ABSTRACT
People are being thermally screened in hospitals and in such facilities, all the data collected must be stored and displayed. The person responsible for keeping track of people's body temperatures must put in more time and effort. This approach is a tedious task, especially during times of dealing with the pandemic diseases like Covid-19. Hence, in this paper, an automated contactless continuous temperature monitoring system is designed to eliminate this time-consuming process. If a person's temperature is too high, that is, higher than the usual temperature range, the system records it and monitors it continuously via a mobile application. In this paper, we present the development of an Automated contactless continuous body temperature monitoring system using a Raspberry Pi camera and mobile application. © 2023 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
Purpose: Effective March 15, 2021, the OPTN launched a new policy for matching kidney and pancreas transplant candidates with organs from deceased donors. The new policy was projected to increase equity in transplant access for candidates nationwide by using a scoring system based on a reference of 250 nautical mile radius from donor hospital. Various factors can influence the transplant rates including wait list size, organ acceptance practices as well as access to transplant centers in rural and socio-economically disadvantaged parts of the country. Small volume centers have short waitlist and candidates lower on the national list. With the current change in allocation, they may be forced to accept high risk kidneys. The new allocation may impact outcomes for such centers to stay active and maintain volumes. We propose to evaluate the impact of the allocation change on the kidney transplant practices at our center situated in rural setting. Method(s): A cohort study was designed comparing transplant characteristics of all patients undergoing kidney transplant at our center. The study population was all patients who had a kidney transplant after March 15, 2021. The cohort group was all patients who underwent a kidney transplant at our center from Jan 1, 2019 to Dec 31, 2019. The year 2020 was not considered because of COVID-19 pandemic. Data collected included donor demographics, recipient demographics, donor quality indices and recipient allograft function, transplant related complications. Result(s): There were 66 patients in the pre and the 49 in post allocation group. The most common cause of renal failure was diabetes in both. There were no statistically significant differences in recipient demographics. There was a dramatic increase in the number of DCD donors (48% pre vs 80% post, p 0.007). The cold ischemia time was significantly increased (20hr 5m pre vs 23hr 45m post, p 0.002). The serum creatinine trend showed higher serum creatinine at 1, 3 and 6 months post transplant in the post allocation group. Delayed graft function was seen in 3% in pre vs 10% in post group. There was an increase in hospital stay (6 days vs 8 days). Conclusion(s): The new allocation system may increase utilization DCD kidneys. It also prolongs cold ischemia time. This can result in prolonged hospital stay and DGF rates and result in higher serum creatinine levels. The impact of this on low volume centers and rural hospital systems may decrease organ transplant rates in such areas and lead to disparity in transplant access.
ABSTRACT
Background: We report a rare case of solitary peripheral pulmonary artery aneurysm in a patient who was evaluated for haemoptysis. Incidentally, his total antibodies were positive for Coronavirus 2019 infection. Patient underwent right lower lobectomy uneventfully. Peripheral pulmonary artery aneurysms arising from segmental or intrapulmonary branches are extremely rare. Untreated, the majority end fatally due to sudden rupture and exsanguination. The purpose of this article is to report our rare case and review the pertinent literature. Case Study: A 40-year-old man presented with an episode of haemoptysis. He had a history of intermittent mild grade fever, cough and dyspnea lasting for a month. He had no history of haemoptysis in the past. He had no pre-existing medical conditions or Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) infection. His clinical examination was unremarkable. Blood investigations were within normal limits. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test was negative for COVID-19 infection, but his total antibodies test was elevated -117 (biologicalreference range <1.0). 2D Echocardiography was normal. Chest radiography showed a solitary pulmonary lesion in the right lower lung zone [Figure 1a].A computed tomography of the chest plain and contrast confirmed the presence of a 3.7 cm-3.6 cm, well-defined, circumscribed and densely enhancing lesion in apicoposterior segment of right lower lobe. It is seen along the course of descending branch of the right pulmonary artery. Areas of consolidation are also seen in apicoposterior segment. Postcontrast study shows heterogenous enhancement of this lesion suggestive of an aneurysm. The rest of lung parenchyma was normal [Figure 1b and c].The diagnosis of a solitary peripheral pulmonary artery aneurysm (PAA) was considered and right lower lobectomy was performed through posterolateral thoracotomy. Discussion: The estimated incidence of PAA is 1 in 14 000 autopsies, and these lesions can be central aneurysms and peripheral aneurysm. An aneurysm can be true or pseudo aneurysm. In this patient, an aneurysm is a true aneurysm and origin may be idiopathic or post-inflammatory with superadded fungal infection in thrombus, post-COVID-19 infection. Long-term follow up is required to observe the future course Conclusion: True solitary peripheral PAA is an extremely rare entity. A high degree of suspicion is needed for diagnosing PAAs on imaging. Intervention is mandatory as soon as the diagnosis is made, to prevent rupture and death. PAA has been managed most often by lobectomy but occasionally by pulmonary artery repair or endovascular approach.