Asthma admission among children in Hong Kong during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Multiple nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) had been introduced in Hong Kong during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The impact on asthma admission, which was closely related to viral infection, was of concern. OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to identify the impact of NPIs on pediatric asthma admissions and their association with respiratory viruses. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective observational study to compare the difference in pediatric asthma hospital admission rates between pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 periods. Information on demographics, nasopharyngeal specimen results, ventilatory support, intensive care admission, hospital stay duration, asthma control therapy, and previous admission episodes was collected. Weather parameters including temperature, rainfall, humidity, and air quality data that was reflected by the air quality health index were recorded. RESULTS: A total of 1808 pediatric asthma admissions were recorded during the pre-COVID-19 period while there were 62 admissions during COVID-19 period, among which 54 admissions from the pre-COVID-19 period and 4 admissions from COVID-19 period were excluded. Weekly pediatric asthma admissions per total pediatric admissions during COVID-19 was one-third of that during the pre-COVID-19 period (0.3% vs. 0.9%, p < 0.001). During COVID-19 period, a significantly lower percentage of respiratory virus isolates was noted (58.6% vs. 72.6%, p = 0.019). Poisson regression analysis showed that the COVID-19 period (odds ratio [OR] = 0.202, 95% confidence interval  [CI, 0.16-0.26]; p ≤ 0.001), summer vacation period (OR = 0.512, 95% CI [0.43-0.62]; p ≤ 0.001), and humidity (OR = 0.99, 95% CI [0.98-1.00]; p = 0.004) were independent protective factors for asthma admission. CONCLUSIONS: There was a significant reduction in pediatric asthma hospitalizations and respiratory virus isolates in the first year of COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong with the implementation of NPIs. Rhinovirus remained the key respiratory virus isolate. Incorporation of appropriate NPIs in long run could reduce virus infection-related pediatric asthma admission.

Timely Considerations of Using the de Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale with Older Adults Living in Long-Term Care Homes: A Critical Reflection

Context: Despite being widely used with older adults in the community, there is limited literature on using the de Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale with older adults living in long-term care (LTC). Objective: The purpose of this article is to discuss the considerations of using this scale with older adults in LTC. Method: Our team consisted of older person and family partners, a clinician, and academic researchers working together in all stages of research using the Loneliness scale to conduct individual interviews with 20 older adults in LTC in Vancouver, Canada, as part of a study exploring the experience of loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic. Team reflection was embedded in the research process, with reflection data consisting of data transcripts, field notes, and regular team meeting notes. Thematic analysis was employed to identify lessons learned and implications. Findings: Participants had various challenges responding to the scale. Our analysis identified five themes: a) diverse meanings of loneliness, b) multi-faceted factors of loneliness, c) technical challenges, d) social desirability, and e) situational experience. We also offer five recommendations to consider when using this scale with older adults in LTC. Limitations: We used this scale with a small sample of older adults in LTC, which is a more time and labour-intensive population. Data on marital status and educational background was not collected but might help in understanding considerations for using the scale with older adults in LTC. Implications: We offer practical recommendations for using the scale with older adults in LTC, especially how qualitative open-ended questions can complement the scale by providing useful insights into context and complex experiences. © 2022 The Author(s).

An Infrared Thermography Model Enabling Remote Body Temperature Screening Up to 10 Meters

During the COVID-19 pandemic, temperature screening has emerged as a common practice in the infection control pipeline. In particular, thermal imaging systems have risen in popularity for preliminary screening of individuals with elevated temperatures, especially in high throughput areas. However, remote temperature measurement is intrinsically complex and susceptible to unavoidable influences from the measuring environment. We study the effects of sensor-subject distance on remote temperature readings and present an infrared-based system for rapid temperature screening over long distances (2 m to 10 m). The system applies a state-of-the-art pose estimation algorithm to extract the face box locations, sensor-subject distances, and facial temperatures within a scene. For the use of infrared thermography in humans, we propose a thermal compensation model to correct the temperature of subjects measured at different distances and perform analyses to evaluate the trade-off between missing rate (elevated temperature does not trigger an alarm) and false alarm rate (normal temperature triggers an alarm). The experimental results show our system's promise to identify subjects with elevated temperatures and the potential to improve temperature screening protocols in different environments.