Infrared image method for possible COVID-19 detection through febrile and subfebrile people screening

This study proposed an infrared image-based method for febrile and subfebrile people screening to comply with the society need for alternative, quick response, and effective methods for COVID-19 contagious people screening. The methodology consisted of: (i) Developing a method based on facial infrared imaging for possible COVID-19 early detection in people with and without fever (subfebrile state);(ii) Using 1206 emergency room (ER) patients to develop an algorithm for general application of the method, and (iii) Testing the method and algorithm effectiveness in 2558 cases (RT-qPCR tested for COVID-19) from 227,261 workers evaluations in five different countries. Artificial intelligence was used through a convolutional neural network (CNN) to develop the algorithm that took facial infrared images as input and classified the tested individuals in three groups: fever (high risk), subfebrile (medium risk), and no fever (low risk). The results showed that suspicious and confirmed COVID-19 (+) cases characterized by temperatures below the 37.5 °C fever threshold were identified. Also, average forehead and eye temperatures greater than 37.5 °C were not enough to detect fever similarly to the proposed CNN algorithm. Most RT-qPCR confirmed COVID-19 (+) cases found in the 2558 cases sample (17 cases/89.5%) belonged to the CNN selected subfebrile group. The COVID-19 (+) main risk factor was to be in the subfebrile group, in comparison to age, diabetes, high blood pressure, smoking and others. In sum, the proposed method was shown to be a potentially important new tool for COVID-19 (+) people screening for air travel and public places in general. © 2022 Elsevier Ltd

Academic stress and sleep quality during the COVID-19 pandemic among medical students from a university of Peru

Introduction: Sleep quality is an important factor for both the physical and mental health of medical students. Objective: To evaluate the association between academic stress and sleep quality among medical students enrolled in a university of Lima (Peru) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and methods: Analytical cross-sectional study carried out in 410 medical students from the School of Human Medicine of Universidad Ricardo Palma, who, in October and November 2020, were administered the Spanish version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the SISCO SV-21 Academic Stress Inventory, and a sociodemographic and habits questionnaire via Google Forms. Bivariate and multivariate analyzes were performed to identify factors associated with poor sleep quality and academic stress, using prevalence ratios (PR) with a 95% confidence interval and a significance level of p≤0.05. Results: 97.32% of students presented with "academic stress” and 90.48% had "poor quality of sleep”. Factors associated with "poor quality of sleep” were "high levels of academic stress” (aPR: 2.433;95%CI: 1.619-3.657;p=0.000), "not living with relatives” (aPR: 1.264;95%CI: 1.107-1.443;p=0.001), and "working in addition to studying” (aPR: 1.106;95%CI: 1.012-1.209;p=0.026). Additionally, "female biological sex” (aPR: 1.178;95%CI: 1.090-1.273;p=0.000) and "place of birth Lima” (aPR: 0.929;95%CI: 0.882-0.979;p=0.006) were significantly associated with "academic stress.” Conclusion: Having high levels of academic stress, not living with relatives, and working in addition to studying were factors associated with poor sleep quality among the study population during the COVID-19 pandemic. © 2021 Universidad Nacional de Colombia.

Raoultella planticola pneumonia in a patient with critical COVID-19

Raoultella planticola is a bacterium that has been recently described in the literature as an emerging pathogen that causes urinary, abdominal, and lung infections. We present the case of a 63-year-old overweight and with dyslipidemia that was hospitalized because of a SARS-CoV-2 infection. He developed R. planticola and E. aerogenes superinfections. He was treated with cefepime for seven days, and he recovered uneventfully.

Perception of risk to covid-19 and mental health indicators in workers of a Peruvian hospital: An analytical cross-sectional study

Introduction COVID-19 has caused great fear on health professionals and could affect their mental health, therefore it is important to determine the association between the perception of risk to COVID-19 and mental health in workers of a Peruvian hospital. Methods Analytical cross-sectional study, through virtual survey. The dependent variables were: depression, anxiety and stress;The independent variable was perception of risk to COVID-19 and the covariates: sociodemographic, family, work and clinical data. Crude and adjusted prevalence ratios were found with a 95% confidence interval and a significance level of 5%. Results There was no association between risk perception and depression (adjusted prevalence ratio: 0.98 95% confidence interval: 0.89 to 1.08), anxiety (adjusted prevalence ratio: 0.94 95% confidence interval: 0.89 to 1.00), stress (adjusted prevalence ratio: 0.89 95% confidence interval 0.76 to 1.04). In the multivariate analysis, an association was found between depression with direct contact with the COVID-19 patient (adjusted prevalence ratio: 2.06, 95% confidence interval: 1.14 to 3.70) and with having a comorbidity (adjusted prevalence ratio: 2.56 95% confidence interval: 1.52 to 4.30);likewise, between anxiety with number of children (adjusted prevalence ratio: 1.09 95% confidence interval: 1.00 to 1.18), with direct contact with COVID-19 patient (adjusted prevalence ratio: 2.67 95% confidence interval 1.46 to 4.85) and having comorbidity (adjusted prevalence ratio: 2.00 95% confidence interval: 1.40 to 2.86);finally, between stress with direct contact with the COVID-19 patient (adjusted prevalence ratio: 2.86, 95% confidence interval: 1.20 to 6.83). Conclusions No statistically significant association was found between risk perception and depression, anxiety, or stress. However, there was an association between depression, anxiety, and stress, each with direct contact with COVID-19 patients;between anxiety and depression, each with having comorbidities and, finally, anxiety with the number of children.

Frequency of coinfection by respiratory pathogens and its impact on the prognosis of patients with COVID-19

Introduction: Co-infection between other microorganisms and SARS-CoV-2, such as viruses, bacteria and fungi, is an important factor in the management of COVID-19, which could increase the difficulties in diagnosis, management, prognosis, and even increase the mortality. Objectives: The objective of this review is to describe the published scientific evidence regarding coinfection in patients with COVID-19. Methods: A bibliographic search of studies published in Spanish or English was carried out using the PubMed, The Cochrane Library and Google Scholar search engines. Studies published between January 2020 and January 24, 2021 were assessed. Results: 25 articles from various continents (America, Asia and Europe) were included. All the studies had patients with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 added to some other test that identified some co-infection. We identified 18 studies that showed bacterial coinfection, 17 studies of viral coinfection and 5 studies of fungal coinfection. The prevalence of coinfection showed extremely dissimilar figures according to the population studied and diagnostic criteria. Conclusions: The presence of coinfection seems to be linked to a higher frequency of unfavorable outcomes. However, it is important to develop Latin American studies, given the heterogeneity in the studies seen in different countries. Standardized definitions should be developed in order to be able to assess the impact of coinfections in patients with a diagnosis of COVID-19.

Contribution of nursing research to fighting against COVID-19 pandemic. A systematic review

Introduction: The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, should be an opportunity to ensure greater visibility of nursing in health systems and society worldwide. Objective: Review and synthesize the patterns on COVID-19 and nursing research, identifying the main journals, country of origin, language, topics, designs, and area of applicability of the results. Materials and Methods: Systematic review. Searches in PubMed, CINAHL, LILACS, and EMBASE databases (from the inception of the pandemic to May 15, 2020) were performed. Articles of any language related were related to SARS-CoV-2 infection or COVID-19 disease and nursing in any of its roles (care, management, education, among others) and using any epidemiological design or a scientific report were included. Two reviewers independently selected the studies and extracted the data. The main findings from the included studies were summarized through narrative synthesis and descriptive tables. The characteristics of the studies were presented as absolute values and proportions. Results: Three hundred and sixty-five articles were assessed for eligibility. Thirty-eight were included, published in 28 journals. Of those, 53.57% (n=15) were nursing specific. Most articles were "narrative reviews", accounting for 23.68% (n=9). Most studies were conducted in China (n=18, 47.37%), followed by the United Kingdom and the United States. Thirty-four (89.47%) articles were published in English, followed by Portuguese and Chinese. We identified five areas of application of the results, and the most frequent was the "clinical" setting with 47.00% (n=18). Discussion: These findings are crucial to give visibility to nursing work during the emergency of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mental health was the main research topic, while the clinical setting concentrates the major number of articles. This pattern was aligned with the challenges of the initial phase of the pandemic. Conclusion: Future research should explore the current state of evidence in the main topics identified in this review and continue to give visibility to work carried out by nursing in the emergency of the COVID-19 pandemic. © Revista Cuidarte.All rights reserved.

CORRELATION between MORTALITY DUE to COVID-19, WEALTH INDEX, HUMAN DEVELOPMENT and POPULATION DENSITY in DISTRICTS of METROPOLITAN LIMA during 2020

Objectives: To determine the correlation between mortality from COVID-19 and the percentage of poverty and the district Human Development Index (HDI) in the department of Lima. Methods: Ecological observational correlation study. The population were patients who died from COVID-19 in metropolitan Lima. All deceased patients reported in the open database of the Ministry of Health were included. The dependent variable was the mortality from COVID-19 calculated by dividing the number of deaths by the total population of the districts and the independent variables were the percentage of poverty and HDI. A secondary analysis was performed evaluating the fatality from COVID-19. The correlation was calculated using Spearman's non-parametric method. Results: 13,154 people died from COVID-19 during the period from March to September, the majority were male with an average age of 66 years. No significant correlation was found between mortality and percentage of poverty (rho = -0.2230;p = 0.15). A significant correlation was found between mortality from COVID-19 and IDH (rho = 0.4466;p = 0.002). Mortality was correlated with population density (rho = 0.7616;p = <0.001). A positive (rho = 0.32) and significant (p = 0.037) correlation was found between fatality and the percentage of poverty. A significant correlation was found between COVID-19 fatality and population density (rho = 0.7616;p = <0.001). No significant correlation was found between lethality and the HDI. Conclusions: Population density was the factor most consistently associated with mortality and fatality from COVID. Poverty was associated with higher fatality, but not higher mortality.

Nursing care plan for the prevention of pressure ulcers secondary to prone positioning in COVID-19 patients

Introduction: Prone position (PP) is a therapeutic alternative widely used and recommended in patients with COVID-19. Although PP is a non-invasive procedure, it is complex and could be associated with complications such as the development of pressure ulcers (PU). We aimed to propose a standardized nursing care plan in terms of NANDA-International, NIC (Nursing Interventions Classification) and NOC (Nursing Outcomes Classification) to prevent PU secondary to the PP in people with COVID-19. Content synthesis: In patients with COVID-19, in addition to risk factors such as advanced age and the presence of comorbidities, PP contributes to the presence of pressure ulcer risk nursing diagnoses [00249], of deterioration of skin [00047] and tissue [00248] integrity. On the other hand, the nursing intervention for the prevention of pressure ulcers [3540], due to the specificity and scientific basis of its activities, is key to minimize the development of this complication, improve the quality of care and the prognosis in this type of patients. Finally, to evaluate the effectiveness of nursing care, we propose the nursing results (NOC): consequences of immobility: physiological [0204] and tissue integrity: skin and mucous membranes [1101]. Conclusion: PP is a recommended adjunctive therapy for the management of critically ill COVID-19 patients due to its benefits to improve lung function. However, it is associated with adverse effects such as PU. This article presents recommendations based on a narrative review for a better implementation of preventive nursing care that reduces the frequency of PU in this population. © 2021 River Publishers. All rights reserved.

Regional distribution of mortality by COVID-19 in Peru

Objectives: Compare the death rate from COVID-19 at the national level by regions and departments from March to September 2020. Methods: Quantitative, observational, cross-sectional, ecological and retrospective study. The data was extracted from the National Death System (SINADEF) in Microsoft Excel 2016 and imported into Stata. The variables were described as frequencies and percentages. Mortality was obtained by dividing the total deaths over the total population according to the last census. An adjusted exploratory analysis was performed using robust regression methods to evaluate the association between mortality by department and regions adjusted for age and sex of the deceased. P <0.05 was considered significant. Results: 32535 deaths were reported, 69.84% were male and the median was 67. The mortality rate in the Costa region 145 deaths were calculated (n = 24,276), followed by Sierra with 51 (n = 4434) and Selva with 63 (n = 2545). There were significant differences in mortality according to the region, in the comparison of the coast with the Sierra region a beta coefficient of -96.28 was found (p <0.001 IC -123.76 -68.77), while in the comparison with the Selva it was determined a coefficient of -50.38 (p 0.01 95% CI -91.47 -9.29). No significant association was found between the mortality rate and the average age or sex of the deceased by department. Conclusions: The death rate from COVID-19 at the national level was 101 per 100 000 inhabitants. The mortality rate found was higher on the Costa region than in the Sierra and Selva, regardless of the proportion of men, women or age.

COVID-19 and ophthalmology: Role of the immune system

COVID-19 causes various clinical manifestations, ophthalmological manifestations present as viral conjunctivitis. After the entry of the virus, it will produce complex immune response routes, receptors for the virus are found in cells of the ocular surface, therefore it could give a local infection, it is likely that after the entry of the virus, a limited response of ocular inflammation, which could be mediated by the immune privilege approach.