ABSTRACT
The world is currently facing a pandemic called COVID-19 which has drastically changed our human lifestyle, affecting it badly. The lifestyle and the thought processes of every individual have changed with the current situation. This situation was unpredictable, and it contains a lot of uncertainties. In this paper, the authors have attempted to predict and analyze the disease along with its related issues to determine the maximum number of infected people, the speed of spread, and most importantly, its evaluation using a model-based parameter estimation method. In this research the Susceptible-Infectious-Recovered model with different conditions has been used for the analysis of COVID-19. The effects of lockdown, the light switch method, and parameter variations like contact ratio and reproduction number are also analyzed. The authors have attempted to study and predict the lockdown effect, particularly in India in terms of infected and recovered numbers, which show substantial improvement. A disease-free endemic stability analysis using Lyapunov and LaSalle's method is presented, and novel methods such as the convalescent plasma method and the Who Acquires Infection From Whom method are also discussed, as they are considered to be useful in flattening the curve of COVID-19.
ABSTRACT
In the second wave of COVID-19 in India, there was a new challenge in the form of mucormycosis. Coinfection with mucormycosis was perilous as both conditions required a prolonged hospital stay, thus serving as an ideal platform for secondary infections. Using a retrospective observational study, we studied secondary infections and their impact on the outcome in COVID-19 patients with mucormycosis. The outcome in these patients was evaluated and compared with COVID-19 patients with mucormycosis but without any secondary infection. SPSS V-20 was used for data analysis. Fifty-five patients tested positive for mucormycosis (55/140; 39.28). Twelve out of these 55 (21.8%) developed secondary infections during their hospital stay. Bloodstream infection was the most common (42.86%) secondary infection. The Gram-negative (GN) organisms were more common (11/16; 68.75%) compared with the Gram-positives (GP) (5/16; 31.25%). But the most common isolate was Enterococcus faecium (5/16; 31.25%). A high percentage of microorganisms isolated were multidrug-resistant (15/16; 93.75%). Two out of five (40%) isolates of Enterococcus faecium were vancomycin-resistant (VRE). High resistance to carbapenems was noted in the GN isolates (9/11; 81.81%). The comparison of length of stay in both subgroups was statistically significant (P value <0.001). When compared, the length of stay in people with adverse outcomes was also statistically significant (P value <0.001). Procalcitonin (PCT) had a positive predictive value for the development of secondary bacterial infections (P value <0.001). Antimicrobial stewardship and strict infection control practices are the need of the hour. IMPORTANCE Although our knowledge about COVID-19 and secondary infections in patients is increasing daily, little is known about the secondary infections in COVID-19-mucormycosis patients. Thus, we have intended to share our experience regarding this subgroup. The importance of this study is that it brings to light the type of secondary infections seen in COVID-19-mucormycosis patients. These secondary infections were partially responsible for the mortality and morbidity of the unfortunate ones. We, as health care workers, can learn the lesson and disseminate the knowledge so that in similar situations, health care workers, even in other parts of the world, know what to expect.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The emergent crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic has posed enormous challenges for clinical laboratories to speed up diagnostics. The current reference standard for the diagnosis of COVID-19 is real time reverse transcriptase PCR on various platforms. However, even with automation, the turnaround time is huge enough to keep up with ever increasing numbers of patients. With increasing surge of COVID cases we need rapid diagnostic tests with good sensitivity and specificity. OBJECTIVES: Comparison between Abbott ID NOW COVID-19 and real time reverse transcriptase PCR as a reference method. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Specimens from seventy-two individuals were obtained over a period of two months which were processed for ID NOW and RTPCR at a dedicated COVID-19 centre of AIIMS. Dry nasal swabs were used for ID NOW while nasopharyngeal swabs along with throat swab were used for RTPCR. Among the participants, 15 were healthcare workers. Mild COVID was seen in 36 participants, moderate in 19 and severe in 9. Eight participants had non COVID illness. RESULTS: From the given samples, we observed that ID NOW has a sensitivity of 93.22% (55/59) specificity 100% (13/13), PPV 100% (55/55) and NPV 76.47% (13/17). CONCLUSION: ID NOW is a convenient, rapid molecular test which makes it suitable for both in laboratory use and as a point of care test. It can be a rapid rule-in test for COVID-19. Negative results, however, have to be interpreted as per the context.