Smart secretion management to protect nurses from COVID19 and other infectious diseases.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 has been linked to over 40 million infections and 1.1 million deaths in 210 countries as of October 19, 2020. This highly contagious communicable disease has put not only infected individuals but other patients and frontline workers like nurses at risk in hospitals, especially in Intensive Care units (ICUs). There is a need for minimizing patient contact, improving hand hygiene practices, and optimizing healthcare provider time, especially nurses. Globally it is estimated that nearly a million health care providers have been infected with COVID-19 as of the end of October 2020. METHODS: This retrospective service evaluation documents the experience of health care providers in a COVID-19 ICU in India that was used to implement new protocols for secretion management and oral hygiene. Patient chart information and staff feedback were utilized. INTERVENTION: This pilot study captures the practical benefits of using VAPCare, an automated, closed-loop system for oral secretion removal. RESULTS: Six patients were included in this small-scale study; three patients following the current standard of care for suctioning and oral hygiene and three receiving the new VAPCare and Lumen device protocol. With the new device protocol, the number of infected secretion interactions by a nurse was 50% lower, and nursing time spent on oral hygiene and secretion management 70% less than seen with the current standard of care. The number of disposable gloves used with VAPCare and Lumen was reduced by over 50%. All 10 nurses and six doctors gave positive feedback on device usage. The department recommended updating protocols to prioritize the use of the new secretion management system for patients with COVID19 and other highly contagious conditions. CONCLUSION: The findings are an early indication that using VAPCare for patients could help protect infected patients, other ICU patients, and health care workers.

CT Scan Findings of Five Mildly Symptomatic COVID Patients from India.

The outbreak of the SARS-Cov-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome - Coronavirus 2) viral pandemic which started at Wuhan China has spread to 200 countries and have resulted in a huge loss to mankind and the global economy. Computerised Tomographic (CT) scan may play an important role in the diagnosis and management of the COVID -19-the disease caused by the SARS-Cov-2. This modality might help in triaging this extremely contagious disease and thus help serve in reducing the outbreak. We present five cases that presented to the hospital with mild symptoms, where the CT scan findings were disproportionate to the symptoms thus leading to effective triage. This resulted in effective disposition in isolation ward and thus helped to protect the healthcare workers from contraction of the disease. This is especially important as the definitive diagnosis via RT-PCR (Reverse Transcriptase - Polymerase Chain Reaction) would take almost 24 hours in the present time in India. Key Words: CT scan, COVID- 19, Triage, SARS-Cov-2.