ABSTRACT
Advances in neonatal medicine have progressively increased the survival of premature infants. Increased survival has however come at the cost of increased number of infants with prematurity-related complications. This is represented by high rates of respiratory distress syndrome, bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), sepsis, periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), intraventricular haemorrhage (IVH), cerebral palsy, hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE) and visual and hearing problems in survivors. In addition to prolonged hospital stay after birth, readmission to hospital in the first year of life is common if chronic lung disease exists. Around 3% of newborns have a congenital physical anomaly with 60% of congenital anomalies affecting the brain or heart and around 1% having multiple anomalies. Individual congenital conditions requiring surgical intervention in the neonatal period are rare. Neonates have a higher perioperative mortality risk largely due to the degree of prior illness, the complexity of their surgeries, and infant physiology. The maintenance of oxygenation and perfusion in the perioperative phase is critical as both affect cerebral perfusion and neurocognitive outcome but the triggers for intervention and the thresholds of physiological parameters during neonatal anaesthesia are not well described. After even minor surgical procedures, ex-premature infants are at higher risk for postoperative complications than infants born at term.Copyright © 2022
ABSTRACT
Aim: The purpose of this research is to identify if the COVID-19 positive result correlates with audiovestibular symptoms. Method(s):This researchaimed to evaluate the differences in hearing, hyperacusis, tinnitus and dizziness/rotatory vertigo that was experienced by those COVID-19 patients who were hospitalized and non-hospitalized during and after the severe phase of this pandemic in comparison to those that were observed by non-COVID-19 patients who served as controls. The research found that there was a total of 300 studied patients of COVID-19, out of which 150 were severe and required hospitalization, and 150 were moderate and could be treated at home. The control group consisted of 267 persons, of whom 32 had been hospitalized for an illness that was not COVID-19, and an additional 85 worked in hospital settings. Result(s):Eight percent of COVID-19 patients had hearing loss and/or tinnitus. The difference between moderate and severe cases is not significant. Tinnitus disappeared in 2% of cases following the acute phase. When comparing patients and controls, neither hearing loss nor tinnitus was significantly different. On the other hand, five percent of people in the COVID-19 groups reported experiencing rotatory vertigo, whereas only one percent of people in the control group did so. This disparity was significant. Conclusion(s): When comparing cases of varying severity, we find no evidence that COVID-19 puts a severe effect on tinnitus or hearing during the critical phase or after recovery. On the other hand, rotatory vertigo, which may have roots in the vestibular system, maybe a clinical symptom of COVID-19. Copyright © 2022, Anka Publishers. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Purpose : To explore associations between sensory impairment (vision and/or hearing) and Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the adult 2020 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) population. Methods : A cross-sectional study was conducted using the 2020 CHIS, the nation's largest state health survey with a sample representative of the population of California. The exposure of interest was having sensory impairment, defined as answering “Yes” to the question, “Are you blind or deaf, or do you have a severe vision or hearing problem?” The outcome of interest was whether a health professional suspected the respondent had COVID-19, assessed among those adults who had or thought they had COVID-19 and contacted a health professional. Logistic regression models were constructed to determine the odds of suspected COVID-19 by sensory impairment status, controlling for the following covariates: age, sex, race/ethnicity, self-reported general health status, current smoking habits, overweight/obese body mass index, and current health insurance status. All analyses were weighted according to the CHIS sampling design. Results : A total of 21,949 sampled participants were included, representing a weighted estimate of 29,684,882 individuals. The weighted prevalence of sensory impairment was 5.9% (95% confidence interval [CI] 5.4-6.4%). Approximately 10.9% (95% CI: 10.3-11.6%) of all participants had or thought they had COVID-19, 4.9% (95% CI: 4.5-5.3%) contacted a health professional about COVID-19 concerns, and 1.7% (95% CI: 1.4-2.0%) were suspected of having COVID-19 by a health professional. Regression analyses were performed in a subgroup of 988 participants representing 1,431,690 individuals who had or thought they had COVID-19 and contacted a health professional. Those with sensory impairment had 2.12 times the unadjusted odds of suspected COVID-19 compared to those without sensory impairment (odds ratio [OR]: 2.12, 95% CI: 0.98-4.63). Those with sensory impairment had 2.51 times the adjusted odds of suspected COVID-19 compared to those without sensory impairment (adjusted OR: 2.51, 95% CI: 1.03-6.10). Conclusions : In the 2020 CHIS adult population, individuals with vision and/or hearing impairment had greater odds of having COVID-19 suspected by a health professional. Additional studies are necessary to triangulate these findings and further explore this possible increased risk for COVID-19 in this vulnerable population.
ABSTRACT
Previous literature has identified important principles of geriatrics to consider in older adult dermatology patients, including cognition, polypharmacy, mobility, and social support. We aimed to assess provider perceptions and attitudes about the unique needs of older adult patients in dermatology. 169 health care practitioners completed the survey. 92.9% of the survey respondents were dermatologists, and 6.5% were dermatology advanced practice providers. The following barriers to care in older adult patients were identified by dermatology providers (%): hearing problems (82.9%), lack of a social support system (82.8%), immobility (74.4%), ability of the patient to communicate clearly (69.5%), transportation (77.5%), financial limitations (72.2%), Medicare limitations (66.9%), poor psychosocial functioning (77.5%), and telehealth due to the COVID-19 pandemic (71.2%). In addition, providers identified the following barriers to treatment in the older adult population: poor psychosocial functioning (89.9%), polypharmacy (87.8%), lack of social support system (88.5%) poor adherence to medications (81.1%), and lack of a primary care physician (72.3%). Overall, practitioners selected lack of social support system, difficulty in comprehending treatment plans and limited financial means as the 3 most pressing issues affecting the care of older adult patients. Additional research is warranted to develop interventions to reduce barriers to care and treatment for older adult patients in dermatology clinics.
ABSTRACT
WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE: Evidence on whether the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination could cause hearing-related adverse events is still conflicting. This study aims to access the association between COVID-19 vaccine and hearing disorder. METHODS: The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) was queried between January 2020 to November 2021. The disproportionality pattern for hearing impairment of COVID-19 vaccine was accessed by calculating the reporting odds ratio (ROR) and proportional reporting ratio (PRR). A further subgroup analysis based on the type of COVID-19 vaccine and the doses administered was performed. In addition, the disproportionalities for hearing dysfunction between COVID-19 and influenza vaccines were compared. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: A total of 14,956 reports of hearing-related adverse events were identified with COVID-19 vaccination and 151 with influenza vaccine during the analytic period in VAERS. The incidence of hearing disorder following COVID-19 vaccination was 6.66 per 100,000. The results of disproportionality analysis revealed that the adverse events of hearing impairment, after administration of COVID-19 vaccine, was significantly highly reported (ROR 2.38, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.20-2.56; PRR: 2.35, χ2 537.58), for both mRNA (ROR 2.37, 95% CI 2.20-2.55; PRR 2.34, χ2 529.75) and virus vector vaccines (ROR 2.50, 95% CI 2.28-2.73; PRR 2.56, χ2 418.57). While the disproportional level for hearing dysfunction was quite lower in influenza vaccine (ROR 0.36, 95% CI 0.30-0.42; PRR 0.36, χ2 172.24). WHAT IS NEW AND CONCLUSION: This study identified increased risk for hearing disorder following administration of both mRNA and virus vector COVID-19 vaccines compared to influenza vaccination in real-world settings.