Purchase of food by ecommerce in Costa Rica during COVID-19

Introduction. The influence of electronic commerce (EC) on people's food purchasing decisions has been relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Costa Rica, there is no information available on how this medium has modified the food purchasing and consumption behaviors in Costa Rican families during this health emergency. Objective. To analyze changes in the food purchase and consumption patterns of Costa Ricans that were influenced by the EC during the pandemic. Materials and methods. An online survey using the snowball methodology was carried out in June 2021 in different social networks groups in Costa Rica. Structural equation modeling was used to establish the causes associated with endogenous (trust, convenience, hedonic impulses) and exogenous variables (socioeconomic status, purchase decisions due to COVID-19) that outlined the changes in purchasing habits. The stimuli generated from EC that influenced these purchase decisions were reviewed according to the specific food group. Results. A strong causality was found from the latent variable convenience (beta=0.89;p<0.01) for the purchase of food by EC, in addition to little impact (beta=-0.35;p<0.01) on food consumption habits, generated by the measures defined to contain the pandemic. The sanitary measures established by the authorities show causality in the general response of the food consumer by EC (NORM_1<0.8;p<0.01), which was low if its estimated value is compared with other motivators in purchase decisions such as convenience due to improvements in quality of life (CO1 approximately equal to 0.8;p<0.01) or even trust due to the commitment to quality offered by the website (CF3 approximately equal to 0.6;p<0.01). Conclusions. The pandemic promoted an improvement in consumer perception regarding advantageous situations of employing EC to make food purchases.

Purchase of food by ecommerce in Costa Rica during COVID-19

Introduction: The influence of electronic commerce (EC) on people's food purchasing decisions has been relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Costa Rica, there is no information available on how this medium has modified the food purchasing and consumption behaviors in Costa Rican families during this health emergency. Background: To analyze changes in the food purchase and consumption patterns of Costa Ricans that were influenced by the EC during the pandemic. Materials and methods: An online survey using the snowball methodology was carried out in June 2021 in different social networks groups in Costa Rica. Structural equation modeling was used to establish the causes associated with endogenous (trust, convenience, hedonic impulses) and exogenous variables (socioeconomic status, purchase decisions due to COVID-19) that outlined the changes in purchasing habits. The stimuli generated from EC that influenced these purchase decisions were reviewed according to the specific food group. Results: A strong causality was found from the latent variable convenience (beta=0.89;p<0.01) for the purchase of food by EC, in addition to little impact (beta=-0.35;p<0.01) on food consumption habits, generated by the measures defined to contain the pandemic. The sanitary measures established by the authorities show causality in the general response of the food consumer by EC (NORM_1<0.8;p<0.01), which was low if its estimated value is compared with other motivators in purchase decisions such as convenience due to improvements in quality of life (CO10.8;p<0.01) or even trust due to the commitment to quality offered by the website (CF30.6;p<0.01). Conclusions: The pandemic promoted an improvement in consumer perception regarding advantageous situations of employing EC to make food purchases.

[Impact of COVID-19 lockdown on patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension in Spain]. / Impacto del confinamiento por COVID-19 en pacientes con hipertensión intracraneal idiopática en España.

INTRODUCTION: The nationwide lockdown implemented in Spain in March 2020 in response to the 2019 coronavirus disease pandemic (COVID-19) could have had an effect on the clinical situation, disease management and access to care in patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted by means of an online survey. The frequency and impact of headache, visual symptoms, dizziness, cognitive symptoms, diplopia, anxiety and depression on patients' quality of life were recorded. Disease treatment and delays experienced in accessing care were recorded. Participants were grouped according to the time elapsed since diagnosis. RESULTS: A total of 112 patients participated in the study (103 women). The average time since disease onset was 6.25 years. Headache, anxiety and depression were responsible for considerable impact in the period prior to lockdown. The impact of headache was not aggravated during lockdown, but anxiety and depression did become significantly worse. Recently diagnosed participants reported higher rates of anxiety, depression, dizziness and diplopia; chronically diagnosed participants reported a higher frequency of cognitive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The clinical situation of the participants deteriorated during lockdown, although the differences were smaller than previously thought. This was probably because the baseline situation was more severe than expected. Further studies are needed to clarify the medium and long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension.

TITLE: Impacto del confinamiento por COVID-19 en pacientes con hipertensión intracraneal idiopática en España.Introducción. El confinamiento nacional instaurado en España en marzo de 2020 como respuesta a la pandemia por la enfermedad por coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pudo tener un efecto en la situación clínica, el manejo de la enfermedad y el acceso a la atención médica en pacientes con hipertensión intracraneal idiopática. Pacientes y métodos. Se realizó un estudio observacional transversal por medio de una encuesta en línea. Se registraron la frecuencia y el impacto en la calidad de vida de la cefalea, los síntomas visuales, el mareo, los síntomas cognitivos, la diplopía, la ansiedad y la depresión. Se registró el tratamiento de la enfermedad y los retrasos experimentados en el acceso a la atención médica. Se agrupó a los participantes según el tiempo de evolución desde el diagnóstico. Resultados. Participaron 112 pacientes (103 mujeres). El tiempo medio de evolución de la enfermedad fue 6,25 años. La cefalea, la ansiedad y la depresión fueron responsables de un impacto considerable en el período previo al confinamiento. El impacto de la cefalea no empeoró durante el confinamiento, pero la ansiedad y la depresión empeoraron significativamente. Los participantes diagnosticados recientemente comunicaron mayores tasas de ansiedad, depresión, mareo y diplopía; los de evolución crónica, mayor frecuencia de síntomas cognitivos. Conclusiones. La situación clínica de los participantes se deterioró durante el confinamiento, aunque las diferencias fueron menores de lo que se pensaba. Esto se debió, probablemente, a que la situación basal era más grave de lo esperado. Son necesarios más estudios para aclarar el impacto a medio y largo plazo de la pandemia por COVID-19 en pacientes con hipertensión intracraneal idiopática.

Pulmonary function and radiological features in survivors of critical COVID-19: A 3-month prospective cohort

Background More than 20% of hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) develop acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission. The long-term respiratory sequelae in ICU survivors remain unclear. Aim: To perform a detailed characterization of the long-term pulmonary sequelae in critical COVID-19 survivors. Study Design and Methods Consecutive patients with COVID-19 requiring ICU admission were recruited and evaluated 3 months after hospitalization discharge. The follow-up comprised symptom and quality of life, anxiety and depression questionnaires, pulmonary function tests, exercise test (6-minute walking test (6MWT)) and chest computed tomography (CT). Results 125 ICU patients with ARDS secondary to COVID-19 were recruited between March and June 2020. At the 3-month follow-up, 62 patients were available for pulmonary evaluation. The most frequent symptoms were dyspnea (46.7%), and cough (34.4%). Eighty-two percent of patients showed a lung diffusing capacity of less than 80%. The mean distance in the 6MWT was 401±93 mts. CT scans were abnormal in 70.2% of patients, showing reticular lesions in 49.1% and fibrotic patterns in 21.1%. Patients with more severe alterations on chest CT had worse pulmonary function and presented more degrees of desaturation in the 6MWT. Factors associated with the severity of lung damage on chest CT were age and prone position during the ICU stay. Interpretation Pulmonary structural abnormalities and functional impairment are highly prevalent in surviving ICU patients with ARDS secondary to COVID-19 3 months after hospital discharge. Pulmonary evaluation should be considered for all critical COVID-19 survivors 3 months post discharge.