Oct 21st, 2020 - During the world-wide coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, there is an urgent need to rapidly increase the readiness of hospitals. Emergency departments (EDs) are at high risk of facing unusual situations and need to prepare extensively in order to minimize risks to health care providers (HCPs) and patients. In situ simulation is a well-known method used in training to detect system ga...

Oct 21st, 2020 - The COVID-19 pandemic has swept the world like a gigantic tsunami, turning social and economic activities upside down. This paper presents some of the innovative response strategies implemented by the public health system, healthcare facilities, and government in South Korea, which has been hailed as the model country for its success in containing COVID-19. Korea reinvented its public health in...

Oct 20th, 2020 - Reports from patients and health care workers dealing with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) underscore experiences of isolation and fear. Some of this experience results from the distancing effect of masks, gloves, and gowns known as personal protective equipment (PPE). One approach to bridging the divide created by PPE is the use of PPE portraits, postcard-sized pictures affixed to PPE. Our...

Oct 20th, 2020 - Introduction Infection prevention strategies to protect health care workers in the endoscopy unit during the post-peak phase of the COVID-19 pandemic are currently under intense discussion. In this paper, the cost-effectiveness of routine pre-endoscopy testing and high-risk personal protective equipment (PPE) is addressed. Methods A model based on theoretical assumptions of 10,000 asymptomatic ...

Oct 19th, 2020 - During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, infection prevention and control (IP&C) for women in labor and mothers and newborns during delivery and receiving post-partum care was quite challenging for staff, patients, and support persons due to a relative lack of evidence-based practices, high rates of community transmission, and shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE). We presen...

Oct 17th, 2020 - In patient-facing healthcare workers delivering secondary care, what is the evidence behind UK Government personal protective equipment (PPE) guidance on surgical masks versus respirators for SARS-CoV-2 protection? Two independent reviewers performed a rapid review. Appraisal was performed using Critical Appraisal Skills Programme checklists and Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Developme...

Oct 16th, 2020 - This study aimed to evaluate the comfort of personal protective equipment (PPE) used during the COVID-19 and attitudes of healthcare professionals regarding the use of PPE. Descriptive research was conducted with 553 healthcare professionals, who work in a pandemic center in Turkey. Findings showed that all participants used masks, 99.3% wore gloves, 89% wore protective glasses, and 89% wore ap...

Oct 15th, 2020 - This survey investigated the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the clinical practice of endodontics among the AAE members by evaluating the impact on clinical activities, patient screening, infection control measurements, potential transmission, clinical protocols as well as psychological concerns. A descriptive, cross-sectional survey was developed to query AAE members from all seven district...

Oct 13th, 2020 - The current COVID-19 outbreak in conjunction with the need to provide safe dental treatments, and the limited knowledge on the efficacy of protective measures has posed dentists into a challenging situation. Therefore, the present article aimed at collecting experiences and recommendations of front-line clinical experts on critical aspects of dental treatment provision during pandemic. From a t...

Oct 13th, 2020 - The COVID-19 pandemic has changed working conditions for emergency surgical teams around the world. International surgical societies have issued clinical recommendations to optimize surgical management. This international study aimed to assess the degree of emergency surgical teams' adoption of recommendations during the pandemic. Emergency surgical team members from over 30 countries were invi...

Oct 13th, 2020 - COVID-19 (coronavirus viral disease 2019), due to the novel SARS-CoV-2, may present with different types of cutaneous manifestations of varying pathophysiology. During the ongoing pandemic, publications reporting dermatologic findings in COVID-19 continue to emerge. Cutaneous vasculopathy and microthrombus-related changes including acral and sacral lesions, retiform purpura, livedo reticularis,...

Oct 13th, 2020 - During the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic there is unprecedented demand for personal protective equipment (PPE), especially N95 respirators and surgical masks. The ability of SARS-CoV-2 to be transmitted via respiratory droplets from asymptomatic individuals has necessitated increased usage of both N95 respirators in the healthcare setting and masks (both surgical and homemade) in public spaces. T...

Oct 12th, 2020 - During the course of the Novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, Italy has reported one of the highest number of infections. Nearly ten percent of reported coronavirus infections in Italy occurred in healthcare workers. This study aimed to understand physicians' access to personal protective equipment (PPE) and to information about their use, risk perception and strategies adopted to prevent c...

Oct 11th, 2020 - Introducing a new, simple and inexpensive portable equipment for lifeguards, consisting of a pre-assembled full-size plastic blanket with a mask and HEPA filter, which could offer significant time-saving advantages to reduce COVID-19 risk transmission in the first few minutes of CPR after water rescue, avoiding the negative impact of delayed ventilation. A pilot study was carried out to determi...

Oct 9th, 2020 - Almost half of COVID-19 related deaths in the United States are linked to nursing homes (NHs). We describe among short-term and long-term residents at three NHs in Michigan the outbreak identification process, universal testing, point prevalence of COVID- 19, and subsequent containment efforts, outcomes, and challenges. Outbreak investigation. Three NHs in Southeast Michigan. All residents (N =...

Oct 9th, 2020 - This study aimed to investigate the response of the radiology workforce to the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on professional practice in India and eight other Middle Eastern and North African countries. It further investigated the levels of fear and anxiety among this workforce during the pandemic. A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted using an online s...

Oct 9th, 2020 - The current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to unprecedented needs for invasive ventilation, with 10% to 15% of intubated patients subsequently requiring tracheotomy. To assess the complications, safety, and timing of tracheotomy performed for critically ill patients with COVID-19. This prospective cohort study assessed consecutive patients admitted to the intensive care un...

Oct 9th, 2020 - In this paper, we predict the health and economic consequences of immediate investment in personal protective equipment (PPE) for health care workers (HCWs) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). To account for health consequences, we estimated mortality for HCWs and present a cost-effectiveness and return on investment (ROI) analysis using a decision-analytic model with Bayesian multivar...

Oct 8th, 2020 - Health workers (HWs) are at increased risk for severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and a possible source of nosocomial transmission clusters. Despite the increased risk, the best surveillance strategy and management of exposed HWs are not yet well known. The aim of this review was to summarize and critically analyze the existing evidence related to this topic ...

Oct 7th, 2020 - This study aimed to analyze the psychological consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on nursing home workers, as well as the influence of certain related stressors and job resources. Two-hundred twenty-eight nursing home workers in Spain participated in this cross-sectional study. High levels of workload, social pressure from work, contact with suffering, and fear of contagion were found. In nur...