Food Insecurity Is Associated with Dietary Consumption during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2019-2020.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a pandemic and has affected people's dietary behaviors, including food insecurity. This study aimed to ascertain whether COVID-19 may alter the prevalence of food insecurity, and if such food security status may be associated with dietary intake among Koreans. The general characteristics, dietary intake and food security status data in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey VIII (2019~2020) were analyzed. The prevalence of food insecurity and food group and nutrient consumption by food security status were analyzed before (2019) and after the start of the pandemic (2020). Findings suggested 4.3% of Koreans experienced food insecurity during the first year of the pandemic, yet it did not differ from that in the year before the pandemic. Before COVID-19, there was no significant difference in food group or nutrition consumption by food security status. However, in 2020, the fruit and vitamin C intake of the food-insecure group was significantly lower than that of the food-secure group. Additionally, the food-insecure group's ratio of subjects who did not meet the recommended level of fruits and the vitamin was higher compared to that of the secure group. In conclusion, COVID-19 did not affect food insecurity status, but did have a negative influence on dietary intake for food-insecure Koreans.

A COVID-19 Exposure at a Dental Clinic Where Healthcare Workers Routinely Use Particulate Filtering Respirators.

Asymptomatic/mildly symptomatic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients produce a considerable amount of virus and transmit severe acute respiratory syndrome virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) through close contact. Preventing in-hospital transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is challenging, since symptom-based screening protocols may miss asymptomatic/mildly symptomatic patients. In particular, dental healthcare workers (HCWs) are at high risk of exposure, as face-to-face contact and exposure to oral secretions is unavoidable. We report exposure of HCWs during dental procedures on a mild symptomatic COVID-19 patient. A 32-year-old male visited a dental clinic at a tertiary care hospital. He experienced mild cough, which started three days before the dental visit, but did not report his symptom during the entrance screening. He underwent several dental procedures and imaging for orthognathic surgery without wearing a mask. Seven HCWs were closely exposed to the patient during dental procedures that could have generated droplets and aerosols. One HCW had close contact with the patient during radiologic exams, and seven HCWs had casual contact. All HCWs wore particulate filtering respirators with 94% filter capacity and gloves, but none wore eye protection or gowns. The next day, the patient experienced dysgeusia and was diagnosed with COVID-19 with high viral load. All HCWs who had close contact with the patient were quarantined for 14 days, and polymerase chain reaction and antibody tests for SARS-CoV-2 were negative. This exposure event suggests the protective effect of particulate filtering respirators in dental clinics. The recommendations of different levels of personal protective equipment (PPE) for dental HCWs according to the procedure types should be established according to the planned procedure, the risk of COVID-19 infection of the patient, and the outbreak situation of the community.

Minimizing contamination in the use of personal protective equipment: Simulation results through tracking contamination and enhanced protocols.

BACKGROUND: Due to variations and the inadequate use of personal protective equipment (PPE), this study aimed to evaluate our enhanced PPE protocols for minimizing doffing contamination. METHODS: Among 3 PPE kits (simple, Level D, and Level C), 30 participants conducted the first simulation in their adapted way and the second following enhanced protocols. After donning, participants performed a 1-minute simulation of direct care on a patient simulator covered with fluorescent powder. For tracking contamination routes between doffing processes, fluorescent powder contamination was examined with ultraviolet lamps in the darkened room. RESULTS: Participants were mostly registered nurses (N = 27, 90%), female (87%), and on average 31.7 years old with 8.5 years of clinical experience. Among 61 total simulations, 32 had at least 1 contamination (52.5%); "Noticeable" level (40%) at the "hands-fingers" and "shirt" body areas were most frequent. For first and second simulations with identical PPE kits, compared to the first with adapted practice, the second with enhanced protocols showed a significant reduction in doffing contamination rates (72.7% vs 22.7%, P = .0009 for both Level C and D; 77.8% vs 27.8%, P = .0027 for Level D). CONCLUSIONS: Our enhanced protocols could significantly reduce contaminations. More studies are necessary to provide safer PPE protocol options.