ABSTRACT
Objective: We investigated the characteristics of vertigo and dizziness developing in children during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Materials and Methods: A total of 56 children aged 2–15 years old (median 12 years) with dizziness seen during the five-year period from April 2017 to March 2022 participated in this study. We performed examinations of the equilibrium function for the diagnosis. In particular, we compared the differences in the distribution of the diagnosis prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: In both periods, the most common diagnoses were orthostatic dysregulation (OD), psychogenic vertigo, Meniere's disease, benign paroxysmal vertigo, and migrainous vertigo. The patients diagnosed as having vertigo and dizziness during COVID-19 pandemic were significantly older. Furthermore, the main causes were obviously biased towards OD during the pandemic period. Discussion and Conclusion: The prevalence of OD was about 5% in elementary school students and about 10% in junior high school students. We consider that the prolonged lockdown measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, including school attendance restrictions, during the pandemic produced chronic stress in children, which increased the potential risk of development of OD. © 2023 Authors. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
The present work describes the technological development of a low-cost and miniaturized instrument to Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) for detection of Sars-CoV-2 ribonucleic acid (RNA) and, potentially, an open platform for detection of other microorganisms. Most devices use a big aluminum bar coupled to a peltier to heat and cool the reaction tube;however, a lot of energy is wasted in the process. To take advantage of the energy and reduce cost–benefit of the device, we introduced the Joule Effect in the printed circuit board for heating samples, and a computer fan for cooling. Other improvements such as a precise heating sample spot, and a LM35 thermal sensor with a PID (proportional integral-derivative) algorithm to control the circuit temperature, have also been included. The processes were carried out based on cost–benefit and performance to bring to the market a robust detection platform for in vitro diagnostic tests. © 2022, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.