ABSTRACT
The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of COVID-19 on physical therapy (PT) mobilization of traumatically-injured patients and to determine if mobilization affected patient course in the ICU. This retrospective study included patients who were admitted to the ICU of a level II trauma center. The patients were divided into two groups, i.e., those admitted before (n=378) and after (n=499) April 1, 2020 when Georgia's COVID-19 Shelter-in-place order was mandated. The two groups were contrasted on nominal and ratio variables using Chi-square and Student's t-tests. A secondary analysis focused specifically on the after COVID patients examined the extent to which mobilization (n=328) or lack of mobilization (n=171) influenced ICU outcomes (e.g., mortality, readmission). The two groups were contrasted on nominal and ratio variables using Chi-square and Student's -tests. The after COVID patients had higher injury severity as a greater proportion was classified as severely injured (i.e., >15 on Injury Severity Score) compared to the before COVID patients. After COVID patients also had greater cumulative number of comorbidities and experienced greater complications in the ICU. Despite this, there was no difference between patients in receiving a PT consultation or day-to-mobilization. Within the after COVID cohort, those that were mobilized were older, a higher proportion were female, they had greater Glasgow Coma Scale scores, had longer total hospital days, and a lesser mortality rate. Despite shifting patient injury attributes post-COVID-19, a communicable disease, mobilization care remained consistent and effective.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Coma , Wounds and InjuriesABSTRACT
Background: Even with vaccines approved for children over the age of five, and the FDA granting full approval to the Pfizer-BioNTech SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) vaccine, studies have shown that only 36-65% of parents plan to have their child receive a COVID-19 vaccine, indicating the need to investigate parental motivations and apprehensions further. The perceptions and intentions of parents/caregivers in the Athens-Clarke County area must be evaluated to assess barriers to vaccine uptake and provide insight into vaccine hesitancy. Methods: The survey, including demographic questions about the caregivers and children, COVID-19 history, and illnesses in the family, and current COVID-19 vaccination status of the family, was given voluntarily to caregivers of middle school students by middle school staff during parent-teacher conferences in October 2021. Multivariable linear regression was used to calculate statistical significance for whether parents were willing to vaccinate their children with the COVID-19 vaccine for each independent variable collected in the survey. Results: Of the 366 caregivers of middle school aged children in Athens-Clarke County, Georgia who reported their intentions for vaccinating their children, 310 (84.7%) reported intentions to vaccinate their child against COVID-19 and 56 (15.3%) reported that they do not intend to vaccinate their child against COVID-19 when the child becomes eligible. Caregivers who expressed belief that the vaccine is effective were found to be significantly associated with intention to vaccinate their child (p=0.009). If the caregiver had already received the vaccine, they were also significantly more likely to vaccinate their child (p=0.004). The caregiver was also significantly more likely to vaccinate their child if their child had a chronic disease (p<0.001). Conclusion: COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy is a public health concern that has arisen since the FDA emergency authorization of vaccines in December of 2020. Multiple studies have sought to elucidate the answer to this question, however detailed demographic studies have not previously been investigated. Concurrently, no study has focused its population to include the southeastern United States. This study promotes the dissemination of knowledge to allow public health experts a better understanding of the current societal opinions and dissents within the southeastern United States during the COVID-19 pandemic.