Development of a contactless operation system for radiographic consoles using an eye tracker for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection control: a feasibility study

Sterilization of medical equipment in isolation wards is essential to prevent the transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Particularly, the radiographic console of portable X-ray machines requires frequent disinfection because it is regularly moved;this requires considerable infection control effort as the number of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) increases. To evaluate the application of a system facilitating noncontact operation of radiographic consoles for patients with COVID-19 to reduce the need for frequent disinfection. We developed a noncontact operation system for radiographic consoles that used a common eye tracker. We compared calibration errors between with and without face shield conditions. Moreover, the use of console operation among 41 participants was investigated. The calibration error of the eye tracker between with and without face shield conditions did not significantly differ. All (n = 41) observers completed the console operation. Pearson's correlation coefficient analysis showed a strong correlation (r = 0.92, P < 0.001) between the average operation time and the average number of misoperations. Our system that used an eye tracker can be applied even if the operator uses a face shield. Thus, its application is important in preventing the transmission of infection. © 2022 International Measurement Confederation (IMEKO). All rights reserved.

Three coronavirus disease 2019 cases with acute progression of respiratory failure were improved after methylprednisolone therapy

The main target of anti-inflammatory drug therapies for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is reducing the risk of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), an important risk factor for acute death. In the RECOVERY trial, 6 mg/day of dexamethasone for up to 10 days improved 28-day mortality compared with those who received usual care alone. Here, we present three COVID-19 cases who improved after treatment with methylprednisolone (MPSL) and/or following prednisolone (PSL) for acute progression of respiratory failure. Three male COVID-19 patients, aged 56, 84, and 49 years old, developed acute respiratory failure after admission. MPSL therapy (500 mg/day for 3 days) was started for these patients at 4, 4, and, 2 days after admission, respectively, when oxygen administration was required. Following this therapy, two of the three present cases received 30 or 40 mg/day of PSL for an additional 6 and 8 days, respectively. The remaining case discontinued corticosteroid after MPSL therapy. All three cases survived, had fever reduction at 6, 2, and 1 days after start of MPSL therapy, could discontinue oxygen therapy at 6, 6, and 11 days after start of MPSL therapy, and showed negative results for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) polymerase chain reaction at 8, 6, and 22 days after start of MPSL therapy, respectively. No serious side effects due to drug discontinuation of treatment for COVID-19 were observed. MPSL is a candidate drug for corticosteroid therapy for COVID-19. Corticosteroid therapy should be started in the early stage of respiratory failure. Optimal drug selection, timing of intervention, dose, and duration of corticosteroid therapy for COVID-19 should be analyzed in the further studies. © Journal of Xiangya Medicine. All rights reserved.

Erratum: Relationship between odor intensity estimates and COVID-19 prevalence prediction in a Swedish population (Chem. Senses (2020) DOI: 10.1093/chemse/bjaa034)

This is a correction notice for article bjz034 (DOI: https://doi. org/10.1093/chemse/bjaa034), published on 22 May 2020. Due to an error in the script used to create subsections of Figure 1, there was both a shift in the intensity data and an erroneous calculation of error bars in all panels. Figure 1 and the accompanying figure legend have been revised to show the correct levels and error bars. This script error only affected visualization of the data in Figure 1 and did not impact the reported data or conclusions.(Figure Presented). © The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.