The change of clinical features and surgical outcomes in patients with pressure injury during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This retrospective study aims to explore whether the COVID-19 pandemic altered patient conditions and surgery outcomes by studying 213 pressure injury (PI) patients who underwent surgery during 2016 to 2019 (pre-COVID) and 2020 to 2021 (COVID) in Taiwan. We extracted patient demographics, surgical and blood test records, preoperative vital signs, and flap surgery outcomes. In total, 464 surgeries were performed, including 308 pre-COVID and 156 COVID. During the COVID period, there were more patients presenting with dementia, and it had significantly more patients with >12 000 white blood cells/µL (24.03% vs 15.59%, P = 0.029), higher C-reactive protein levels (7.13 ± 6.36 vs 5.58 ± 5.09 mg/dL, P = 0.014), pulse rates (86.67 ± 14.76 vs 81.26 ± 13.66 beats/min, P < 0.001), and respiratory rates (17.87 ± 1.98 vs 17.31 ± 2.39 breaths/min, P = 0.009) but lower haemoglobin levels (9.75 ± 2.02 vs 10.43 ± 1.67 mg/dL, P < 0.001) preoperatively. There were no between-group differences in flap surgery outcomes but had fewer flap surgeries during COVID-19. Thus, PI patient condition was generally poor during the COVID-19 pandemic because of reduced access to medical treatment; this problem may be resolved through holistic care during a future pandemic or pandemic-like situation.

Trans-Regional Medical Support in Public Health Emergencies: A Case Study of Wuhan in the Early COVID-19 Pandemic in China.

In the occurrence of public health emergency events, such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the most severely affected areas may face various problems due to insufficient medical staff and materials. These problems can be solved by the adequate supply of trans-regional medical support. However, due to the Chinese government's hierarchical and segmented administrative system, the provision of such support to fight against the COVID-19 epidemic in China met several challenges, including insufficient coordination and weak integration. This article summarizes four aspects of fragmentation related to the holistic management of this situation: cooperation from local government officials, supply of medical resources, support from logistical services, and incentive mechanisms. Furthermore, suggestions for improving the holistic management of trans-regional medical support are provided.

An analysis of China's strategy in combating the coronavirus pandemic with the 3H framework

Purpose - This paper attempts to theorise about China's strategy in combating the coronavirus pandemic with an embryonic framework - 3H (Heart-Head-Hand) framework. By adopting a descriptive approach, the paper introduces the case of coronavirus outbreak in China and how the public health administration coped with it The 3H framework has been applied to analyse China's strategy, and the framework's assumptions are initially tested. Design/methodology/approach - The pandemic case is created based on credible reports, press releases from different respected sources, World Health Organization (WHO) statistics, interview transcripts and broadcasting stations' video clippings. Interpretive analysis with pragmatism approach has been conducted in analysing the data and information collected. Triangulation, wherever possible, has been done to validate the data and information. Findings - As an exploratory study, its findings show that 3H framework distinguishes the effectiveness of a country's strategy and practice for combating the pandemic. Countries, which failed to observe the assumed principles of 3H domains tend to have much more infected cases and deaths. Originality/value - The 3H framework conceptualised a holistic management approach and its assumptions have been initially tested with this pandemic case. The framework shows its predictability value for a country's pandemic management effectiveness.