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Objectives: The objective of the study was to assess impact of quarantine on lifestyle behavior and the psychological state of persons during the COVID-19 pandemic. Study Design: This study was a cross-sectional study. Methods: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 216 persons quarantined during the COVID-19 pandemic at home or in selected facilities set up by various tertiary care hospitals and administrative authorities in various parts of India. The questionnaire was distributed among participants using electronic media. Psychological state during quarantine was assessed using the DASS 21 questionnaire. Results: Out of 57.4% of responders who gave a history of physical exercise before quarantine, 52.7% reported a reduction in physical activity. 18.5% of study participants brought about dietary changes towards healthy diet during quarantine, while 24.5% took up some new activities or hobbies. 62.9% of respondents reported any degree of psychological stress (depression, stress, or anxiety) during the quarantine. Conclusions: Quarantine impacted psychological state of individuals and brought about changes in lifestyle with both positive attributes such as dietary modification toward healthy diet or negative attributes such as reduction in physical activity. IEC activities have a positive impact in terms of reducing negative attributes and increasing the compliance toward quarantine. © 2022 Medical Journal of Dr. D.Y. Patil Vidyapeeth ;Published by Wolters Kluwer - Medknow.
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Introduction: The world is enveloped with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic with modern medicine and public health facing their most significant challenges ever posed. As the number of COVID-19 cases increased worldwide, an important issue of concern was the continuation of routine immunization services for children. This study has been conceptualized to assess the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on infant Immunization. Materials and Methods: This study was a descriptive study conducted in an urban community amongst healthy children < 1-year-old from January 2018 to September 2021. Immunization records of infants were obtained from data generated during each immunization session and strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat analysis was done using a questionnaire. Results: During the study, a total of 3518 vaccinations were done, a total of 3010 vaccinations (85.5%) were done on time, and the total delayed vaccinations were 508 (14.5%). The difference among the years was statistically significant, with the highest delay in the year 2020 (P < 0.001). However, in the year 2021, the number of vaccinations carried out from April to September was 568, with delayed vaccination of only 10.9%. Conclusion: The Armed Forces childhood immunization program could be sustained during the COVID-19 pandemic due to a multitude of contributing factors such as adherence to national guidelines that prioritized vaccination, infrastructure, and availability of trained workforce and most importantly commitment to strict COVID appropriate behavior.
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Objectives : This study aimed to evaluate the clinical and biochemical characteristics in COVID-19 affected healthcare workers admitted to NIMS Intensive care unit (ICU) including survivors and non-survivors to identify risk factors for mortality. Patients and Methods: We did a retrospective study of 78 healthcare workers with PCRconfirmed COVID-19 infection admitted in ICU between July and November, 2020. Patients were classified as survivor group and non-survivor group based on their outcome. Clinical and biochemical characteristics were compared. Logistic regression was performed to analyze the risk factors of mortality. Results: Out of the 78 patients admitted to ICU, the majority were males (64%). Thirty six had history of DM (46%), 40 (51.3%) had HTN, 13(16.7%) COPD, 14(17.9%) CKD and 11(14%) had CAD. Median ICU stay was 6(2-15) days in survivors and 7(2-25) days in non-survivors. Dyspnea (50 cases) was the most common symptom. The parameters such as lymphocyte and platelet counts, hemoglobin levels, CRP, and liver and kidney function, IL-6, LDH, D-dimer, Procalcitonin, NTproBNP levels were significantly different between the groups. CRP and NTproBNP were significantly associated with mortality (p=0.01) as well as age (p=0.002) and CAD (p=0.004). Conclusion: Patients with lower lymphocyte counts and serum albumin, and high CRP, NTproBNP and also patients of older age with comorbidities (CAD) had high mortality. So, these factors should be given more attention in risk management in the progression of COVID-19 disease in ICU patients.
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Background: The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has placed an unprecedented strain on Indian healthcare systems, with rapidly increasing demand for life-saving equipment and intensive care unit beds. The present study presents an analysis of average length of stay (LOS) as per different demographic and clinical factors in a dedicated COVID hospital. As the pandemic escalates, average LOS in COVID hospital will form the basis of determining the optimum requirement for healthcare resources (beds, staff, and equipment), which is a key priority for bolstering a strong public health response against COVID-19. Materials and Methods: Using the medical records at a dedicated COVID-19 hospital, the demographic details and select clinical characteristics of 342 admitted patients (from July 13, 2020, to August 30, 2020) were ed. Hospital LOS, calculated from the actual admission and discharge dates, was compared within the categories of demographic and clinical characteristics using Student's test and analysis of variance. SPSS version 20 was used for descriptive as well as inferential statistics. Results: The mean LOS was 9.93 +/- 4.45 days with a range of 3-37 days. LOS increased with increasing age, with maximum being for >61 years (12.69 +/- 7.14) and minimum for the younger age category of <40 years (8.88 +/- 1.95) (P = 0.001). As COVID-19 severity increased, LOS increased, with longest being for severe patients (25.59 +/- 7.30) and shortest being for Mild patients (8.74 +/- 1.80) (P = 0.001). LOS was also longer for patients having multiple comorbidities (13.00 +/- 7.96) and shortest for those with no comorbidities (9.33 +/- 2.96) (P = 0.001). Conclusion: LOS is significantly affected by age, severity, and comorbidities. The actual duration and factors influencing LOS are crucial for health administrators and policymakers to better allocate the already scarce health resources.
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Introduction: Risk communication is a vital component of the management of health-care crisis including the present pandemic. The health-care professionals play an important role in risk communication;however, health-care professionals have been found wanting when it comes to risk communication during any health-care crisis. The doctors/health-care professionals, being the technical personnel, are required to provide the technical information in a nontechnical or laymen language to the relevant authorities, which in turn are expected to share this knowledge to the people at risk. This study attempts to unravel the perceptions of health-care professionals on this important topic concerning public health. Methodology: A cross-sectional descriptive study was designed for the study question. An online survey was conducted based on Google Forms using snowball sampling technique. The data, collected using a pilot-tested questionnaire, were compiled in MS Excel and analyzed using SPSS software version 23. Requisite permission was taken from the institutional ethic committee. All participants were informed of the voluntary nature of the study, and the data collection was done in an anonymous manner. Results: A majority of participants (61.5%) answered in affirmative when asked if they know what risk communication is and 13 (7.7%) were not aware of it. A majority of the participants (60.9%) perceived risk communication as an exchange of information between health experts and general public, whereas 23 (13.6%) participants felt that risk communication is exchange of information between health experts and other health-care workers. Rumor management was not considered an essential part of risk communication by about half (48.5%) of the participants. Conclusion: We found significant gaps in the knowledge and perception of risk communication in the health-care professionals, which can be attributed to lack of training. Risk communication needs to be incorporated as a part of formal medical education to plug this gap. © 2021 Medical Journal of Dr. D.Y. Patil Vidyapeeth.