The significance of the COVID pandemic in nursing homes

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on the 1.4 million elderly or disabled residents in the nation's more than 15,000 Medicare- and Medicaid-certified nursing homes. Over 175,000 long-term care residents and workers, including 130,000 living and working in federally certified nursing homes, have died of COVID-19. They were at the center of a collision of mismanagement. © 2023 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Deep learning system to screen coronavirus disease 2019 pneumonia

The Editor in Chief has retracted this article (1) because the data published here was previously presented by a different set of authors at arXiv pre-print server (2) and a large amount of text, some figures and tables have been re-used without appropriate citation or acknowledgment. The pre-print has been published (3). Author Benson Babu agrees to this retraction. Authors Charmine Butt, Jagpal Gill and David Chun did not respond to any correspondence regarding this retraction. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020.

Physical activity and health: The evidence explained: Third edition

Physical Activity and Health explains clearly, systematically and in detail the relationship between physical activity, health and disease, and examines the role of exercise in the prevention and management of a wide range of important conditions. Now in a fully updated and expanded third edition, this is the most complete and engaging textbook on the subject. It offers a balanced examination of the latest evidence linking levels of physical activity with the risk of mortality, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity, cancer, osteoporosis and dementia. Designed to help the reader evaluate the quality of the evidence, the book includes an invaluable discussion of common study designs and the inherent difficulties of measuring physical activity. It examines the evidence in relation to child and adolescent health, older adults, hazards of exercise, sedentary behaviour, public health policy and, in a new chapter, mental health, and an epilogue considers the emerging evidence regarding the significance of physical activity and COVID-19. Containing chapter summaries, study tasks, guides to supplementary reading, a glossary of key terms and an abundance of figures and tables, Physical Activity and Health is an essential course text, and important reading for undergraduate, masters and postgraduate research students of sport and exercise science, public health, physical therapy, medicine and nursing. This third edition is supported by an updated companion website featuring self-test questions, PowerPoint slides, learning activities and website links. © 2022 selection and editorial matter, David J. Stensel, Adrianne E. Hardman and Jason M.R. Gill;individual chapters, the contributors. All rights reserved.

The effect of rapidly discharging psychiatric inpatients from Mental Health Act section during COVID-19: a cohort study.

AIMS: In March 2020, the UK government ordered mental health services to free up bed space to help manage the COVID-19 pandemic. This meant service users detained under the Mental Health Act were discharged at a higher rate than normal. We analysed whether this decision compromised the safety of this vulnerable group of service users. METHODS: We utilised a cohort study design and allocated service users to either the pre-rapid discharge, rapid discharge or post-rapid discharge group. We conducted a recurrent event analysis to assess group differences in the risk of experiencing negative outcomes during the 61 days post-discharge. We defined negative outcomes as crisis service use, re-admission to a psychiatric ward, community incidents of violence or self-harm and death by suicide. RESULTS: The pre-rapid discharge cohort included 258 service users, the rapid discharge cohort 127 and the post-rapid discharge cohort 76. We found no statistical association between being in the rapid discharge cohort and the risk of experiencing negative outcomes (HR: 1.14, 95% CI: 0.72-1.8, p = 0.58) but a trend towards statistical significance for service users in the post-rapid discharge cohort (HR: 1.61, 95% CI: 0.91-2.83, p = 0.1). CONCLUSIONS: We did not find evidence that service users rapidly discharged from section experienced poorer outcomes. This raises the possibility that the Mental Health Act is applied in an overly restrictive manner, meaning that sections for some formally detained service users could be ended earlier without compromising safety.

Political science is a data science

This discussion is about changes in the world, changes that affect us as academics, changes that affect us as empirical researchers (qualitative and quantitative), and changes that affect our students and our universities/ colleges. I am an empirical social scientist, a political methodologist, and a statistician, so I will only discuss topics along these lines where I am qualified to make comments. As of this re-rewriting, the country and the world are in various levels of lockdown and recovery because of Covid-19. During this difficult process it is clear that data and privacy issues are changing rapidly. There is evidence that some governments are using the pandemic to extend their reach into data spheres that were more difficult to monitor and control before. I hope that this is a temporary trend and that people around the world can keep some control over their data as challenging world events unfold. © 2021 by the Southern Political Science Association. All rights reserved.

Low-sodium disorders and the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19)

Introduction: COVID-19 have been well characterized with hallmarks of pneumonia and respiratory failure. Hyponatremia is a well reported finding in patients with pneumonia. However only few reports of sodium disorders have been directly attributable to the disease. We report three different presentations of hyponatremia in COVID19 patients. Case Description: 1. 70 year old man with hypertension, diabetes presented with dyspnea. He was clinically euvolemic. Chest X-ray (CXR) showed bilateral interstitial and airspace opacities. Laboratory data revealed, serum sodium 122 meq/L, serum osmolality 264 mosm/kg, urine osmolality 579 mosm/kg and urine sodium 153 mmol/L. A diagnosis of hyponatremia secondary to the Syndrome of inappropriate Antidiuretic Hormone (SIADH) was made and the patient was treated with oral urea and fluid restriction. 2. 50 year old man with chronic alcohol abuse presented with bilateral calf soreness. CXR revealed increased interstitial markings. Laboratory data showed serum sodium 113 meq/L, serum osmolality 251 mosm/kg, urine osmolality 426 mosm/kg and urine sodium 14 mmol/L. Hyponatremia was attributed to a low solute state. Serum sodium improved with normal saline infusion. 3. 69 year old female with hypertension admitted with vomiting and diarrhea. CXR showed diffuse pulmonary infiltrates. Initial laboratory data revealed serum sodium of 126 meq/L, serum osmolality 260 mosm/kg. Serum sodium recovered as diarrhea resolved. However, eight days after starting therapy with Selinexor, a nuclear transport inhibitor, serum Na declined to 128 meq/L, serum osmolality 275 mosm/kg, urine sodium 29 mmol/L, urine osmolality 372 mosm/Kg. SIADH was attributed to Selinexor therapy. Sodium improved with oral sodium chloride therapy and fluid restriction Discussion: Incidence of Hyponatremia due to SIADH in community acquired penumonia is 8-31% in adult patients. To the best of our knowledge, there have only been two case reports of SIADH in COVID-19 disease from Switzerland. Hence, it is unclear if SIADH is the predominant presentation of hyponatremia with COVID-19. The etiology of hyponatremia could be multifactorial as seen in the cases above. Clinical assessment of volume status and urine studies including osmolality and sodium with a thorough review of medications is the key to differentiate causes of hyponatremia and determining adequate management.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on in-center intermittent hemodialysis treatment adherence

Background: Studies have shown that 7.9% of patients miss one to two hemodialysis session per month and 35% miss hemodialysis at least once every three months.1 During current COVID-19 pandemic there has been a decrease in utilization of emergency medical services due to fear of contagion. We hypothesized that patients undergoing incenter hemodialysis might have increased compliance with their dialysis prescription to avoid emergency department visits or hospitalizations. We therefore evaluated the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on patient adherence to their dialysis prescription. Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of in-center hemodialysis patients treated in the seven American Renal Associates (ARA) dialysis facilities in Dallas, Texas. COVID-19 was declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020 and pandemic related changes were mandated in ARA hemodialysis facilities on March 13, 2020. We used existing clinical data and examined patient compliance with their dialysis prescription between January 1 to March 14, 2020 (pre-COVID) and March 15 to May 18, 2020 (COVID). Results: The study enrolled 754 eligible patients. Significantly fewer patients missed a single treatment in the COVID vs pre-COVID periods (35.5% vs 49.9%;p<0.001). The percentage of patients who were hospitalized was lower during COVID vs pre-COVID (12.5% vs. 19.6%;p<0.001). The percentage of patients who shortened hemodialysis time was lower during COVID vs pre-COVID (36.2% vs. 40.9%;p=0.06) although not statistically significant. Finally, significantly more patients achieved a weight within1 kg of their estimated dry weight at the end of the dialysis sessions COVID vs. pre-COVID (28.5% vs. 34.5%, p=0.01). Conclusions: These data suggest that during current COVID-19 pandemic, hemodialysis patients have become more adherent to their dialysis prescription. Retrospective studies have suggested that patients are avoiding seeking medical care due to fear of contacting the SARS-CoV-2 virus1. Our data suggest that similarly, hemodialysis patients have significantly increased their adherence to hemodialysis prescription in order to avoid hospital visits. Additional studies are ongoing to determine the causes for the observed improved compliance.

Assessment of air quality changes in the four metropolitan cities of india during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown

In view of emerging threat of COVID-19 pandemic, stringent lockdown measures have been implemented in India since 25th March, 2020. The present study aims to assess the changes in air quality before and during lockdown in the four major metropolitan cities of India viz., Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. The data on major air quality parameters and meteorological parameters was collected for 15 days before lockdown (i.e., March 10th–March 24th, 2020) and 15 days after implementation of lockdown (25th March–April 8th, 2020). The lockdown measures reflected a significant reduction in air pollutants, most significant fall was estimated for NO2 (29.3–74.4%) while the least reduction was noticed for SO2. On the contrary, levels of ground level ozone were found to be increased (except in Mumbai), could be related to the lower utilization of O3 owing to decrease of NOx in the environment. Since, the lockdown period has been extended, therefore further reduction of most pollutants is expected. Among the various metrological parameters, significant increase in diurnal temperature was observed at Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai, however relative humidity has changed significantly only in Mumbai. In the absence of any major violent meteorological phenomena in India during recent months the significant difference in air quality parameters could be majorly attributed to the effect of lockdown measures. However, the regional differences may be because of the local emission of pollutants and the prevailing effects of secondary pollutants. These observations highlight the contribution of anthropogenic sources in air pollution, therefore, sustainable polices for mitigation of air pollution are essential in India. © The Author(s).