(Refresh the page or download this document incase the PDF doesn’t load properly)
COVID-19 : Should Healthcare Workers Wear Masks at Home?
Wearing a mask at home, even when everyone is feeling fine, might reduce the risk of frontline healthcare workers transmitting SARS-CoV-2 infection to their families, a recent study from China suggests. But the benefits might not outweigh the costs, according to several physicians interviewed.
“My gut reaction is that home mask use for healthcare workers would place an inordinately high burden on those healthcare workers and their families,” said Jeanne Noble, MD, an emergency care physician at the University of California, San Francisco. “Wearing a mask for a 10-hour shift already represents significant physical discomfort, causing sores across the nose and behind the ears. The emotional toll of the physical distance that comes with mask use, with limited facial expression, is also quite real.”
The suggested benefit of home mask use comes from research published online May 28 in BMJ Global Health. To assess predictors of household transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection, Yu Wang, MD, of the Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, and colleagues conducted a retrospective study of 124 families in Beijing in which there was a confirmed case of COVID-19 as of February 21. The researchers surveyed family members by telephone about household hygiene and behaviors during the pandemic to examine risk factors for transmission.
COVID-19 : Revised Guidelines For International Arrivals
(Refresh the page or download this document incase the PDF doesn’t load properly)
COVID-19 : When To Wear Mask ????
COVID-19 : Risk of Post-surgery Complications
A UK-led global study shows COVID-19 patients who undergo surgery are at increased risk of postoperative death and pulmonary complications.
Mortality rates for coronavirus patients after surgery approached those of the most seriously ill patients admitted to intensive care after contracting the virus in the community.
Global Study
Experts at the University of Birmingham-led National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Global Health Research Unit on Global Surgery published their findings in The Lancet. The study was an international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries, and included 1128 patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery.
The study showed that pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (51·2%) patients, in whom the 30-day mortality was 38·0% (219 of 577), which accounted for 81·7% (219 of 268) of all deaths. Independent risk factors for mortality included male sex, age 70 years or older, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status classification grades 3–5, surgery for malignant disease, emergency surgery, and major surgery. Overall 30-day mortality was 23·8% (268 of 1128 patients).
COVID-19 : Unlock 3.0 Guidelines
(Refresh the page or download this document incase the PDF doesn’t load properly)
COVID-19 : Dexamethasone Trial Confirms Its Benefits in Treatment
Full results of a randomised clinical trial into low-dose dexamethasone confirmed earlier preliminary findings that it could save the lives of up to a third of hospitalised patients with severe respiratory complications from COVID-19.
The RECOVERY (Randomised Evaluation of COVid-19 thERapY) trial led by the University of Oxford found that the use of dexamethasone resulted in lower 28-day mortality among those receiving either invasive mechanical ventilation or oxygen alone.
However, there was “no clear effect” of dexamethasone for patients who were not receiving respiratory support.
In the controlled, open-label trial, 2104 patients were randomly assigned to receive 6 mg of oral or intravenous dexamethasone once daily for up to 10 days, while 4321 patients were assigned to receive usual care.