Using "compartment model" dynamics to understand the transmission regularity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during the outbreak period

Targeting the Gut Microbiota in Coronavirus Disease 2019: Hype or Hope?

Addressing COVID-19 Using a Public Health Approach: Perspectives From the Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network

Vaccination

Lasting lessons learnt in the radiology department from the battle with COVID-19

COVID-19 (Corona Virus Disease 2019) has attacked many countries around world and caused profound impacts on public life. The outbreak of pandemic and other relevant factors are considered to cause emotion responses of residents. And the emotion responses of individuals are crucial for the execution of the prevention and control measures. By analyzing the linguistic features of posts on social media, this study aims to explore the change of public emotion responses during COVID-19 in China. We sampled 22,423 Weibo users and collected their Weibo posts by provincial area each day from January 1st, 2020 to April 18th, 2020. Next, we extracted linguistic features from posts according to the emotion-related dictionary. Based on important news and information released by the national and international organizations of public health, we divided the period from January 1st, 2020 to April 18th, 2020 into four stages (the initial period, the outbreak period, the stable period, and the prevention and control period). Then we gathered linguistic features by stage. After that, ANOVA was performed to examine the differences among these four stages. The results showed that the frequencies of 11 word categories showed significant differences among four stages, including fear, disappointment, guilt, missing, anger, panic, blessing, faith, love, praise, and surprise. The uses of several negative emotion words, such as fear, disappointment, guilt, and anger, increased saliently in the outbreak period compared with the initial period. Besides, panic words decreased significantly in the prevention and control period compared with the outbreak period. However, missing words were used more in the prevention and control period than other three periods. Moreover, people expressed more faith words and less love words in the outbreak period than the initial periods. Besides, people used more blessing words in the outbreak period compared with the stable period and prevention and control period. And praise words were used more in the outbreak period and the stable period compared with the initial period. The frequency of surprise words was significantly low only in the initial period. This study contributed to the understanding of public emotion responses during COVID-19, and had implications for the evidence-based execution of prevention and control measures.

The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has rapidly spread across the world from its origin in Wuhan, China in late 2019. The resultant disease (COVID-19) has placed an enormous burden on healthcare systems because of the high transmission rates, prevalence of severe disease and mortality [1]. The risk of viral transmission to healthcare workers has been a concern since the start of the outbreak and the first person to raise concerns about the illness to the international community was Dr Li Wen-Liang, an ophthalmologist in Wuhan who sadly died of the disease that he likely contracted whilst at work [2].

COVID-19 and Long-term Planning for Procedure-based Specialties During Extended Mitigation and Suppression Strategies

Letter to the editor. Healthcare workers on the edge of sanity due to COVID-19: Rapid review of the results of systematic reviews and meta-analyzes

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2)-associated viral infection (coronavirus disease 2019, COVID-19) is a virulent, contagious viral pandemic that is affecting populations worldwide. As with any airborne viral respiratory infection, surgical and non-surgical patients may be affected. Methods: Review and synthesis of pertinent English-language literature pertaining to COVID-19 infection among adult patients. Results: COVID-19 disease that requires hospitalization results in critical illness approximately 25% of the time and requires mechanical ventilation with positive airway pressure. Acute kidney injury, a marked hypercoagulable state, and sometimes myocarditis can be features of COVID-19 in addition to the characteristic severe acute lung injury. Even if not among the most seriously afflicted, older patients with medical comorbidities are both predisposed to infection and risk increased morbidity and mortality, however, all persons presenting for surgical intervention should be suspected of infection (and thus transmissibility) even if asymptomatic. Although most elective surgery has been curtailed by administrative or governmental fiat, patients will still need urgent or emergency operative intervention for time-sensitive disease processes such as malignant neoplasia or for true emergencies such as perforated viscus or traumatic injury. It is possible to provide safe surgical care for SARS-CoV-2-positive patients and minimize nosocomial transmission to healthcare workers. Conclusions: This guidance will facilitate appropriate protection of patients and staff, and maintenance of infection control measures to assist surgical personnel and facilities to prepare for COVID-19-infected adult patients requiring urgent or emergent operative intervention and to provide optimal patient care.

BackgroundThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted various aspects of daily living and has influenced the life of every individual in a unique way. Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is associated with high morbidity and mortality; thus, timely treatment is crucial to prevent poor prognosis. Therefore, an immediate emergency department (ED) visit is required; however, no domestic studies have reported the effect of COVID-19 on ED visits by patients with AMI. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the changes in the pattern of ED visits by patients with AMI by comparing visits during the COVID-19 outbreak period to those during two control periods.MethodsThis nationwide, retrospective study used registry data of the National Emergency Department Information System. The ‘outbreak period’ was defined as the period between February 21, 2020 and April 1, 2020, while the ‘control period’ was defined as the same time period in the preceding two years (2018 and 2019). The primary outcome of our study was the number of patients admitted to the ED owing to AMI during the outbreak and control periods. Secondary outcomes were time from symptom onset to ED visit, length of ED stay, and 30-day mortality following admission.ResultsDuring the outbreak period, 401,378 patients visited the ED; this number was lower than that during the control periods (2018: 577,548; 2019: 598,514). The number of patients with AMI visiting the ED was lower during the outbreak period (2,221) than during 2018 (2,437) and 2019 (2,591).ConclusionThe COVID-19 pandemic has caused a reduction in ED visits by patients with AMI. We assume that this could likely be caused by misinterpretation of AMI symptoms as symptoms of respiratory infection, fear of contracting severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, and restrictions in accessing emergency medical care owing to overburdened healthcare facilities. This study sheds light on the fact that healthcare and emergency medical staff members must work towards eliminating hurdles due to this pandemic for patients to receive timely emergency care, which in turn will help curb the growing burden of mortality.

In this paper, we study and investigate the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Iraq and Egypt by using compartmental, logistic regression, and Gaussian models. We developed a generalized SEIR model for the spread of COVID-19, taking into account mildly and symptomatically infected individuals. The logistic and Gaussian models were utilized to forecast and predict the numbers of confirmed cases in both countries. We estimated the parameters that best fit the incidence data. The results provide discouraging forecasts for Iraq from 22 February to 8 October 2020 and for Egypt from 15 February to 8 October 2020. To provide a forecast of the spread of COVID-19 in Iraq, we present various simulation scenarios for the expected peak and its timing using Gaussian and logistic regression models, where the predicted cases showed a reasonable agreement with the officially reported cases. We apply our compartmental model with a time-periodic transmission rate to predict the possible start of the second wave of the COVID-19 epidemic in Egypt and the possible control measures. Our sensitivity analyses of the basic reproduction number allow us to conclude that the most effective way to prevent COVID-19 cases is by decreasing the transmission rate. The findings of this study could therefore assist Iraqi and Egyptian officials to intervene with the appropriate safety measures to cope with the increase of COVID-19 cases.

Long-Term Outcomes Are Important: Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for COVID-19

Linked articles: COVID‐19 SPECIAL FORUM. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol 2020; 34: e346–e380.

The risk of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection following COVID-19 and influenza: A retrospective cohort study from the TriNetX network

Adapting to the contemporary normal in cancer management and workflow during COVID-19 situation in the Philippines: Multi-cancer center collaborative approach