Fear of the COVID-19 and medical liability. Insights from a series of 130 consecutives medico-legal claims evaluated in a single institution during SARS-CoV-2-related pandemic

Objectives: The aim of the current work was to evaluate the frequency and the type of cases of medical liability from a single center in the first ten months of the pandemic as well as to identify critical issues associated with the organization of public health during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Methods: We compared 130 cases evaluated for medical liability from March 2020 to January 2021 and compared with 159 cases from March 2019 to January 2020. The cases were divided in four pre-established groups: surgical error, diagnostic/therapeutic errors and nosocomial diseases, delays, and problems related to assistance. Results: Analysis showed a significant increase in cases due to delay in treatment/hospitalization and shortages in health care of non-autonomous patients [chi(2) (1, N = 289) = 5.6746, p = 0.02]. Conclusions: The work showed an increase in medical/legal cases regarding non-COVID-19 emergencies in which the outcome is related to the time of treatment and/or arrival at the hospital. There was also a rise in complaints of deficits in supervision and care for non-autonomous patients. Despite the persistence of preventive measures for the current pandemic, measures should be taken to improve health care in these categories of patients.

What if COVID-19 affects the child: which weapons and how to use them

Since the reports in Wuhan (China), in December 2019, of the first cluster of cases of pneumonia caused by the new Coronavirus called 2019-nCoV or SARS-CoV-2, there has been a pandemic spread of the infection. By now, we have no specific therapy to counteract this emergency. The latest epidemiological data suggest that children are just as likely as adults to get infected by the virus. Most of them show mild clinical pictures or are completely asymptomatic, but there is an increased risk for severe disease in infancy (<12 months of age) and in children with underlying medical conditions. In this article, research achievements on the treatment of pediatric SARS-CoV-2 infection are examined.

COVID-19 case fatality ratio of Latino America countries with temperate climate partially follows european and oceania trends according to seasonal change

The objective of our study is, therefore, to verify whether the trend of the pandemic regarding the lethality of the virus is similar in Argentina and Chile to that which emerged in the temperate countries of Europe and Oceania. The CFRs were derived from the John Hopkins University database. To check the trend of the Case Fatality Ratio and Argentina, Chile we calculated this index on the same dates in which it was calculated for comparison in European countries and in Australia and New Zealand: i.e., May 6th and from May 6th to the September 21st. We continued comparing the other countries of the southern hemisphere, recalculating the CFR as of 11th November. For comparing a period of year homogeneous, late spring, we calculate the change if CFR from 20th March to 15th April in the North Hemisphere. Our study's results seem to confirm in Latin America a possible influence of the climate and the changing of the seasons in the lethality of the virus. For the same exceptions, it is evident that the study shows that this factor is not the only one nor probably the most important. The obvious exception concerns Argentina, which does not show any summer improvement of the CFR, unfortunately;for this, nation-specific data are not available to verify if the trend is homogeneous in the different climates that the vast territory presents. Other very important factors come into play, among which the diffusivity of the virus also seems to play a role. © 2020 by the authors.