PIMS THROUGH the WAVES of COVID 19: DATA from the JIR COHORT

Background: Paediatric infammatory multisystem Syndrome (PIMS) is a new systemic infammatory disease linked to SARS-CoV2 that affects children. It was frst reported in may 2020 [1-2]. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to describe patients with PIMS through the international JIR cohort registry and to compare the different profiles and treatments of these patients over the different waves. Methods: Study patients with international PIMS criteria were included from March 2020 to June 2021. Patients were identifed in the JIR cohort, an international registry collecting demographic, clinical and paraclinical data on patients with pediatric infammatory diseases. Two groups were distinguished: from March 2020 to July 2020 for patients in the frst wave, from July 2020 to June 2021 for patients in the 2nd and 3rd waves. These two groups were compared using a Fischer test for categorical data and a Mann-Whitney test for quantitative data Results: 136 patients meeting the PIMS criteria were included (64 patients in the 1st wave, 72 patients after). Patients had less frequent myocarditis (51 patients in wave 1 vs. 36 patients after, p=0,0003) and respiratory distress (34 patients vs 10 patients, p<0,0001). Corticosteroids were used more frequently in the second wave (32 patients in wave 1 vs. 67 patients after July 2020, p<0,0001). Intravenous immunoglobulins were used as much over the waves (58 patients in wave 1 vs 68 patients after, p=0.5). Antibiotics were less used since the second wave (53 patients received antibiotics before July 2020 vs 11 after, p<0,0001). The duration of hospitalization decreased sig-nifcantly (p<0,0001) with a median duration of 9 days during the frst wave (interquartile range, 7-12) and 7 days (interquartile range, 5-10) after the frst wave. Conclusion: There was a decrease in the number of complications of PIMS, particularly cardiac and respiratory complications, and a decrease in the length of hospitalization over time. The treatment of PIMS has also evolved, with a clear increase in the use of corticosteroids and a decrease in the use of antibiotics.

Community-driven cultural spaces and the COVID-19 pandemic

Community-driven cultural spaces (CSCSs) occupy a significant segment in the cultural ecosystem of cities around Europe. Regarded as third places, using Oldenburg’s concept, they are dedicated collective activities, but also offer social spaces for exchange between different actors. Organised around a specific space - often an abandoned building or an old factory - and community centred in their mission and practice, they have turned into laboratories of artistic experimentation and social innovation, attracting diverse audiences and often contributing to wider social and civil goals in the neighbourhood they operate in. The disruption in their physical operations during COVID-19 calls for a deeper understanding of the changes adopted in their ways of working, engaging with different communities and re-defining their space-related organisation. Forced to operate in a non-space condition, their adoption of practices will provide a new articulation of the notion of space between the physical and digital spheres. This chapter questions the emerging understanding and use of space in the practice of CDCSs and its re-organisation to adapt to ‘the new normal’ while responding to their function of third places that bring together communities for ‘doing together’. The chapter discusses challenges faced and strategies adopted during the confinement period and the months following it by focusing on case studies of such spaces in three European cities (Athens, Baie Mare and Nice). Data was gathered through desk research, interviews with management staff and field visits where possible in the framework of a wider research project, facilitated by the CREAMED research network composed by researchers from Universities in France’s southern region. © 2022 selection and editorial matter, Federica De Molli and Marilena Vecco;individual chapters, the contributors.

Communication and Cultural Third Places During and After Covid-19. Towards Solidarity Communication?

Placing arts and cultural creativity at the heart of their work, cultural third places explore new collaborative working methods. They occupy-according to Ray Oldenburg who introduced the term third places-the space where people spend time between their home (first) and work (second place) and which allow citizen engagement while creating a feeling of belonging. But what happened to these places during Covid-19? How did they react? How did they engage with their audiences? What changes in their mission will this period bring? In this article we firstly explore the results of a collective study on a sample of third places that took place during spring-summer 2020 as a part of the Creamed research network. After a short review of the links that exist between crisis communication and solidarity communication, we first describe and analyse the key points of our overall corpus and secondly, we give examples from our study that are pertinent to the research question. Finally, we try to give an answer to the general concern about the future of communication by focusing on the notion of solidarity communication. © The Authors 2021.