ABSTRACT
Background: The Hong Kong Poison Information Centre has provided consultation service to healthcare professionals and collected epidemiological data on poisoning in Hong Kong since 2005. Objective(s): To analyse and report the poisoning data of Hong Kong Poison Information Centre in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method(s): A retrospective review of all poisoning cases recorded in the Poison Information and Clinical Management System of Hong Kong Poison Information Centre in 2020. Result(s): A total of 3633 poisoning cases were analysed. Compared to 2019 (pre-COVID era), there was a reduction of ~10% of total poisoning cases recorded (383 cases), with a majority (> 90%) of reduction from poisoning cases with no clinical effect (353 cases). A greater proportion of reduction was observed among the children (0-12 years), patients with general unintentional poisoning, poisoning due to therapeutic error and food poisoning. An increased number of cases was noted from abusive use, adverse herb/proprietary Chinese medicine reaction and poisoning related to household bleaches. Teenage (13-19 years) poisoning seemed to be unaffected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the previously observed increasing trend continued (up to 11.8% of total poisoning cases this year). Despite a total reduction in poisoning cases recorded, the number of deaths increased by 37% from 35 in 2019 to 48 in 2020 (mortality rate 1.5%). A total of seven interesting cases were discussed. Conclusion(s): This 15th annual report provides updated epidemiological information on poisoning patterns in Hong Kong during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also highlighted important changes and possible effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on poisoning in Hong Kong in comparison with our previous reports. Copyright © The Author(s) 2022.
ABSTRACT
Purpose : Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) is a form of asthenopia that manifests with symptoms such as eye pain/discomfort, headache, and blurred vision, among others. Early identification of CVS is especially relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to an increase in virtual schooling and digital screen time among children worldwide. This study seeks to evaluate differences in etiologies of eye pain, treatment recommendations, and the relationship between refractive errors and eye pain in the pediatric population before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods : After IRB approval, we retrospectively reviewed the records of patients who visited our tertiary care institution between 2018 and 2021 with a chief complaint of eye pain, determined by the encounter's primary ICD-10 code. Patients who visited before 03/11/2020, when the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic, were classified as the pre-pandemic group (PPG), while patients who consulted after this date were classified as the during-pandemic group (DPG). Demographics, symptoms, refractive error, treatment, and schooling method were recorded as covariates and analyzed using a Chi-square and Fisher's exact test. Results : 38 patients were included in the study (21 PPG;17 DPG). The mean age was 10.1 ± 3.2 years, and the majority were African American (44.7%). Virtual school attendance for the PPG and DPG was 4.8% and 58.8%, respectively (P<0.05) (Table 1). There was a higher prevalence of reported blurry vision, headaches, eye redness, eye swelling, and rubbing among DPG patients (Table 1). Counseling on screen time minimization was more likely to be documented in the DPG (Table 2). A greater proportion of patients were prescribed new glasses in the DPG though there was no significant relationship between eye pain and refractive error or anisometropia in either group (P>0.05). Conclusions : The increased prevalence of CVS symptoms in the DPG suggests an association between virtual schooling and CVS in children. There is a role for ophthalmologists to improve rates of counseling for the prevention of eye pain-related symptomatology with digital device usage. Further studies will survey parents to assess their awareness of conservative treatments for eye pain such as artificial tears and decreased screen time.
ABSTRACT
The proceedings contain 79 papers. The topics discussed include: vertebral fractures increase the risk of subsequent vertebral fractures: results from a large German health insurance dataset;analysis of bone architecture using fractal-based TX-Analyzer in adult patients with osteogenesis imperfecta;bone health in nursing home residents in Germany - do we care enough?;types of therapeutic errors in the management of osteoporosis: results of an experimental study;cysteine-rich angiogenic inducer 61 as a tool to efficiently enrich myeloid angiogenic cells from peripheral blood;response of bone tissue to ostarine treatment and/or treadmill exercise in a healthy adult rat model;influence of the cell aggregation technique on the differentiation of human articular chondrocytes in microtissues;changes in dispensing of anti-osteoporotic drugs during COVID-19 pandemic;and loss of adipogenic dickkopf-1 increases trabecular and cortical bone mass by promoting bone formation in male mice.
ABSTRACT
Objective: The first COVID-19 vaccine was administered in the UK on the 8 December 2020. Since then, the UK has authorised four vaccines for use against COVID-19 (Pfizer/BioNTech, Oxford/ AstraZeneca, Moderna and Janssen). Serious adverse effects, including fatalities, have been linked to COVID-19 vaccines [1]. We reviewed all enquiries to the UK National Poisons Information Service (NPIS) related to COVID-19 vaccines. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of enquiries relating to COVID-19 vaccines to the NPIS from 1 March 2020 until 31 July 2021. Enquiries were identified from the UK Poisons Information Database (UKPID) and filtered to identify those relating specifically to COVID-19 vaccines. Results: The NPIS received 34 enquiries about COVID-19 vaccines during the study period (Oxford/AstraZeneca: 13, 38.2%;Pfizer/ BioNTech: 9, 26.5%;Moderna: 1, 2.9%). Two enquiries were seeking information about two different vaccines (Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford/AstraZeneca) and in nine enquiries the manufacturer was unknown. Of these enquiries, 29 (85.3%) were specifically patient-related while five (14.7%) were for information only and were excluded from further analysis. The majority of patientrelated enquiries were from NHS 111 (17, 58.6%) with the remaining from hospitals (6, 20.7%) or primary care (6, 20.7%). All enquiries were regarding adult patients;21 enquiries were regarding female patients (72.4%) with 8 regarding male patients (27.6%). The most common enquiries were regarding patients who had received three doses instead of 2 (7, 24.1%), dosing errors due to incorrect dilution/reconstitution of the vaccine (5, 17.2%), doses administered outside the recommended timeframe of 8-12 weeks (5, 17.2%), adverse reactions (4, 13.8%) and patients receiving 2 doses in the same day (4, 13.8%). Nineteen patients (65.5%) were asymptomatic at the time of the enquiry. Four patients had symptoms (13.8%) but these were all deemed to be minor. In 6 enquiries (20.7%) it was unknown if the patient had symptoms. No moderate or severe symptoms were recorded and there were no fatalities. Conclusion: Serious adverse effects have been rarely associated with COVID-19 vaccines [1]. Enquiries to the NPIS regarding COVID-19 vaccines were generally related to administration or dosing errors. Reassuringly, in this patient population, most patients had no symptoms or mild symptoms only.