Clinical characteristics and outcome of patients presenting to emergency department during the second wave of COVID-19.

Background: COVID 19 resurgence in multiple waves and the highly infectious variant of SARS-CoV-2 (B.1.617) has wreaked havoc across healthcare systems in India. We conducted a study to delineate the clinico-epidemiological profile of COVID-19 patients in this second wave of the pandemic. Methods: This was a retrospective, single centre, observational study at the Emergency Department(ED) of a teaching institute in North India. The ED health records were screened for patient files with the diagnosis of COVID -19, age > 14 years, presenting from 10th April to 30th of May. ED clinical notes, disposition, and mortality data were retrieved and analysed. Results: 1647 files were screened and 253 eligible patients of COVID-19 were included in the study. 60% patients were male, mean age (+ SD) was 54 (+ 14.8 years). Shortness of breath (74.7%), fever (71.9%), cough (57.7%) were the common presenting symptoms. 20% of patients were nil comorbid; Diabetes (44.7%) and Hypertension (41.5%) were the common comorbid illnesses. 73.1% patients had severe COVID illness, 39.9% had oxygen saturation <90% on arrival and 33.2% had <70%. More than 90% patients required respiratory support on arrival. 25% of people presented to hospital after home isolation, of which 81% had severe COVID at presentation. 39 % patients of mild illness had received corticosteroids. Conclusion: The second wave of COVID-19 with rapid upsurge of cases overwhelmed the healthcare system with a higher proportion of severe COVID-19 cases and higher mortality, thus stressing the need for prior planning, preparation and strengthening healthcare systems across tiers.

The golden spice turmeric (Curcuma longa) and its feasible benefits in prospering human health - a review

From the evolution of the mankind, Turmeric has been used in conventional medication. India is in lead for producing, marketing and exporting the Turmeric and its value added products. Curcumalonga (Turmeric) is an Indian rhizomatous medicinal herb from the Zingiberaceae family that is common and widely available across the globe. The components of Turmeric are curcumin, demethoxycurcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin and these are collectively known as curcuminoids. Curcumin, the active ingredient of Turmeric is generally investigated by the scientific community for its wide range of antioxidant activity, anti-Inflammatory properties and anti-cancer activity, anti-metabolic syndrome activities, neuroprotective activity, antimicrobial effects, anti-arthritis effects, anti-viral effects, anti-asthma and anti-diabetic effects, anti-obesity, cardio and liver toxicity protection activity, anti-depression and anxiety activities. Turmeric has been widely used as a typical household treatment for cough, sore throat, respiratory ailments and could be an effective immunity booster against SARS-CoV-2 therapy during the ongoing pandemic situation. Safety evaluation studies indicate that both turmeric and curcumin are well tolerated at a very high dose without any toxic effects. Thus, turmeric and its constituents have the potential for the development of modern medicine for the treatment of various diseases. So in this review, we describe the various metabolic roles of curcumin and activities for the benefit of human health.

Strengthening sepsis care at a tertiary care teaching hospital in New Delhi, India.

INTRODUCTION: Failure of early identification of sepsis in the emergency department (ED) leads to significant delays in antibiotic administration which adversely affects patient outcomes. AIM: The primary objective of our Quality Improvement (QI) project was to reduce the door-to-antibiotic time (DTAT) by 30% from the preintervention in patients with suspected sepsis. Secondary objectives were to increase the blood culture collection rate by 30% from preintervention, investigate the predictors of improving DTAT and study the effect of these interventions on 24-hour in-hospital mortality. METHODS: This QI project was conducted in the ED of a tertiary care teaching hospital of North India; the ED receives approximately 400 patients per day. Adult patients with suspected sepsis presenting to our ED were included in the study, between January 2019 and December 2020. The study was divided into three phases; preintervention phase (100 patients), intervention phase (100 patients) and postintervention phase (93 patients). DTAT and blood cultures prior to antibiotic administration was recorded for all patients. Blood culture yield and 24-hour in-hospital mortality were also recorded using standard data templates. Change ideas planned by the Sepsis QI Team were implemented after conducting plan-do-study-act cycles. RESULTS: The median DTAT reduced from 155 min in preintervention phase to 78 min in postintervention phase. Drawing of blood cultures prior to antibiotic administration improved by 67%. Application of novel screening tool at triage was found to be an independent predictor of reduced DTAT. CONCLUSION: Our QI project identified the existing lacunae in implementation of the sepsis bundle which were dealt with in a stepwise manner. The sepsis screening tool and on-site training improved care of patients with sepsis. A similar approach can be used to deal with complex quality issues in other high-volume low-resource settings.

Impact of personal protective equipment on the effectiveness of chest compression - A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To assess the impact of personal protective equipment (PPE) on different aspects of chest compression (CC) during cardiopulmonary resuscitation, we conducted this study. METHODS: This systematic review was performed according to the PRISMA. We searched PubMed, EMBASE and Web of Science from inception to June-6, 2020, limiting to the studies that reported the comparison of the effectiveness of CC in terms of CC rate, CC depth, the proportion of adequate CC rate, the proportion of adequate CC depth or proportion of adequate recoil; in study arms with or without PPE. Risk of bias was assessed by the ROB-2 and ROBINS-I tool. Quantitative data synthesis was done using the generic inverse variance method and the fixed-effects model. RESULTS: Five simulation-based studies were finally included. A Significant decrease in CC rate (SMD: -0.28, 95%CI: -0.47 to -0.10) and CC depth (SMD: -0.26, 95%CI: -0.44 to -0.07) were observed in the PPE arm as compared to the no-PPE arm. The difference in CC rate was more prominently seen in adult CPR than in paediatric CPR. Without PPE, the proportion of adequate CC rate delivered was 0.74, which reduced significantly to 0.60 after use of PPE (p - 0.035). Similarly, the proportion of adequate CC depth was significantly lesser (p - 0.001) in PPE arm (0.55), as compared to that of the no-PPE arm (0.78). CONCLUSION: The use of PPE compromises the quality of CC during CPR significantly, and newer ways to deliver chest compression has to be investigated. This study was prospectively registered in PROSPERO (CRD42020192031).

Predictors of mortality and the need of mechanical ventilation in confirmed COVID-19 patients presenting to the emergency department in North India.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: As the number of COVID-19 cases keeps on rising, a better awareness of the nature and severity of the disease will aid in clinical decision-making and management. Hence, this study was conducted to find the predictors of mortality and the need for mechanical ventilation in COVID-19 patients. METHODS: This was a single centre, prospective observational study conducted in a tertiary care centre in north India. We included patients with influenza like illness who tested positive for COVID-19. Information regarding patient demography, symptoms, and vital signs on presentation, laboratory values, chest imaging findings, and disease severity was collected by the emergency physician. QSOFA score and National early warning score (NEWS) score were calculated using initial vital signs. Each patient was followed up till discharge or death. RESULTS: We included 116 COVID-19 patients with 33 patients having mild, 46 patients with severe and 37 patients with critical disease. The median age of our patients was 47 years (39-59) with 63% males. About 58% of patients had at least one comorbidity and shortness of breath was the most common presenting feature. The patients with severe and critical disease had a significantly higher respiratory rate and heart rate as compared to mild disease (p < 0.05). SpO2 of those with critical disease was significantly lower as compared to those with mild disease. Mechanical ventilation was required in around 36% of patients which included 67% of patients with critical disease. The overall mortality was 51% with 90% among critical disease. Lower SpO2 and GCS were the only parameters that showed a significant association with mortality and need for mechanical ventilation. The receiver operating characteristics analysis showed NEWS score as a better predictor of mortality and need for mechanical ventilation as compared to qSOFA score. CONCLUSION: NEWS and qSOFA scores are useful tools in predicting fatal outcomes in COVID patients with NEWS score being a better score than qSOFA.

Clinical Determinants of Severe COVID-19 Disease - A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: A systematic review and meta-analysis of available studies was performed to investigate the clinical characteristics that can predict COVID-19 disease severity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Databases including PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science were searched from December 31, 2019, to May 24, 2020. Random-effects meta-analysis was used for summarizing the Pooled odds ratio (pOR) of individual clinical characteristics to describe their association with severe COVID-19 disease. RESULTS: A total of 3895 articles were identified, and finally, 22 studies comprising 4380 patients were included. Severe disease was more common in males than females (pOR: 1.36, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.08-1.70). Clinical features that were associated with significantly higher odds of severe disease were abdominal pain (pOR: 6.58, 95% CI: 1.56-27.67), breathlessness (pOR: 3.94, 95% CI: 2.55-6.07), and hemoptysis (pOR: 3.35, 95% CI: 1.05-10.74). pOR was highest for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (pOR: 2.92, 95% CI: 1.70-5.02), followed by obesity (pOR: 2.84, 95% CI: 1.19-6.77), malignancy (pOR: 2.38, 95% CI: 1.25-4.52), diabetes (pOR: 2.29, 95% CI: 1.56-3.39), hypertension (pOR: 1.72, 95% CI: 1.23-2.42), cardiovascular disease (pOR: 1.61, 95% CI: 1.31-1.98) and chronic kidney disease (pOR: 1.46, 95% CI: 1.06-2.02), for predicting severe COVID-19. CONCLUSION: Our analysis describes the association of specific symptoms and comorbidities with severe COVID-19 disease. Knowledge of these clinical determinants will assist the clinicians in the risk-stratification of these patients for better triage and clinical management.

Lung sonographic findings in COVID-19 patients.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to describe the lung sonographic findings of COVID-19 patients prospectively and investigate its association with disease severity. METHODS: This study was conducted in an emergency department and included consecutively enrolled laboratory confirmed COVID-19 patients. Lung sonography findings were described in all the included patients and analysed with respect to the clinical severity of the patients. RESULTS: 106 patients were included in the study. Common sonographic findings in COVID-19 patients were pleural line irregularity or shredding (70% of patients), followed by B - profile (59%), pleural line thickening (33%), occasional B - lines (26%), sub-pleural consolidations (35%), deep consolidations (6%), spared areas (13%), confluent B - lines or waterfall sign (14%) and pleural effusion (9%). These findings tended to be present more bilaterally and in lower lung zones. Sonographic characteristics like bilateral lung involvement, B - profile, spared areas and confluent B - lines or waterfall sign were significantly associated (p < 0.01) with clinical severity (more frequent with increasing disease severity). CONCLUSION: The lung sonographic findings of COVID-19 were found more bilaterally and in lower lung zones, and specific findings like B - profile, pleural thickening, spared areas and confluent B - lines or waterfall sign were associated with severe COVID-19.

Novel coronavirus: A capsule review for primary care and acute care physicians.

Novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a new emerging infectious agent causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Since the reporting of early cases of COVID-19 from China on December 29, 2019 till March 15, 2020, it has affected 1,42,539 humans in 135 countries, including 82 cases in India. As it is a difficult task for first-contact physicians, i.e. primary care and acute care physicians, to comprehend the fast-growing knowledge about nCoV and apply for prevention and care of suspected cases of COVID-19, we have tried to provide an updated capsule review of nCoV infection and management of COVID-19. It includes the evidence-based information on epidemiological determinants (agent, host, and environment) of the disease, its clinical features, clinical and laboratory diagnosis, basic infection prevention and control measures, and clinical management of COVID-19 cases. This review also includes the succinct summary of World Health Organization and Center for Diseases Control and Prevention interim guidelines (as of March 15, 2020) on nCoV.

COVID-19 in health care workers - A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: It is essential to know the proportion of health care workers (HCW) who are COVID 19 positive, as well as the severity and mortality among them. METHODS: This systematic review was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic review and meta-analysis. Databases including PubMed, EMBASE and Web of Science were searched from December-31, 2019 to April-23, 2020. The search was limited to the studies that reported the data on the number of COVID-19 positive healthcare workers, among the COVID-19 positive patients. Case reports, duplicate publications, reviews, and family-based studies were excluded. The methodological quality of studies was assessed by the Appraisal tool for Cross-Sectional Studies (AXIS) tool. RESULTS: In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we pooled eleven studies to investigate the above factors. The overall proportion of HCW who were SARS-CoV-2 positive among all COVID-19 patients was 10.1% (95%CI: 5.3-14.9). This proportion varied according to the country of study i.e. China (7 studies) - 4.2%, 95%CI:2.4-6.0; United States (3 studies) - 17.8%, 95%CI:7.5-28.0; and Italy (1 study) - 9.0%, 95%CI:8.6-9.4. The incidence of severe or critical disease in HCW (9.9%, 95%CI:0.8-18.9) was significantly lower (p < 0.001) than the incidence of severe or critical disease in all COVID-19 positive patients (29.4%, 95%CI:18.6-40.2). Similarly, the mortality among HCW (0.3%, 95%CI:0.2-0.4) was also significantly lower (p < 0.001) as compared to that of all patients (2.3%, 95%CI:2.2-2.4). CONCLUSION: Health care workers who are COVID-19 positive constituted a significant proportion of all COVID-19 patients; but the severity and mortality were lower among them.