ABSTRACT
Beside the changes in the gut microbiota in context of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, the increased use of high-risk broad-spectrum antibiotics during the actual pandemic raises concerns about a possible increase of Clostridioides difficile infections (CDIs). We retrospectively analyzed 80 consecutive patients, with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia and CDI. The mean length of hospitalization was 19.63 days. The mean time of the onset of the digestive symptoms related to CDI was 5.16 days. Patients with an onset of the digestive symptoms from hospital admission have a significantly lower median length in hospital stay. The recovered patients present a statistically significant decreased median age. coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cured patients present CDI symptoms much earlier than the deceased patients, when comparing the median days before the occurrence of any digestive symptoms regarding CDI. Among the patients that prior to their hospitalization for COVID-19 were exposed to antibiotics, 54.7% presented CDI digestive symptoms during their hospitalization and 65.6% had a severe or critical COVID-19 form. Although the incidence of CDI in the pandemic is lower compared to the period before the pandemic, the severity of cases and the death rate increased. In the actual setting clinicians need to be aware of possible CDI and SARS-CoV-2 co-infection.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Clostridioides difficile , Clostridium Infections , Coinfection , Cross Infection , Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use , COVID-19/epidemiology , Clostridium Infections/drug therapy , Clostridium Infections/epidemiology , Coinfection/drug therapy , Coinfection/epidemiology , Cross Infection/drug therapy , Humans , Retrospective Studies , SARS-CoV-2ABSTRACT
Many national governments have attempted to prevent and combat COVID-19 using mobile health (mHealth) technologies during the epidemic. During this time, governments began developing smartphone-based apps for prevention, call tracking, and monitoring people with COVID-19. An important question is, does everyone benefit from these technologies equally and fairly? To answer this question, we evaluated the user interface of smartphone-based apps developed during the COVID-19 era by considering their design for older adults, in order to determine whether social justice has been considered in the development of these apps.