ABSTRACT
Background: Trichotillomania and skin picking are two forms of body focused repetitive behaviors [BFRBs] classified among Obsessive Compulsive Disorders. Socio-governmental changes which had accompanied COVID-19 overwhelmed patients with BFRBs whom already experienced anxiety and social isolation. Our study was designed to determine if there is an association between COVID-19 pandemic and worsening of symptoms of BFRB disorders ( in particular, trichotillomania and skin picking patients). Methods: Cross-sectional online survey-based study conducted from June to August 2021. The survey collected data about participants sociodemographic, knowledge, concerns, and psychological impacts by using Massachusetts General Hospital Hair Pulling Scale ( MGHHPS) and/or modified skin picking scale-revised (SPS-R). Results: A total of 171 participants joined the study including 34 (19.9%) male and 137 (80.1%) females. There was a significant difference of the total modified SPS-R (max 32), the mean score has increased by 7.62 during COVID-19 (t=6.42, p<0.001). Also, 7 parameters (subscales) are statistically significant. There was a significant difference of Frequency of urges, the mean score has increased during COVID-19 by 1.33 (t=3.16, p<0.05=0.025). Conclusion: Throughout COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia, results revealed clearly the significant negative psychological impact of it on the population, specifically on those with BFRBs. The study gives a clue that both diseases are under-diagnosed, hence, the authors suggest conducting community screening programs for early and proper management. We suggest providing more attention and further protective psychological strategies during such stressful situations that go parallel with the physical health care plans.
ABSTRACT
Background. Children infected with SARS-CoV-2 often have mild or no symptoms, making symptom screening an ineffective tool for determining isolation precautions. As an infection control measure, universal pre-procedural and admission SARS-CoV-2 testing for pediatric patients was implemented in April and August 2020, respectively. Limited data exist on the utility screening programs in the pediatric population. Methods. We performed a retrospective cohort study of pediatric patients (birth to 18 years) admitted to a tertiary care academic medical center from April 2020 to May 2021 that had one or more SARS-CoV-2 point-of-care or polymerase chain reaction tests performed. We describe demographic data, positivity rates and repeat testing trends observed in our cohort. Results. A total of 2,579 SARS-CoV-2 tests were performed among 1,027 pediatric inpatients. Of these, 51 tests (2%) from 45 patients (4.3%) resulted positive. Community infection rates ranged from 4.5-60 cases/100,000 persons/day during the study period. Hispanic patients comprised 16% of the total children tested, but were disproportionately overrepresented (40%) among those testing positive (Figure1). Of 654 children with repeated tests, 7 (0.1%) converted to positive from a prior negative result. Median days between repeat tests was 12 (IQR 6-45), not necessarily performed during the same hospital stay. Five of these 7 patients had tests repeated < 3 days from a negative result, of which only 2 had no history of recent infection by testing performed at an outside facility. Pre-procedural tests accounted for 35% of repeat testing, of which 0.9% were positive. Repeated tests were most frequently ordered for patients in hematology/ oncology (35%) and solid organ transplant/surgical (33%) wards, each with < 3% positive conversion rate. Notably, no hematopoietic stem cell transplant patients tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 during the study period. Conclusion. The positivity rate of universal pre-procedural and admission SARSCoV-2 testing in pediatric patients was low in our inpatient cohort. Tests repeated < 3 days from a negative result were especially low yield, suggesting limited utility of this practice. Diagnostic testing stewardship in certain populations may be useful, especially as community infection rates decline.
ABSTRACT
Assessing and improving the safety of social settings is pivotal for the reopening of facilities and institutions during the pandemic. Recent discoveries now suggest that the predominant medium of SARS-CoV-2 transmission is exposure to infectious respiratory aerosols. Airborne viral spread is particularly effective in indoor environments-which have been strongly implicated in high transmission rates and super-spreading events. This study focuses on computational fluid dynamics models developed to study the specific ventilation features of an indoor space and their effects on indoor particle spread. A case study is conducted on a typical classroom at the Cooper Union. Masked occupants are modeled in the room as aerosol sources to compare the performance of different ventilation settings on the exhaust rates of airborne particles. Simulation results reveal that increasing ventilation rates accelerate particle evacuation. Visualization and segregated data comparisons indicate regions of particle accumulation induced by the design and geometry of the classroom in relation to its occupants. Visualization is also used to observe a uniform distribution of airborne particles after only 10 minutes of simulated time-confirming the need for safety measures beyond the six feet distancing guideline. © 2021 by ASME.
ABSTRACT
The symptoms of COVID-19 varies from mild to severe. The risk of severe infection occurs about 10% of cases, while the risk of death occurs about 0-14.6% of cases. One of the suspected pathophysiology in cases of severe infection and death of COVID-19 is due to cytokine storms. Exosome plays a vital role in the pathogenesis of several diseases, including severe disease such as sepsis due to cytokine storm. Exosome has been proven as a nanomaterial carrier that can tackle cytokine storm in the treatment of severe COVID-19 infection. Several studies have been conducted for this purpose, and its clinical application continually increases. This review will explore the role of exosomes in cytokine storms that occur in patients with COVID-19 and seek the opportunity to use exosomes in their management. © 2020, Sanglah General Hospital. All rights reserved.