ABSTRACT
The outbreak of the novel coronavirus in China (SARS-CoV-2) that began in December 2019 presents a significant and urgent threat to global health. This study was conducted to provide the international community with a deeper understanding of this new infectious disease. Epidemiological, clinical features, laboratory findings, radiological characteristics, treatment, and clinical outcomes of 135 patients in northeast Chongqing were collected and analyzed in this study. A total of 135 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 were enrolled. The median age was 47 years (interquartile range, 36-55), and there was no significant gender difference (53.3% men). The majority of patients had contact with people from the Wuhan area. Forty-three (31.9%) patients had underlying disease, primarily hypertension (13 [9.6%]), diabetes (12 [8.9%]), cardiovascular disease (7 [5.2%]), and malignancy (4 [3.0%]). Common symptoms included fever (120 [88.9%]), cough (102 [76.5%]), and fatigue (44 [32.5%]). Chest computed tomography scans showed bilateral patchy shadows or ground glass opacity in the lungs of all the patients. All patients received antiviral therapy (135 [100%]) (Kaletra and interferon were both used), antibacterial therapy (59 [43.7%]), and corticosteroids (36 [26.7%]). In addition, many patients received traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) (124 [91.8%]). It is suggested that patients should receive Kaletra early and should be treated by a combination of Western and Chinese medicines. Compared to the mild cases, the severe ones had lower lymphocyte counts and higher plasma levels of Pt, APTT, d-dimer, lactate dehydrogenase, PCT, ALB, C-reactive protein, and aspartate aminotransferase. This study demonstrates the clinic features and therapies of 135 COVID-19 patients. Kaletra and TCM played an important role in the treatment of the viral pneumonia. Further studies are required to explore the role of Kaletra and TCM in the treatment of COVID-19.
Subject(s)
Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use , Betacoronavirus/pathogenicity , Cardiovascular Diseases/drug therapy , Coronavirus Infections/drug therapy , Diabetes Complications/drug therapy , Diabetes Mellitus/drug therapy , Neoplasms/drug therapy , Pneumonia, Viral/drug therapy , Adolescent , Adrenal Cortex Hormones/therapeutic use , Adult , Aged , Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use , Betacoronavirus/isolation & purification , Biomarkers/blood , COVID-19 , COVID-19 Testing , Cardiovascular Diseases/complications , Cardiovascular Diseases/diagnosis , Cardiovascular Diseases/pathology , China , Clinical Laboratory Techniques/methods , Coronavirus Infections/complications , Coronavirus Infections/diagnosis , Coronavirus Infections/pathology , Cough/diagnosis , Cough/physiopathology , Cough/virology , Diabetes Complications/blood , Diabetes Mellitus/diagnosis , Diabetes Mellitus/pathology , Drug Combinations , Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use , Fatigue/diagnosis , Fatigue/physiopathology , Fatigue/virology , Female , Fever/diagnosis , Fever/physiopathology , Fever/virology , Humans , Interferons/therapeutic use , Lopinavir/therapeutic use , Male , Middle Aged , Neoplasms/complications , Neoplasms/diagnosis , Neoplasms/pathology , Pandemics , Pneumonia, Viral/complications , Pneumonia, Viral/diagnosis , Pneumonia, Viral/pathology , Retrospective Studies , Ritonavir/therapeutic use , SARS-CoV-2 , Severity of Illness Index , Tomography, X-Ray ComputedABSTRACT
Objetive: An outbreak of a novel and alarmingly coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was announced in China in December 2019, which later affected about 180 countries worldwide. Thus, this study aims to assess the awareness and attitude of dentists towards COVID-19 in Syria. Materials and Methods: The questionnaire was an online survey;it contained 19 questions formulated based on the information given by WHO and CDC for COVID-19. Study participants were dentists practicing in Syria. The questionnaire was translated into Arabic and published on the internet into multiple platforms. Results: 7233 dentists responded to the questionnaire;64% of the participants were females. The majority of the respondents were general practitioner (78%), nearly half of the respondents had been practicing dentistry for at least 2-4 years (51%). The majority of the respondents has knowledge about COVID-19 and was aware it is contagious. Over half of the Syrian dentists received their information about COVID-19 from social media platforms (55%). Even though the majority of the dentists were aware that the incubation period could last up to 14 days, nearly half of the participants were not aware that symptomless patients can spread the virus (49%). Conclusions: Syrian dental practitioners were aware of COVID-19 definition, incubation period and prevention measures in the dental clinic. However, they had limited attitude regarding COVID-19 symptoms, mode of transmission and management. © 2020, Universidad de Concepcion. All rights reserved.