Signs and symptoms commonly seen in COVID-19 in newborns, children, and adolescents and pediatric subjects

The recent findings reported that the most frequent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) clinical course in pediatric subjects ranged from mild to moderate form in with nonspecific symptoms such as fever, cough, dyspnea, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and nasal congestion. On the contrary, a lower frequency of severe COVID-19 forms was reported, including refractory metabolic acidosis, coagulation disorders, tachypnea, severe pneumonia, and septic shock. Recent literature is associated with the COVID-19 pediatric subject to the acute multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) with abdominal symptoms and left ventricular systolic dysfunction. The recent findings seem to support that the unvaccinated and comorbid children could present more severe clinical forms. Few data of COVID-19 hospitalization in pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission in schools were reported during the first wave. The main reasons could be correlated to the early school's closure, while the swabs were destined more frequently to adult symptomatic subjects. The pandemic state generated rise in psychological disorders, anxiety, and depression more frequently during the first year of the disease spread, with a higher prevalence in older adolescents. © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Orthodontic emergencies and patients' perceptions of orthodontic patients during the COVID-19 pandemic

Aim: This retrospective research was aimed to evaluate the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on orthodontic emergencies and Patients' perceptions of orthodontic patients. Material(s) and Method(s): A total of 204 patients were gathered who were not seen for nearly 5 months from the first of March 2020 to the end of July 2020 due to dental clinic closure. The mean age of the samples was 20.2 (SD = 12.5) years consisting of 134 females (66%) and 70 males (34%). All patients had undergone active orthodontic treatment with fixed and removable appliances before the pandemic. The survey included demographics, types of orthodontic emergencies, and Patients' perceptions of orthodontic treatment during the closure of the dental clinic. Continuous variables were analyzed by mean and standard deviation, while categorical variables were analyzed by frequency and percentage. Result(s): In general, 46.5% of the patients suffered from various emergencies. The incidence of emergencies was approximately 3 times higher than that of the normal appointment times. Debonding and poking wire had the most frequently reported classification respectively (14.2%) (7.9%). 30.4% of patients stated that pandemic had a significant impact on the efficacy of orthodontic treatment. Conclusion(s): This study showed that the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on patient care due to a higher number of emergencies and in turns, it delayed the therapeutic progress of patients. 16% of patients with active orthodontic appliances did not continue their treatment due to pandemics. More than half of the patients were willing to be seen every 8 weeks. Copyright © by BIOLIFE, s.a.s.

The Italian Health Service at the Rendez-Vous with the Pandemic: Structural Weaknesses and Prospects for Reform

We describe the evolution of the Italian health system before the COVID-19 crisis (with particular reference to the trend in health supply and demand, as well as the institutional context) and the measures implemented to tackle the pandemic. We focus on the main critical issues that should be addressed in the perspective of a structural reform of the health system aimed at improving its resilience in the post-epidemic phase, in particular with reference to the coherence of the governance framework and the opportunity to enhance the services of territorial medicine.

Navigation systems in maxillofacial surgery and neurosurgery and their potential advantages

Operating microscopes, navigation systems and intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring are essential in modern neurosurgical and maxillofacial procedures. Advances in surgical planning in neurosurgery and maxillofacial surgery led to the more common navigation system that helps surgeons know more information and ultimately do more for their patients. The benefits of a contemporary navigation system in the complicated brain, skull-base, maxillofacial and spine surgery are undeniable. Workflow analyses and cost-benefit evaluations must be carried out to increase the efficiency of neuronavigation systems in the next future.

Augmented and virtual reality as training tool for maxillofacial surgeons and neurosurgeons: is it the future?

Recent biotechnological advances, including three-dimensional microscopy and endoscopy, virtual reality, surgical simulation, surgical robotics, and advanced neuroimaging, have moulded the surgeon-computer relationship. For developing neurosurgeons and maxillofacial surgeons, such tools can reduce the learning curve, improve conceptual understanding of complex anatomy, and enhance visuospatial skills. However, current clinical trials in dental virtual reality must still be experimental.

Surgical multidisciplinarity for precision medicine: the challenge for the future

Multidisciplinary care has been shown to improve patient outcomes, and interprofessional collaboration has been shown to improve one's medical knowledge. Multidisciplinary interventions in the field of surgery are designed to address a specific problem occurring in a particular patient population and/or within the context of an individual hospital system. The importance of multidisciplinarity and interdisciplinarity at all levels, including clinical oncology, craniofacial trauma, and brain abscess caused by dental peri-implantitis, is well established. The challenge for future research is to further develop and validate medical team performance assessment instruments;this will help improve medical and surgical team training efforts and aid the design of clinical work systems supporting effective teamwork and safe patient care.

Neurosurgical and craniofacial surgery during the Covid-19 pandemic

The pandemic of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) resulted in an unprecedented global public health crisis and impacted all spheres of life, including all economic activity, travel, governance, education, surgery and, of course, healthcare. Neurosurgery, dentistry, and maxillofacial surgery are also not spared. Surgeons operating near the aerodigestive tract are at particularly high risk of being infected, and consequently, they shifted their practices toward more protective personal protective equipment. In the present digital era, surgeons use more and more web, teleconsulting, and virtual reality to effectively communicate with patients and their relatives on treatment strategies and appointments for surgical works. The COVID-19 situation also provides a novel opportunity to learn, update our knowledge, and update ourselves such that we continue to save lives. In conclusion, it seems appropriate to request that every healthcare institution receives well-researched and documented protocols for dealing with future inevitable global pandemics. © by BIOLIFE, s.a.s.

Periodontal disease and clinical association with COVID-19 infection

SARS-CoV-2 infection can cause long-standing damage to the immune system characterized by increased inflammatory cytokine activation. Maintaining periodontal health may reduce host susceptibility to COVID-19 and prevent COVID-19 aggravation in infected patients. There is sufficient evidence in the literature to warrant an association between the presence of PDs and the development and course of respiratory illnesses. Optimum oral health, maintaining good systemic health, and elimination of smoking habits may be beneficial for the prevention and management of COVID-19 infections. Future studies on the periodontal status of patients with COVID-19, including from mild to severe forms, could allow the opportune identification of people at risk of severe illness and generate relevant recommendations. The connection, if any, between the oral microbiome and COVID-19 complications is urgently required to establish the importance of oral hygiene and pre-existing oral disease in the severity and mortality risk of COVID-19.

People counting on low cost embedded hardware during the sars-cov-2 pandemic

Detecting and tracking people is a challenging task in a persistent crowded environment as retail, airport or station, for human behaviour analysis of security purposes. Especially during the global spread of SARS-CoV-2 virus that has become part of everyday life in every country, it is important to be able to manage the flows inside and outside buildings indoors. This article introduces an approach to detect and count people when they cross a virtual line. The methods used are based on deep learning and in particular on convolutional neural networks, specifically MobileNetV3 which is used for the detection task and MOSSE filter which is used for the tracking phase. The hardware system assembled for people counting is inexpensive, as it is formed by Raspberry Pi4 and a Picamera module v2. These devices have already been installed in some supermarkets and museums in the center of Italy, precisely in the area of the Marche region. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021.

A Review of Topical Povidone-iodine to Decrease Viral Load of COViD-19

Topical povidone-iodine (PVP-I) is currently being considered as a potential preventive measure against the spread of COVID-19. Diluted PVP-I solutions have been historically used in Asia to treat upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) by decreasing the bacterial and viral load on oropharyngeal mucosa to decrease the transmission of diseases. Efficacy of gargling 0.23% PVP-I mouthwash in Japan demonstrated to be efficacious in lowering the prevalence of URTIs when compared with placebo. The 0.23% concentration was used in vitro on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, which produced undetectable results after 30 seconds of exposure. Additionally, a recent study in 2020 proved the efficacy of PVP-I 0.45%-10% in reducing COVID-19 (SARS-CoV 2) viral load in vitro. Numerous clinical trials are being conducted to determine if there is a decrease in viral load, and thus transmission, when using oral or nasal topical PVP-I in COVID-19 patients. Because of the current lack of evidence for the use of PVP-I in vivo with COVID-19, it is recommended to await the clinical trial results before initiating this practice.