ABSTRACT
Background: There is limited information on effectiveness of COVID-19 therapies in immunocompromised patients, who are at higher risk of hospitalizations, complications, and mortality due to COVID-19. We examined hospital all-cause mortality for early RDV use vs. no RDV use among immunocompromised COVID-19 patients across several distinct dominant variants of concern (VOC) periods: pre-Delta (Dec'20-Apr'21), Delta (May-Nov'21) and Omicron (Dec'21-Apr'22). Method(s): Using the Premier Healthcare Database, we identified adults with an immunocompromised condition (cancer, solid organ and hematopoietic stem cell transplant, hematologic malignancies, primary immunodeficiencies, asplenia, bone marrow failure/aplastic anemia, severe combined immunodeficiencies or HIV), hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19. Patients treated with RDV in first 2 days of admission vs. those not treated with RDV during the hospitalization were matched using 1:1 preferential withinhospital propensity matching with replacement. Patients were excluded if discharged within 3 days of RDV initiation. Cox Proportional Hazards Model was used to examine time to 14-and 28-day mortality. Result(s): Overall (Dec'20-Apr'22), 14,169 RDV-treated patients were matched to 5,341 unique non-RDV patients. Post-matching balance was achieved with 59% being 65+ years, 40.5% with no supplementary oxygen charges, 39% received low-flow oxygen, 19% on high-flow oxygen/non-invasive ventilation and 1.5% on invasive mechanical ventilation/ECMO at baseline. During the study period, unadjusted mortality rate was significantly lower for RDV patients at 14 days (11% [95% CI: 11%-12%] vs 15% [15%-16%];p< .0001) and 28 days (18% [17%-18%];p< .0001 vs 22% [22%-23%];p< .0001) as compared to patients that did not receive RDV. After adjusting for baseline and clinical covariates, 14-day results showed that RDV had significantly lower mortality risk compared to non-RDV across all VOC periods [overall (30% lower risk), pre-delta (41%), Delta (23%), Omicron (25%)]. Similarly, 28-day results showed that RDV had significantly lower mortality risk compared to non-RDV across all VOC periods [overall (25%), pre-delta (35%), Delta (21%), Omicron (16%)] (Fig). Conclusion(s): Timely initiation of RDV in first two days of hospital admission demonstrated significant mortality reduction in immunocompromised patients hospitalized with primary diagnosis of COVID-19. RDV demonstrated consistent benefit in an immunocompromised cohort across all variant periods of the pandemic.
ABSTRACT
At the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak in late 2019 (COVID-19), the procedure of epidemic prevention for each student in most campuses in Taiwan included taking the temperature of the forehead and disinfecting hands by use of alcohol or hand sanitizer;there was an obvious need for many operators to help in the epidemic-prevention process. In our campus, a scan of the QR code is also required to register on the campus cloud system for a footprint record. Therefore, before class, many students are waiting in line, and each student needs to spend about 10 minutes for the entire process. Hence, we designed a new campus epidemic-prevention system against the threat of COVID-19. The system can automatically perform the forehead temperature measurement, hand sanitizing, and ID registration on each user. The manually operated issues, such as infection risk of operators, manpower requirement of epidemic-prevention stations, and the entire process times, can all be reduced.
ABSTRACT
Purpose/Relevance: New technologies are rapidly emerging in all fields, especially in the COVID-19 era, including pediatric ophthalmology. These technologies are widely disseminated in diverse areas such as screening, diagnostics, treatment, device production, genetics, and artificial intelligence. Some provide low-cost, simple solutions to common problems, whereas others, are expensive and complex. The speakers will present several technologies, including retinal polarizing scanning for screening of amblyopia and traumatic brain injury, smart phone photo screening for amblyopia risk factors, artificial intelligence, optical coherence tomography angiography, handheld OCT, gene therapy, and eye tracking technology for diagnostics and treatment of amblyopia. Target Audience: Pediatric and comprehensive ophthalmologists, orthoptists, residents, and students. Current Practice: Technologies are rapidly evolving, making it difficult to stay updated and exposed to all the innovations. Some clinicians are eager to explore new concepts, some may have limited exposure, whereas others may refrain from utilizing up-and-coming new technologies. Best Practice: Understanding the limitations and benefits of new technologies and bringing basic scientific knowledge and better solutions to existing clinical challenges in order to fulfill unmet diagnostic and therapeutical needs. The presenters will summarize seven technologies, which will focus on providing affordable screening as well as high-volume and high-quality eye care and innovative technologies. Expected Outcomes: The audience will be exposed to an in-depth analysis of new technological modalities in screening, informatics, diagnostics, and treatment options in pediatric ophthalmology. Format: The workshop will include an overview of different clinically available technologies pertaining to pediatric ophthalmology. Each speaker, either an innovator or at the center of development or dissemination of these technologies, will provide a didactic lecture that will be followed by questions from the panel and audience, along with a discussion on the technologies' effectiveness and clinical relevance. Summary: In a rapidly changing world of technologies,and healthcare, this workshop will provide an overview of several existing innovations in pediatric ophthalmology.