[Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection without respiratory compromise]. / Encefalomielitis aguda diseminada asociada a infección por el SARS-CoV-2 sin afectación respiratoria.

INTRODUCTION: COVID-19, the disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), continues to grow all over the world since december of 2019. Although the main clinical manifestation is pulmonary disease, neurological manifestations are a prominent and increasingly recognized feature of the disease. The Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (ADEM) is a rare autoimmune disorder, most commonly triggered by a viral infection. There are a few case reports of ADEM associated with COVID-19, almost all of them associated pulmonary disease. We report the case of a young patient with diagnosis of ADEM with SARS-CoV-2 infection without clinical respiratory symptoms. CASE REPORT: A 20-year-old woman with no relevant medical history was brought to the emergency department with a progressive confusional state lasted for 7 days. Family reported the development of smell and taste deficit since two weeks before the onset of neurological symptoms. There were no complaints of pulmonary symptoms. At admission, she was drowsy and disoriented. Left homonymous hemianopsia and an ipsilateral Babinski sign was identified. A brain magnetic resonance image was done showing multiple hyperintense bilateral, asymmetric patchy and poorly marginated lesions with gadolinium enhancement. She was SARS-CoV-2 PCR positive on nasopharyngeal swab. Intravenous high-dose glucocorticoids were administered with marked clinical improvement. CONCLUSION: ADEM is an extremely uncommon complication of SARS-CoV-2infection. Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis should be considered a potentially treatable cause of encephalopathy or multifocal neurological deficits in COVID-19 patients, even in the absence of respiratory symptoms.

TITLE: Encefalomielitis aguda diseminada asociada a infección por el SARS-CoV-2 sin afectación respiratoria.Introducción. COVID-19 (coronavirus disease-2019) es la enfermedad secundaria a la infección por el coronavirus de tipo 2 o SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2), que se ha constituido como pandemia desde diciembre de 2019. Si bien la afectación más frecuente y grave es la pulmonar, las complicaciones neurológicas secundarias a la COVID-19 son cada vez más reconocidas. La encefalomielitis aguda diseminada (EMAD) es una enfermedad autoinmune poco frecuente, clásicamente secundaria a una infección viral previa o concomitante. Existen informes de EMAD asociada a la COVID-19, casi todos con afectación respiratoria asociada. Presentamos el caso de una mujer joven diagnosticada con EMAD secundaria a la infección por el SARS-CoV-2 sin afectación respiratoria. Caso clínico. Mujer de 20 años que consultó por cuadro de desorientación y alteración conductual de una semana de evolución. Destaca en la historia la presencia de anosmia y sensación febril dos semanas antes del inicio de los síntomas neurológicos. En el examen físico destacó somnolencia, desorientación, hemianopsia homónima izquierda y síndrome piramidal ipsilateral. Se realizó una resonancia magnética encefálica que mostró múltiples lesiones inflamatorias desmielinizantes bihemisféricas de la sustancia blanca sugerentes de EMAD. La reacción en cadena de la polimerasa del SARS-CoV-2 en aspirado nasofaríngeo resultó positiva. Se descartaron otras causas de lesiones inflamatorias. Recibió esteroides con excelente respuesta. Conclusión. La EMAD es una complicación extremadamente rara en pacientes con COVID-19 que debe considerarse como una causa tratable de encefalopatía y/o déficits neurológicos multifocales en pacientes con infección activa o reciente por SARS-CoV-2 con o sin manifestaciones respiratorias.

Swab test in biological fluids as predictor of COVID-19 transmission risk during surgery: a prospective cross-sectional study from an Italian COVID center.

BACKGROUND: The contamination of body fluids by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 during surgery is current matter of debate in the scientific literature concerning CoronaVIrus Disease 2019. Surgical guidelines were published during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and recommended to avoid laparoscopic surgery as much as possible, in fear that the chimney effect of high flow intraperitoneal gas escape during, and after, the procedure would increase the risk of viral transmission. AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the possibility of SARS-CoV-2 transmission during surgery by searching for viral RNA in serial samplings of biological liquids. METHODS: This is a single center prospective cross-sectional study. We used a real-time reverse transcriptase (RT) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test to perform swab tests for the qualitative detection of nucleic acid from SARS-CoV-2 in abdominal fluids, during emergency surgery and on the first post-operative day. In the case of thoracic surgery, we performed a swab test of pleural fluids during chest drainage placement as well as on the first post-operative day. RESULTS: A total of 20 samples were obtained: 5 from pleural fluids, 13 from peritoneal fluids and two from biliary fluid. All 20 swabs performed from biological fluids resulted negative for SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection. CONCLUSION: To date, there is no scientific evidence of possible contagion by laparoscopic aerosolization of SARS-CoV-2, neither is certain whether the virus is effectively present in biological fluids.

Effects of a Pandemic and Isolation on Alcohol and Psychoactive Medication Use in a Population of Rehabilitation and Pain Patients

OBJECTIVE: The conjunction of the coronavirus disease lockdown and the use of illicit drugs suggests the potential increase in drug usage and opioid deaths. Because of other studies, we felt the need to examine if the lockdown has caused a change in the drug intake of our population of substance abuse and pain management patients. MATERIALS: Urine drug testing is a strategy to reduce harm to patients in pain management and substance abuse treatment programs. We analyzed trends in the clinical drug testing patterns of urine specimens sent by substance abuse and pain clinics to monitor their patients. These specimens were tested by a national clinical laboratory using LC-MS/MS definitive methods. The time frame of these comparative observations was the past five years, including the time of the pandemic. RESULTS: The only decrease was a 30% reduction in test requests during the second quarter of 2020. Among the patients tested, positivity decreased greatly for the illicit drugs heroin and cocaine but increased for methamphetamine and fentanyl. Use of the antidepressant and anxiolytic drugs remained consistent or declined for some drugs, relative to pre-pandemic patterns. The percent of patients prescribed the opiates morphine and oxycodone decreased, while the use of hydrocodone increased. Positivity for the drug gabapentin increased greatly. The use of alcohol did not increase significantly during the lockdown period. CONCLUSION: In summary, these findings demonstrate relatively consistent drug use, with decreased positivity for high-risk drugs and dangerous drug combinations. We speculate that monitoring of these patients mitigates the possibility of drug misuse and potential overdose and is in concordance with the goals of these monitoring programs. © 2021 by the Association of Clinical Scientists, Inc.

Before and after the Quarantine: An Approximate Study on the Psychological Impact of COVID-19 on the Italian Population during the Lockdown Period

COVID-19 (Corona-Virus Disease 2019) in Italy and the measures that were adopted to contain its diffusion had a strong impact on people's quality of life and mental health. The objective of the study was to quantify the psychological impact of the lockdown period on the general Italian population during the two weeks when the COVID-19 emergency in Italy was at its peak. The study (1556 adults) was conducted from April 6th to April 12th, 2020. A survey was developed through Google Forms in order to assess different psychological measures (Self Efficacy, Locus of Control, Social Connectedness, Sense of Virtual Community, Flourishing, Positive and Negative Affect, Life Satisfaction, and Risk Propensity). The results were then compared to reference data. Thelockdown period increased arousal mainly for negative emotions, but also for positive emotions, and quality of life seemed to be reduced. From a psychosocial point of view, while social connectedness has decreased during lockdown, probably because of isolation and social distancing, the virtual social community seemed to increase in the same period. Interestingly, we revealed how self efficacy increased during the lockdown period, and, at the same time, the Locus of control appeared as externalized, and the risk propensity as reduced. The results are discussed considering previous literature, and a coherent theoretical framework is proposed in order to refine the forecasting model for the psychological impact of the lockdown.