so that on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a pandemic. In response, many mainstream journals soon began publishing important and relevant articles so that within a short period, numerous articles were available to the very busy health care workers fighting the disease in the front line of the battle. The virus was completely unknown. Most of health professionals were too busy to review the increasing number of published articles, some of which consisted of science intertwined with superstitions…

Keywords

Epidemiology

Policing the Coronavirus Outbreak: Processes and Prospects for Collective Disorder

Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice

Reicher, Stephen; Stott, Clifford

Introduction

This briefing is divided into three parts. First, we outline the factors which lead to incidents of collective disorder (or riots). Second, we consider how the overall response to the coronavirus outbreak, and the role of the police within this response, will impact the probability of such disorder. Third, we apply these understandings to three specific scenarios of potential disorder.

Keywords

Epidemiology

Epidemiology of Covid-19. Reply

The New England Journal of Medicine

Swerdlow, David L.; Finelli, Lyn; Lipsitch, Marc.

Introduction

The absence of COVID-19 testing for NHS staff is causing huge workforce shortages by forcing doctors to self-isolate even if they do not have the virus, the head of the BMA has warned.

The government’s advice is for people with COVID-19 symptoms to stay at home for seven days, but for all other household members who remain well to isolate for 14 days. The BMA council chairman, Chaand Nagpaul, said that the lack of testing for staff was “counter-intuitive” as it was likely to be forcing more staff than necessary to stay away from hospitals and GP surgeries because they do not know if they are infected.

Keywords

Epidemiology

Faith, Politics and the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Turkish Response

Medical anthropology

Alyanak, OÄŸuz.

Introduction

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, in Turkey, all eyes were on Diyanet, the Directorate of Religious Affairs, the country’s highest authority for regulating matters pertaining to Islamic practices. Would the Diyanet, like other religious authorities around the world, propose to close down mosques for a temporary period?

Keywords

Epidemiology

Current Knowledge About The Antivirals Remdesivir (GS-5734) And GS-441524 As Therapeutic Options For Coronaviruses

One Health
Volume 9, June 2020, 100128

Amirian, E. Susan; Levy, Julie K.

Abstract

Recent international epidemics of coronavirus-associated illnesses underscore the urgent medical and public health need for vaccine development and regulatory body approved therapies. In particular, the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has quickly intensified interest in developing treatment options to mitigate impact on human life. Remdesivir (GS-5734™) is a broad-spectrum antiviral drug that is now being tested as a potential treatment for COVID-19 in international, multi-site clinical trials. Currently available evidence about the antiviral effects of remdesivir against coronaviruses is primarily based on in vitro and in vivo studies (including some on a chemically related compound, GS-441524™), which have demonstrated largely favorable findings. As the pandemic progresses, information from human compassionate use cases will continue to accumulate before the clinical trials are concluded. It is imperative for public health practitioners and the One Health community to stay up to date on the most promising potential therapeutic options that are under investigation. Thus, the purpose of this review is to synthesize the knowledge to date about remdesivir as a therapeutic option for coronaviruses, with a special focus on information relevant to the One Health community.

Keywords

Remdesivir, GS-5734, Coronavirus, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Compassionate use

Covid-19: What Do Trainees Need To Know?

BMJ (Clinical Research ed.)
Volume 368, March 2020, m1276-m1276

Rimmer, Abi.

Introduction

Sarah Hallett, chair of the BMA junior doctors committee, answers questions on how the COVID-19 pandemic might affect trainees. This is an unprecedented situation for the NHS and it's likely that many staff, including junior doctors, will be asked to take on roles that may be unfamiliar or that they weren't expecting. We know that this is already happening in places where the pressure is being felt. Junior doctors shouldn't be asked to do anything outside of their own competence levels; if you have concerns about where you are being redeployed, you should raise this with your educational supervisor. When working in a different role, you should be supported and always know who you can escalate to. We would also expect any diversions for junior doctors to be for as short a time as possible. It's important, too, that once pressures ease, junior doctors can return to their training posts and trusts should do all they can to make sure this is the case.

Keywords

Clinical aspects, diagnosis, treatment; Epidemiology

Sicken Thy Neighbour: The Initial Trade Policy Response to COVID-19

The World Economy

Evenett, Simon J.

Introduction

In our interconnected world, whenever a global crisis occurs governments must decide whether discriminating against foreign suppliers is part of the solution? or whether foreign know-how and resources can be tapped for mutual advantage. Decisions to sacrifice open borders on the altar of some other goal are typically influenced by the steps? real or perceived? taken by other governments. At such times, written and unwritten international rules are tested, with consequences that can last well after the crisis dominated headlines. The COVID-19 pandemic is no exception.

Keywords

Ethics, social science, economics

Mitigating the impact of conference and travel cancellations on researchers' futures

eLife
Volume 9, 2020

Weissgerber, T.; Bediako, Y.; de Winde, C. M.; Ebrahimi, H.; Fernandez-Chiappe, F.; Ilangovan, V.; Mehta, D.; Paz Quezada, C.; Riley, J. L.; Saladi, S. M.; Sarabipour, S.; Tay, A.

Abstract

The need to protect public health during the current COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated conference cancellations on an unprecedented scale. As the scientific community adapts to new working conditions, it is important to recognize that some of our actions may disproportionately affect early-career researchers and scientists from countries with limited research funding. We encourage all conference organizers, funders and institutions who are able to do so to consider how they can mitigate the unintended consequences of conference and travel cancellations and we provide seven recommendations for how this could be achieved. The proposed solutions may also offer long-term benefits for those who normally cannot attend conferences, and thus lead to a more equitable future for generations of researchers.

Keywords

Epidemiology; Ethics, social science, economics

Virology, Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, and Control of COVID-19

Viruses
Volume 12, Issue 4, Pages 372-372

Jin, Yuefei; Yang, Haiyan; Ji, Wangquan; Wu, Weidong; Chen, Shuaiyin; Zhang, Weiguo; Duan, Guangcai

Abstract

The outbreak of emerging severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) disease (COVID-19) in China has been brought to global attention and declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020. Scientific advancements since the pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2002~2003 and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) in 2012 have accelerated our understanding of the epidemiology and pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 and the development of therapeutics to treat viral infection. As no specific therapeutics and vaccines are available for disease control, the epidemic of COVID-19 is posing a great threat for global public health. To provide a comprehensive summary to public health authorities and potential readers worldwide, we detail the present understanding of COVID-19 and introduce the current state of development of measures in this review. 

Keywords

SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; epidemiology; pathogenesis; therapeutics

Molecular characterization of SARS-CoV-2 from the first case of COVID-19 in Italy

Clinical Microbiology and Infection

Capobianchi, Maria Rosaria; Rueca, Martina; Messina, Francesco; Giombini, Emanuela; Carletti, Fabrizio; Colavita, Francesca; Castilletti, Concetta; Lalle, Eleonora; Bordi, Licia; Vairo, Francesco; Nicastri, Emanuele; Ippolito, Giuseppe; Maria Gruber, Cesare Ernesto; Bartolini, Barbara

 

To the Editor,

On January 29, 2020, two Chinese spouses (patient 1, female; patient 2, male), coming to Italy as tourists from Hubei province, were hospitalized at the National Institute for Infectious Diseases “L. Spallanzani”, Rome, with fever and respiratory symptoms. SARSCoV-2 diagnosis was accomplished using real-time RT-PCR on a nasopharyngeal swab and sputum for patient 1 and on a nasopharyngeal swab for patient 2, collected 1 day after symptom onset. Partial sequencing confirmed both patients to be infected with SARS-CoV-2

Keywords

Clinical aspects, diagnosis, treatment

Covid-19: Researchers Launch App To Track Spread Of Symptoms In The UK

BMJ (Clinical research ed.)
Volume 368, March 2020, m1263-m1263

Mayor, Susan.

Introduction

Nearly 700 000 people signed up in the first 24 hours of the launch of an app to help track the spread of coronavirus across the UK in real time and collect information on the range of self-reported symptoms and the characteristics of those most at risk.

The Covid Symptom Tracker app (covid.joinzoe.com) enables users to make a daily report of any symptoms. It is available free of charge to members of the public in the UK. The app has also been given to 5000 twins and their families recruited from the ongoing TwinsUK cohort study.

Keywords

Clinical aspects, diagnosis, treatment; Epidemiology