A postmortem study of patients vaccinated for SARS-CoV-2 in Colombia.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: A new coronavirus produces a disease designated as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Vaccination against COVID-19 has resulted in decreased mortality. Postmortems of vaccinated patients play an important part in the forensic analysis of adverse effects after vaccination, which is essential for determining its efficacy and security. The main objective of this study was to describe the results of autopsies of patients vaccinated for SARS-CoV-2 carried out in two major centers in Colombia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study of 121 autopsies was performed following Colombian regulations in two main hospitals in Bogotá, Colombia, between March 1st and April 31st, 2021. RESULTS: 118 of the 121 patients (97.52%) had been vaccinated with CoronaVac (Sinovac); only 3 had received other vaccines. Sudden cardiac death was the leading cause of death, with pulmonary embolism another critical finding. No relation between the cause of death and vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 was found. CONCLUSIONS: A clinical autopsy is a vital for an accurate post-mortem diagnosis. Any relation between the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine and the cause of death should be carefully studied in order to provide the general public with evidence-based information about the safety of the vaccination.

MENTAL HEALTH EFFECTS ON WORKERS RETURNING TO WORK DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. AN ANALYSIS OF THE MAQUILADORA INDUSTRY IN NORTHERN MEXICO

The aim of this research is to analyze the psychological effects caused by Covid-19 on the workers' readiness to return to work during the current pandemic. A cross-sectional study was designed that explored the perception of fear, work stress, and burnout in a sample of 333 workers belonging to the maquiladora industry in northern Mexico. The perceptions were gathered using a Likert scale survey of 5 points based on previously validated scales. The statistical technique used was the structural equation model (PLS-SEM). The results obtained reflect that the fear of Covid-19 influences directly the presence of stress and burnout in workers. It was demonstrated that burnout influences negatively and significantly the intention to return to work, however, no evidence was found that proves the negative effect of fear of Covid-19 on returning to work. We conclude that the pandemic is an event that affects the occupational health of the maquila workers, and it represents new risks in the performance of work due to workers' exposure. This situation generates fear, stress, and burnout, which finally affects the readiness to return to work, with its subsequent effects in terms of performance.Alternate :El objetivo de esta investigación es analizar los efectos psicológicos causados por el Covid-19 en la preparación de los trabajadores para volver al trabajo durante la pandemia. Se diseñó un estudio transversal que exploró la percepción de miedo, estrés laboral y burnout en una muestra de 333 trabajadores pertenecientes a la industria maquiladora del norte de México. Las percepciones se recogieron mediante una encuesta de escala Likert de 5 puntos basada en escalas previamente validadas. La técnica estadística utilizada fue el modelo de ecuaciones estructurales (PLS-SEM). Los resultados obtenidos reflejan que el miedo al Covid-19 influye directamente en la presencia de estrés y burnout en los trabajadores. Se demostró que el burnout influye negativa y significativamente en la intención de volver al trabajo, sin embargo, no se encontró evidencia que acredite el efecto negativo del miedo al Covid-19 en la vuelta al trabajo. Se concluye que la pandemia es un evento que afecta la salud ocupacional de los trabajadores de la maquila, y representa nuevos riesgos en el desempeño del trabajo por exposición de los trabajadores. Esta situación genera miedo, estrés y burnout, lo que finalmente afecta la preparación para el regreso al trabajo, con sus consecuentes efectos en términos de desempeño.Alternate :O objetivo desta pesquisa é analisar os efeitos psicológicos causados pela Covid-19 na preparação dos trabalhadores para voltar ao trabalho durante a pandemia. Desenhou-se um estudo transversal que explorou a percepção de medo, estresse no trabalho e burnout em uma amostra de 333 trabalhadores pertencentes à indústria maquiladora no norte do México. As percepções foram coletadas mediante uma enquete de escala Likert de 5 pontos baseada em escalas previamente validadas. A técnica estatística utilizada foi a modelagem de equações estruturais (PLS-SEM). Os resultados obtidos mostram que o medo à Covid-19 influi diretamente na presença de estresse e burnout nos trabalhadores. Foi demonstrado que o burnout influencia de maneira negativa e significativa na intenção de retornar ao trabalho, no entanto, não foram encontradas evidência que validem o efeito negativo do medo à Covid-19 no retorno ao trabalho. Concluímos que a pandemia é um evento que afeta a saúde ocupacional dos trabalhadores da maquila, e representa novos riscos do desempenho no trabalho devido à exposição dos trabalhadores. Esta situação gera medo, estresse e burnout, que finalmente afeta a preparação para o retorno ao trabalho, com seus consequentes efeitos em relação ao desempenho.

Intelligent Digital Platform for Community-Based Rural Tourism-A Novel Concept Development in Peru

The COVID-19 pandemic has driven the rapid evolution and digitization of different tourism sectors through Industry 4.0. However, Community-based Rural Tourism (CRT) has not experienced the same technological advancement. Thus, considering tourism as a powerful socioeconomic driver, this research is based on the relevance of the CRT for the development of rural areas through job creation, preservation of historical-cultural and architectural heritage, and appreciation of the local market. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to present a concept development model of an intelligent digital platform (IDP), where tourism products and services are visualized, articulated, and integrated with the different actors of the CRT, offering a personalized tourist experience. The concept was developed based on Business Process Management and Business Model Canvas (BMC). Thus, through meetings and interviews, it was possible to extract essential information to obtain the necessary know-how for the development of the concept. It was concluded that the COVID-19 pandemic has established a new business scenario, intensifying and accelerating the use of digital tools and ICTs in several sectors, including tourism. However, the use of ICTs in CRT is still incipient. As Peru is a country where rural tourism has a strong tradition, but there are no specific platforms for CRT, which makes the broad dissemination of rural experiences difficult, a BMC template has been developed to integrate the expected objectives, and the application of the proposed framework serves as a guide for other platforms with different niches markets in the tourism sector.

Deep learning representations to support COVID-19 diagnosis on CT slices. / Representaciones basadas en aprendizaje profundo como apoyo del diagnóstico de la COVID-19 en cortes de tomografía computarizada

INTRODUCTION: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a significant public health problem worldwide. In this context, CT-scan automatic analysis has emerged as a COVID-19 complementary diagnosis tool allowing for radiological finding characterization, patient categorization, and disease follow-up. However, this analysis depends on the radiologist's expertise, which may result in subjective evaluations. OBJECTIVE: To explore deep learning representations, trained from thoracic CT-slices, to automatically distinguish COVID-19 disease from control samples. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two datasets were used: SARS-CoV-2 CT Scan (Set-1) and FOSCAL clinic's dataset (Set-2). The deep representations took advantage of supervised learning models previously trained on the natural image domain, which were adjusted following a transfer learning scheme. The deep classification was carried out: (a) via an end-to-end deep learning approach and (b) via random forest and support vector machine classifiers by feeding the deep representation embedding vectors into these classifiers. RESULTS: The end-to-end classification achieved an average accuracy of 92.33% (89.70% precision) for Set-1 and 96.99% (96.62% precision) for Set-2. The deep feature embedding with a support vector machine achieved an average accuracy of 91.40% (95.77% precision) and 96.00% (94.74% precision) for Set-1 and Set-2, respectively. CONCLUSION: Deep representations have achieved outstanding performance in the identification of COVID-19 cases on CT scans demonstrating good characterization of the COVID-19 radiological patterns. These representations could potentially support the COVID-19 diagnosis in clinical settings.

Introducción. La enfermedad por coronavirus (COVID-19) es actualmente el principal problema de salud pública en el mundo. En este contexto, el análisis automático de tomografías computarizadas (TC) surge como una herramienta diagnóstica complementaria que permite caracterizar hallazgos radiológicos, y categorizar y hacer el seguimiento de pacientes con COVID-19. Sin embargo, este análisis depende de la experiencia de los radiólogos, por lo que las valoraciones pueden ser subjetivas. Objetivo. Explorar representaciones de aprendizaje profundo entrenadas con cortes de TC torácica para diferenciar automáticamente entre los casos de COVID-19 y personas no infectadas. Materiales y métodos. Se usaron dos conjuntos de datos de TC: de SARS-CoV-2 CT (conjunto 1) y de la clínica FOSCAL (conjunto 2). Los modelos de aprendizaje supervisados y previamente entrenados en imágenes naturales, se ajustaron usando aprendizaje por transferencia. La clasificación se llevó a cabo mediante aprendizaje de extremo a extremo y clasificadores tales como los árboles de decisiones y las máquinas de soporte vectorial, alimentados por la representación profunda previamente aprendida. Resultados. El enfoque de extremo a extremo alcanzó una exactitud promedio de 92,33 % (89,70 % de precisión) para el conjunto 1 y de 96,99 % (96,62 % de precisión) para el conjunto-2. La máquina de soporte vectorial alcanzó una exactitud promedio de 91,40 % (precisión del 95,77 %) para el conjunto-1 y del 96,00 % (precisión del 94,74 %) para el conjunto 2. Conclusión. Las representaciones profundas lograron resultados sobresalientes al caracterizar patrones radiológicos usados en la detección de casos de COVID-19 a partir de estudios de TC y demostraron ser una potencial herramienta de apoyo del diagnóstico.

Caracterización de las manifestaciones cutáneas por infección de SARS COV- 2 en pacientes de América Latina Characterization of skin manifestations due to SARS COV-2 infection in Latin American patients

Introducción. En 2019 surgió el coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, causante del COVID-19, ocasionando una pandemia que se extendió rápidamente alrededor del mundo;en casos graves, este, puede desencadenar un síndrome de tormenta de citoquinas, y conllevar a la muerte. Las manifestaciones cutáneas pueden asociarse a la expresión del receptor ACE2 en queratinocitos, estas, se han descrito en la literatura de diversos países. La presente revisión busca documentar las presentaciones cutáneas que se han descrito en pacientes con COVID-19 en América Latina. Metodología. Realizamos una búsqueda en nueve bases de datos de artículos en español, portugués e inglés, hasta el 10 de marzo del 2021, utilizando los términos: «Skin», «Cutaneous manifestations», «COVID 19», «SARS-COV-2», asociándolos al nombre de los países Latinoamericanos. Se obtuvieron los datos básicos de los pacientes incluidos, luego se creó una tabla en Microsoft Excel para analizar y comparar datos. Resultados. Se identificaron 22 publicaciones de nueve países. Obtuvimos información de 92 pacientes, predominantemente de sexo femenino y edad promedio de 31,6 años. Fueron documentadas 99 lesiones dermatológicas, en orden de frecuencia correspondieron a rash, habones, petequias-púrpura y pápulas. En 70 pacientes se describió el segmento corporal afectado, principalmente el tronco, miembros inferiores y superiores. Encontramos 39 fotografías y 5 histopatologías. Los tratamientos más formulados fueron corticoides, antipalúdicos e interferón recombinante. Conclusiones. Se observan diferencias en las manifestaciones cutáneas del COVID-19, entre las publicaciones latinoamericanas respecto a los demás países. Parece haber un patrón propio, donde predomina el rash eritematoso con habones, mientras que la pseudo-perniosis fue menos representativa.

Caracterización de las manifestaciones cutáneas por infección de SARS COV- 2 en pacientes de América Latina

RESUMEN Introducción. En 2019 surgió el coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, causante del COVID-19, ocasionando una pandemia que se extendió rápidamente alrededor del mundo;en casos graves, este, puede desencadenar un síndrome de tormenta de citoquinas, y conllevar a la muerte. Las manifestaciones cutáneas pueden asociarse a la expresión del receptor ACE2 en queratinocitos, estas, se han descrito en la literatura de diversos países. La presente revisión busca documentar las presentaciones cutáneas que se han descrito en pacientes con COVID-19 en América Latina. Metodología. Realizamos una búsqueda en nueve bases de datos de artículos en español, portugués e inglés, hasta el 10 de marzo del 2021, utilizando los términos: «Skin», «Cutaneous manifestations», «COVID 19», «SARS-COV-2», asociándolos al nombre de los países Latinoamericanos. Se obtuvieron los datos básicos de los pacientes incluidos, luego se creó una tabla en Microsoft Excel para analizar y comparar datos. Resultados. Se identificaron 22 publicaciones de nueve países. Obtuvimos información de 92 pacientes, predominantemente de sexo femenino y edad promedio de 31,6 años. Fueron documentadas 99 lesiones dermatológicas, en orden de frecuencia correspondieron a rash, habones, petequias-púrpura y pápulas. En 70 pacientes se describió el segmento corporal afectado, principalmente el tronco, miembros inferiores y superiores. Encontramos 39 fotografías y 5 histopatologías. Los tratamientos más formulados fueron corticoides, antipalúdicos e interferón recombinante. Conclusiones. Se observan diferencias en las manifestaciones cutáneas del COVID-19, entre las publicaciones latinoamericanas respecto a los demás países. Parece haber un patrón propio, donde predomina el rash eritematoso con habones, mientras que la pseudo-perniosis fue menos representativa. Introduction In 2019, the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus emerged, producing COVID-19, which caused a pandemic that spread rapidly around the world;in severe cases, it can trigger cytokine storm syndrome and lead to death. Cutaneous manifestations can be associated with the expression of the ACE2 receptor in keratinocytes, these have been described in the literature from different countries. This review seeks to document the skin presentations that have been described in patients with COVID-19 in Latin America. Methodology. We researched in nine databases for articles in Spanish, Portuguese and English, until March 10, 2021, using the terms: “Skin”, “Cutaneous manifestations”, “COVID-19”, “SARS-COV-2”, associating them with Latin American countries. Basic data was obtained from the patients, then a table was created in Microsoft Excel to analyze and compare this data. Results 22 publications from nine countries were identified. We obtained information from 92 patients, predominantly female with an average age of 31.6 years. 99 dermatologic lesions were documented, in order of frequency: rash, wheals, petechiae-purpura and papules. In 70 patients the affected body segment was described, mainly the trunk, lower and upper limbs. We found 39 photographs and 5 histopathologies. The most indicated treatments were corticosteroids, antimalarials and recombinant interferon. Conclusions Differences can be observed in the description of cutaneous manifestations caused by COVID-19, between Latin American publications and the ones found in other countries. There seems to be a specific pattern with a predominance of erythematous rash with wheals, while pseudo-perniosis was less representative.

Stress and myths related to the COVID-19 pandemic's effects on remote work

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to know the implications that COVID-19 has presented in the workplace to develop research strategies related to issues of human and organizational behavior on the business perspective. Design/methodology/approach Quantitative, exploratory based on primary and secondary sources, an online questionnaire was designed and applied with 33 items that was applied in the Mexican work environment, during the period from March 7 to 16, that is, in the same week as WHO made the pandemic declaration for COVID-19, obtaining a total of 332 responses. Findings With the descriptive analyzes carried out, it was possible to know the perception that people have of various aspects related to COVID-19, and subsequently the corresponding reliability tests were carried out, obtaining Cronbach's alpha indexes greater than 0.8. At the beginning of the declaration of pandemic by COVID-19, a relationship was shown between stress and the aspects related to the arrival of COVID-19, showing evidence of its impact on the workforce. Research limitations/implications This work has contributed ideas for academics, managers and areas of human resources that can promote the growth and development of people with the aim of achieving comprehensive well-being in the workplace, generating better working conditions owing to the proposal to make remote work a successful strategy in the function of human resources in the workplace and in the improvement of society in general. Originality/value This research, in addition to being carried out with information obtained in the first weeks of March 2020, presents a model with ideas and themes to design future research projects and to analyze the post-COVID-19 effects in the workplace, with a business perspective, human behavior and organization.

Clinical features and outcomes of thoracic surgery patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study was to describe the clinical features and outcomes of thoracic surgery patients during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. METHODS: Thirty-five patients were treated at the 12 de Octubre University Hospital in Madrid between 1 March 2020 and 24 April 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patient demographics, surgical procedures, complications, COVID-19 symptoms and outcomes were recorded. A protocol was introduced to reduce the risk of operating on patients with COVID-19, including symptom screening, a polymerase chain reaction test for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and computed tomography scans of the chest. Surgical activity changed significantly during this time, from an initial period of near-normal activity, through an emergency-only period and finally a recovery period when some oncological surgical cases were restarted. Selection criteria for surgical patients are also described. RESULTS: A total of 34 patients underwent surgery during the pandemic period. We performed 22 lung resections (11 lobectomies and 11 sublobar resections). No hospital deaths were recorded. An elective surgery patient and an emergency surgery patient were diagnosed with COVID-19 (5.88%). The former died within 30 days after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 represents a tremendous limitation for thoracic surgical practice. Preoperative practices to exclude asymptomatic cases infected with the virus allowed us to perform thoracic surgical procedures.