Risk Factors for AKI in Patients With COVID-19 in Two University Hospital of Colombia

Background: Patients with COVID-19 have a high incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI), which is associated with mortality. The objetive of our study is to know the factors associated with AKI, to manage the level of care and health resources according to risk. Method(s): We design an observational retrospective cohort study in 2 hospitals in Bogota, Colombia. Adults hospitalized for > 48 hours between March 2020 and March 2021, with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. The main outcome was incidence of AKI during the first 28 days from admission. A descriptive analysis of the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of the study population was performed. Univariate and bivariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression model was conducted for the outcome AKI. Result(s): We included 1584 patients, 60.4% male, 46.8% older than 65 years. The incidence of AKI was 46.5%, stage 1 in 60.7%, Stage 2 in 15.7%, and stage 3 in 23.6%. Renal replacement therapy was performed in 11.1% of patients with AKI. Table 1 summarizes cohort characteristics and the bivariate analysis. In the multivariate analysis, sex, age, hypertension, CKD, treatment with oral antidiabetics, diuretics, statins, qSOFA, platelet count, CRP, D-dimer, treatment with vancomycin, piperacillin tazobactam, requirement of vasopressor support were realated with AKI. The interactions antihypertensive /diuretics, PAFI /Requirement of invasive mechanical ventilation, Hypertension /antihypertensives, were associated with AKI (P value <0.5). Hospital crude mortality for AKI was 45.5% versus 11.7% without AKI (p<0.0001) Conclusion(s): AKI is frequent in patients hospitalized with COVID 19, conventional risk factors are the rule, we denote other known markers of severity for COVID-19 in association with AKI. These results allowed us to manage the hospital resource.

Edpuzzle and Canvas as distance learning tools during the lockdown

The following study was carried out during the teaching-learning process in the Tec21 educational model of Tecnologico de Monterrey (Mexico), an educational model based on challenges, during confinement forced by a pandemic in 2020. Specifically, it shows how Edpuzzle and Canvas applications are tools that improve motivation and understanding of topics in the online teaching process during the COVID-19 pandemic and how these resources can successfully change traditional education to a distance learning system with the help of online classes. In this study, the perceptions of university students about the use of the Edpuzzle application together with the Canvas learning management system were explored to identify if students consider that it favors the educational process and to know if it motivates the learning of basic sciences in the first years semesters of a university degree during confinement. Qualitative data were collected from new university students (n=163). The results show that Edpuzzle and Canvas contributed as a motivational element and as a cognitive resource, positively impacting student performance. © 2021 IEEE.

Development and Application of a Polydimethylsiloxane-Based Passive Air Sampler to Assess Personal Exposure to SARS-CoV-2

Exhaled respiratory droplets and aerosols can carry infectious viruses and are an important mode of transmission for COVID-19. Recent studies have been successful in detecting airborne SARS-CoV-2 RNA in indoor settings using active sampling methods. The cost, size, and maintenance of these samplers, however, limit their long-term monitoring ability in high-risk transmission areas. As an alternative, passive samplers can be small, lightweight, and inexpensive and do not require electrical power or maintenance for continual operation. Integration of passive samplers into wearable designs can be used to better understand personal exposure to the respiratory virus. This study evaluated the use of a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based passive sampler to assess personal exposure to aerosol and droplet SARS-CoV-2. The rate of uptake of virus-laden aerosol on PDMS was determined in lab-based rotating drum experiments to estimate time-weighted averaged airborne viral concentrations from passive sampler viral loading. The passive sampler was then embedded in a wearable clip design and distributed to community members across Connecticut to surveil personal SARS-CoV-2 exposure. The virus was detected on clips worn by five of the 62 participants (8%) with personal exposure ranging from 4 to 112 copies of SARS-CoV-2 RNA/m(3), predominantly in indoor restaurant settings. Our findings demonstrate that PDMS-based passive samplers may serve as a useful exposure assessment tool for airborne viral exposure in real-world high-risk settings and provide avenues for early detection of potential cases and guidance on site-specific infection control protocols that preempt community transmission.

National nostalgia and prostalgia predict support toward the Black Lives Matter movement and creating a new normal following the pandemic

The Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests and the COVID‐19 pandemic are two distinct forces that have introduced cultural change around the world by respectively challenging or amplifying the status quo. Past research demonstrates that cultural change can be perceived as threatening. Thus, the change brought upon by the BLM movement and the pandemic may be reducing support toward the BLM movement and reducing support for creating a new normal following the pandemic (i.e., creating new social norms). Based on the Cultural Inertia Model, we predicted that highlighting the BLM protests and the COVID‐19 pandemic as agents of change would hinder support toward each agent of change. In essence, two agents of change might be too much change. We also hypothesized that national nostalgia and prostalgia would serve as psychological anchors or propellers that hinder or facilitate support toward each agent of change. Our findings demonstrated that highlighting the BLM protests and the pandemic as agents of change did not cause differences in support toward the BLM movement or creating a new normal. However, national nostalgia and prostalgia served as individual difference measures that respectively reduced and facilitated support toward the BLM movement and the creation of new social norms. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Analyses of Social Issues & Public Policy is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Analytical and Clinical Evaluation of the Semiquantitative Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Receptor Binding Domain Antibody Assay on the Roche cobas e602 Analyzer.

OBJECTIVES: To analytically and clinically evaluate the semiquantitative Elecsys anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein antibody (S-Ab) assay on the Roche cobas e602 analyzer. METHODS: The S-Ab assay is a 1-step, double-antigen sandwich electrochemiluminescent immunoassay that semiquantitatively measures total IgG, IgM, and IgA antibodies specific for the receptor binding domain of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in serum or plasma. The S-Ab assay was evaluated for precision, linearity, interference (by hemoglobin, bilirubin, triglycerides, and biotin), cross-reactivity, and clinical performance, and was compared to the qualitative Elecsys anti-nucleocapsid (N-Ab) immunoassay, a lateral flow device that qualitatively detects S-Ab and N-Ab, and an anti-spike enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: S-Ab assay is precise, exhibits linearity from 0.4 to 250 U/mL, is unaffected by significant cross-reactivity or interferences, and qualitatively demonstrates greater than 90% concordance with N-Ab assay and lateral flow device. Readouts of S-Ab assay correlate with ELISA, which in turn correlates strongly with SARS-CoV-2 virus neutralization assay, and exhibit 100% sensitivity and specificity for COVID-19 patient samples obtained at or more than 14 days after PCR positivity. CONCLUSIONS: The S-Ab assay is a robust clinical test for qualitative and semiquantitative detection of seropositivity following SARS-CoV-2 infection or spike-encoding mRNA COVID-19 vaccination.

CSO (Canadian Society of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery) position paper on return to Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery Clinic Practice during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada.

The novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) has created a worldwide deadly pandemic that has become a major public health challenge. All semi-urgent and elective medical care has come to a halt to conserve capacity to care for patients during this pandemic. As the numbers of COVID-19 cases decrease across Canada, our healthcare system also began to reopen various facilities and medical offices. The aim for this document is to compile the current evidence and provide expert consensus on the safe return to clinic practice in Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery. These recommendations will also summarize general precaution principles and practical tips for office across Canada to optimize patient and provider safety. Risk assessment and patient selection are crucial to minimizing exposure to COVID-19. Controversial topics such as COVID-19 mode of transmission, duration of exposure, personal protective equipment, and aerosol-generating procedures will be analyzed and discussed. Practical solutions of pre-visit office preparation, front office and examination room set-up, and check out procedures are explored. Specific considerations for audiology, pediatric population, and high risk AGMPs are also addressed. Given that the literature surrounding COVID-19 is rapidly evolving, these guidelines will serve to start our specialty back into practice over the next weeks to months and they may change as we learn more about this disease.

Priapism in a patient on hemodialysis and with COVID-19. Case report

Introduction: Priapism is rare in dialysis patients. It is associated with several risk factors inherent to therapy and kidney disease. This condition has been reported in severe COVID-19 cases, probably caused by coagulopathy secondary to the infection. However, it has not been reported in patients with mild COVID-19. Case presentation: A 65-year-old patient on hemodialysis and with mild COVID-19 presented with a 30-hour painful penile erection. Physical examination revealed an erection, but no other significant findings were observed. Based on the clinical history, physical examination and laboratory test results, the patient was diagnosed with ischemic priapism. Corpora cavernosa drainage was performed and two injections of epinephrine (each with a dose of 2mL of epinephrine solution 1/100 000) were administered, achieving complete resolution of the symptoms. Conclusions: At the time of writing this case report, there is no information available on cases of priapism in patients with mild manifestations of COVID-19, nor is it clear how the risk of thrombosis should be assessed in this group of patients. From a pathophysiological point of view, factors related to dialysis and kidney disease could have predisposed this patient to priapism, although the role of SARS-CoV-2 infection is uncertain. Therefore, further studies are required to confirm or rule out the association between COVID-19 and priapism in dialysis patients. © 2021, Universidad Nacional de Colombia. All rights reserved.