Initial Stage Of Outbreak Research Articles

OUTCOME OF EMERGENCY SURGERY IN COVID-19 POSITIVE PATIENTS: EXPERIENCE IN A TERTIARY CARE CENTRE IN NE INDIA .

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic led to a halt to almost all kinds of surgery throughout India. There was increased risk of requirement of ICU care and high rate of mortality. Surgical interventions in emergency situations were necessary to save life. The outcome in covid positive patients undergoing emergency surgeries has not been well studied during the initial stage of outbreak. The aim of this study was to determine the outcomes of emergency surgery in covid-19 positive patients. A retrospective review was performed of all COVID-19 positive Materials and methods: patients undergoing emergency intervention during June 2020 to August 2020 at a teaching hospital in North East India. Details and conditions of patients at the time of surgery are retrieved retrospectively from available medical records. Clinical characteristics and mortality were analysed. There were 28 patients who underwent emergen Results: cy surgeries during the period. There were 10 females and 18 males with age group varied between 10 to 72 years. The majority of patients 13(46%) were in American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) class 3. All patients were treated in ICU & Covid care wards post operatively. The mean length of stay was14 days. There were 5 deaths (18%) in the study group. All of the patients were in ASA class 2 or 3. The odd ratio for mortality with ASA Class 3 was 6 (p value: 0.1528; 95% CI of 0.47-327.10). All the patients with poor results were associated with co-morbidities with odd ratio of 6. (P value:0.1528; 95% CI of 0.47-3271). In this analysis it was found that emergency surgical interven Conclusions: tions were feasible with all precautions. The mortality was associated with high ASA class , co-morbidities and extremes of ages.

COVID-19 precautionary behavior: the Israeli case in the initial stage of the outbreak

BackgroundThe lay public’s behavioral responses during a virus spread, such as the COVID-19, play an important role in bringing the outbreak under control, and provide insights into development of risk communication messages to the public. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the association between knowledge about COVID-19, perceived susceptibility, emotional reactions and precautionary behavior among the Israeli lay public at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak.MethodA cross-sectional study was conducted among 1407 participants, aged 18 + .Participants completed measures of knowledge about COVID-19, perceived susceptibility, emotional reactions, precautionary behavior, and socio-demographic questionnaires. A hierarchical regression model was calculated with precautionary behavior as the dependent variable.ResultsFindings indicated that precautionary behavior was higher for females, older participants, participants with higher levels of knowledge about COVID-19, and participants with greater negative emotional reactions. A negative curvilinear relationship was found between perceived susceptibility and precautionary behavior, so that the latter was highest for participants with moderate perceived susceptibility. All interaction terms were non-significant.ConclusionsFindings suggest that in order to enhance precautionary behavior in the initial stage of a virus outbreak, it is recommended to pay attention to the public’s knowledge about the virus, perceived susceptibility and emotional reactions. Although negative feelings about the virus may motivate preventive behavior, it is important to address these feelings.

Worry experienced during the 2015 Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) pandemic in Korea.

BackgroundKorea failed in its risk communication during the early stage of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak; consequently, it faced difficulties in managing MERS, while disease-related worry increased. Disease-related worry can help disease prevention and management, but can also have a detrimental effect. This study measured the overall level of disease-related worry during the MERS outbreak period in Korea and the influencing factors and levels of disease-related worry during key outbreak periods.MethodsThe cross-sectional survey included 1,000 adults who resided in Korea. An ordinal logistic regression was performed for the overall level of MERS-related worry, and influencing factors of worry were analyzed. A reliability test was performed on the levels of MERS-related worry during key outbreak periods.ResultsThe overall level of MERS-related worry was 2.44. Multivariate analysis revealed that women and respondents w very poor subjective health status had higher levels of worry. Respondents with very high stress in daily life had higher levels of worry than those who reported having little stress. The reliability test results on MERS-related worry scores during key outbreak periods showed consistent scores during each period.ConclusionLevel of worry increased in cases having higher perceived susceptibility and greater trust in informal information, while initial stage of outbreak was closely associated with that at later stages. These findings suggest the importance of managing the level of worry by providing timely and accurate disease-related information during the initial stage of disease outbreak.