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BACKGROUND: This paper aims to document the numerous health innovations developed in response to the COVID-19 crisis in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) using a scoping review approach. METHODS: A literature search was conducted using PubMed, the Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, the Index Medicus for EMR to identify peer-reviewed articles between December 2019 and November 2020 and WHO and ministries of health websites for grey literature. Following an initial review, full-text screening identified studies reporting on health innovations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the region. RESULTS: This review describes 82 health innovations reported from 20 countries across the region: 80% (n = 66) were digital and technology-based products and services including health care delivery (n = 25), public health informatics (n = 24) and prevention (n = 17); 20% (n = 16) were innovative processes including health care delivery (n = 8), educational programmes (n = 6) and community engagement (n = 2). CONCLUSION: The speed with which these technologies were deployed in different contexts demonstrates their ease of adoption and manageability and thus can be considered as the most scalable. Strengthened frameworks to protect users' privacy, documentation and evaluation of impact of innovations, and training of health care professionals are fundamental for promoting health innovations in the EMR.
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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may lead to immunosuppression, leaving patients vulnerable to secondary invasive fungal infection like mucormycosis. The present study aimed to determine whether there are any risk factors associated with mortality in mucormycosis among COVID-19 patients. Patients with COVID-19 diagnosed with mucormycosis who received treatment at University Hospitals were included in the study. Complete blood count (CBC), glycated hemoglobin (HBA1c), C-reactive protein (CRP), serum albumin level, creatinine, ferritin levels, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), D-dimer and histopathological observations were performed for all participants' specimens. The number (N) of patients included in the study was 46. About 85 % (39/46) of patients had post-COVID-19 syndrome and the other 7 cases were in the active phase of the disease. CRP, serum ferritin, D-dimer, CRP/albumin ratio and CRP/absolute lymphocyte counts were statistically significant (P<0.05) within non-survivors as compared to survivors. After analysis of multivariate analysis that patients had oxygen support, while elevated CRP/albumin ratios were independent predictors of mortality in COVID-19 patients associated with mucormycosis. Mucormycosis can be caused by immunosuppression conditions associated with COVID-19 infection. Oxygen levels and C-reactive protein/albumin are independent predictors of mortality and morbidity in post COVID-19 patients. Copyright © 2022 Oriental Scientific Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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Introduction: The rate of secondary attacks of SARS-COV-2 is high among household close contacts. Social distancing, isolation and infection control measures are important for preventing exposure to infection, but insufficient. Aim: The study aimed to evaluate possible role of oral ivermectin as a chemoprophylaxis in asymptomatic family close contacts with COVID-19 patients. Materials and Methods: A prospective interventional randomised open label-controlled study was conducted (registered at clinicaltrials. gov;NCT04422561) during June and July 2020. Two arms were designed according to use of ivermectin. In ivermectin arm, contacts received ivermectin according to Body Weight (BW) on day of the diagnosis of their index case. The nonintervention group received no treatment. Both groups were followed-up for two weeks for development of symptoms suggestive of COVID-19. Results: Ivermectin group included 203 contacts (to 52 index cases) aged 39.75 +/- 14.94 years;52.2% were males. Nonintervention group included 101 contacts (to a total of 24 index cases) aged 37.69 +/- 16.96 years, 49.5% were males. Fifteen contacts (7.4%) developed COVID-19 in the ivermectin arm compared to 59 (58.4%) in the nonintervention arm (P <0.001). The protection rate for ivermectin was more prominent in contacts aged less than 60-year-old (6.2% infected compared to 58.7% if no treatment). Ivermectin in the protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection had an OR of 12.533 and 11.445 (compared to nontreatment) in both univariate and multivariate models, respectively. Side effects of ivermectin were reported in 5.4%;they were mild. Conclusion: Ivermectin is suggested to be a promising, effective and safe chemoprophylactic drug in management of COVID-19.
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Background: Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak was officially announced as a global pandemic by the WHO on March 11th 2020. Thorough understanding of CT imaging features of COVID-19 is essential for effective patient management;rationalizing the need for relevant research. The aim of this study was to analyze the chest CT findings of patients with real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) proved COVID-19 admitted to four Egyptian hospitals. The recently published RSNA expert consensus statement on reporting COVID-19 chest CT findings was taken into consideration. Results: Normal CT “negative for COVID-19” was reported in 26.1% of our RT-PCR proved COVID-19 cases. In descending order of prevalence, imaging findings of the positive CT studies (73.9%) included GGO (69%), consolidation (49.7%), crazy paving (15.4%), and peri-lobular fibrosis (40.6%). These showed a dominantly bilateral (68.2%), peripheral (72.4%), and patchy (64.7%) distribution. Remarkably, thymic hyperplasia was identified in 14.3% of studies. According to the RSNA consensus, CT findings were classified as typical in 68.9%, indeterminate in 3.6%, and atypical in 1.4% of the evaluated CT studies. Conclusion: Although COVID-19 cannot be entirely excluded by chest CT, it can be distinguished in more than two-thirds of cases;making CT a widely available, non-invasive, and rapid diagnostic tool.