Medical cold compress for medical device-related pressure injury during the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak

Objective: Our aim was to investigate the effect of medical cold compress on preventing medical device-related pressure injuries (MDRPIs) that cause pain and itching of medical staff in the contact area of the mask and skin during the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak. Methods: We enrolled 120 medical staffs in a hospital in the Wuhan epidemic-stricken area and randomly divided them into the observation group (used medical cold compress before wearing medical protective equipment) and the control group (didn’t use medical cold compress before wearing medical protective equipment), with 60 cases in each group. The cumulative use time of medical personal protective equipment (PPE) within a day, the continuous use time of PPE, average scores of overall discomforts (respiratory resistance caused by PPE, itching and pain in the contact area of the mask, etc.), and the incidence of skin allergy and contact dermatitis were recorded and compared between the two groups. Results: The time of cumulative use of PPE in a day and the time of continuous use of PPE were both significantly longer in the observation group than in the control group (P<0.001). Furthermore, the observation group showed significant decrease in the average scores of overall discomforts including respiratory resistance, itching and pain (P<0.001), and the incidence of skin allergy and contact dermatitis than the control group (P<0.05). Conclusions: Medical cold compress can exert a protective effect on MDRPIs in first-line medical staff, and prolong the use time of medical PPE, which is of high value for clinical application.

Emerging infectious diseases and new vaccine technologies

Since the beginning of this century, diverse infectious diseases that threaten human health and social stability have outbroken, such as Ebola hemorrhagic fever, severe respiratory syndrome caused by coronavirus infection, Middle East respiratory syndrome, COVID-19, and Zika viral disease. For the emerging pathogens that have not been characterized, especially viral pathogens with high mutation rate, wide range of host and strong transmission ability, it is impossible to make an effective prediction of the outbreak by now. At present, there is no specific antiviral drug for the infection of these viruses mentioned above, so vaccination is the most cost-effective strategy for preventing and controlling the epidemic. This review aims at providing an overview of the characteristics of Ebola virus, coronavirus, Zika virus, and the research progress of nucleic acid-based (DNA and mRNA) vaccines and viral vector vaccines to combat the infection of these viruses.