Features and Functionalities of Medical Mobile Applications for the Endemic Phase of COVID‐19: Review and Content Analysis

The study's objective was to assess the features and content of the COVID-19 mobile applications accessible in the Apple AppStore. A content analysis, comparison, and functionality evaluation of a few COVID-19 related mobile applications was performed. The search for COVID-19 related apps in the iOS AppStore took place between February 1 and March 31, 2022. The mobile applications received a maximum of 7 points (basic feature assessment) and 8 points overall (functionality assessment). The requirements were fully met by receiving one point. Frequencies from descriptive statistics were used to allude to the applications' features according to the app's basic purpose. A total of 234 applications were recognized using the keywords to exploreCOVID-19 related mobile applications in Apple AppStore. However, 58 mobile applications (24.8%) relevant to COVID-19 were evaluated. According to the findings of an evaluation of basic aspects of mobile applications, 89.7% require an internet connection, 70.7% have a size of less than 50 MB, 96.6% require no funding, 58.6% include educational content, and 60.3% offer advice from the applications. In terms of score, 41.4% scored three or below, whereas 58.6% scored four or above. Functionality assessment wise, 79.3% included information regarding COVID-19, 12.1% included COVID-19 contact tracing, 17.2% had vaccination status, a health authority maintained 50%, 31.0% included COVID-19 statistics, and 25.8% were able to report ART/PCR test. In terms of score, 91.4% scored three points or less, and 8.6% scored four points or more. This study has discovered several applications that could effectively prevent COVID-19 pandemic spread. Based on the findings, mobile applications that would be recommended are the ones supported by the government health administration of the respective country. App development companies' applications show that competent healthcare personnel was not involved in developing the applications. Online consultation with healthcare professionals might help the public who do not have access to the nearest hospital. © 2022, HH Publisher. All rights reserved.

Infection Prevention and Control Initiatives to Prevent Healthcare-Associated Transmission of SARS-CoV-2, East Africa.

The coronavirus disease pandemic has highlighted the need to establish and maintain strong infection prevention and control (IPC) practices, not only to prevent healthcare-associated transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to healthcare workers and patients but also to prevent disruptions of essential healthcare services. In East Africa, where basic IPC capacity in healthcare facilities is limited, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) supported rapid IPC capacity building in healthcare facilities in 4 target countries: Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda. CDC supported IPC capacity-building initiatives at the healthcare facility and national levels according to each country's specific needs, priorities, available resources, and existing IPC capacity and systems. In addition, CDC established a multicountry learning network to strengthen hospital level IPC, with an emphasis on peer-to-peer learning. We present an overview of the key strategies used to strengthen IPC in these countries and lessons learned from implementation.

Maintenance of the critical care system during the pandemic in non-COVID-19 patients requiring continuous renal replacement therapy: a single center experience.

BACKGROUND: During the COVID-19 pandemic, maintenance of essential healthcare systems became very challenging. We describe the triage system of our institute, and assess the quality of care provided to critically ill non-COVID-19 patients requiring continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) during the pandemic. METHODS: We introduced an emergency triage pathway early in the pandemic. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients who received CRRT in our hospital from January 2016 to March 2021. We excluded end-stage kidney disease patients on maintenance dialysis. Patients were stratified as medical and surgical patients. The time from hospital arrival to intensive care unit (ICU) admission, the time from hospital arrival to intervention/operation, and the in-hospital mortality rate were compared before (January 2016 to December 2019) and during (January 2021 to March 2021) the pandemic. RESULTS: The mean number of critically ill patients who received CRRT annually in the surgical department significantly decreased during the pandemic in (2016-2019: 76.5 ± 3.1; 2020: 56; p < 0.010). Age, sex, and the severity of disease at admission did not change, whereas the proportions of medical patients with diabetes (before: 44.4%; after: 56.5; p < 0.005) and cancer (before: 19.4%; after: 32.3%; p < 0.001) increased during the pandemic. The time from hospital arrival to ICU admission and the time from hospital arrival to intervention/operation did not change. During the pandemic, 59.6% of surgical patients received interventions/operations within 6 hours of hospital arrival. In Cox's proportional hazard modeling, the hazard ratio associated with the pandemic was 1.002 (0.778-1.292) for medical patients and 1.178 (0.783-1.772) for surgical patients. CONCLUSION: Our triage system maintained the care required by critically ill non-COVID-19 patients undergoing CRRT at our institution.

Epidemiological Profiles and Clinical Outcomes of Non-COVID-19 Patients during COVID-19 PandemicA Single-Center Experience

Background: Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to storm internationally. Various essential services in the health systems have failed to meet the standardized health needs for those non-COVID-19 patients. In this single academic center study, we describe the epidemiological profiles and clinical outcomes on non-COVID-19 patients during COVID-19 pandemic to guide decision-makers in maintaining essential health services and building a structured recovery plan by the end of this pandemic. Materials and Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional single academic center study included 718 non-COVID-19 patients in King Saud University Medical City between March and June 2020. Demographic, clinical, laboratory, treatment, and disposition data were extracted from the Hospital Electronic Records, Electronic System for Integrated Health Information database. Results: The highest age group was 26–35 years, representing 28.6% (n = 205), and 56% (n = 402) were females. The most common comorbidity was hypertension by 25.5% (n = 183), and the main route of admission was through Emergency Medicine Department, 76.7% (n = 551), and 87% (n = 624) of the admissions were to wards, 13% (n = 92) were to Intensive Care Unit, and 7% (n = 51) were deceased. Based on International Classification of Diseases, Revision 10 classifications, 33.6% (n = 241) had diseases of the respiratory system, 14.5% (n = 104) were obstetrics, and 10.4% (n = 75) were cardiac cases. Conclusion: In this single-center study, maintaining essential health-care services is critical during COVID-19 pandemics. Attention should be addressed to extreme ages and to those with pulmonary, obstetric, and cardiac diseases. Mapping decisions taken to curb COVID-19 is critical to structure a solid recovery plan. © 2022 Journal of Nature and Science of Medicine ;Published by Wolters Kluwer-Medknow.

Neglecting the effect of COVID-19 on neglected tropical diseases: the Ethiopian perspective.

Countries around the world are facing an enormous challenge due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The pressure that the pandemic inflicts on health systems could certainly impact on the care, control, and elimination of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). From mid-January 2020, Ethiopia started to prepare for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. The Federal Ministry of Health pledged to continue essential healthcare, including NTD care, during this pandemic. However, some hospitals have been closed for other healthcare services and have been turned into isolation and treatment centers for COVID-19. In addition to the healthcare facility measures, all community-based health promotion and disease prevention services have been stopped. The current shift in attention towards COVID-19 is expected to have a negative impact on NTD prevention and care.