Tele-Intensive Care Unit Program in Brazil: Implementation and Expansion.

In this scientific report, we aimed to describe the implementation and expansion of a Tele-Intensive Care Unit (Tele-ICU) program in Brazil, highlighting the pillars of success, improvements, and perspectives. Tele-ICU program emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic at the Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo (HCFMUSP), focusing on clinical case discussions and training of health practitioners in public hospitals of the state of São Paulo in Brazil, to support health care professionals for treating COVID-19 patients. The success of implementing this initiative endorsed the project expansion to other five hospitals from different macroregions of the country, leading to the Tele-ICU-Brazil. These projects assisted 40 hospitals, allowing more than 11,500 teleinterconsultations (exchange of medical information between health care professionals using a licensed online platform) and training more than 14,800 health care professionals, reducing mortality and length of hospitalized patients. A segment in telehealth for the obstetrics health care was implemented after detecting these were a susceptible group of patients to COVID-19 severity. As a perspective, this segment will be expanded to 27 hospitals in the country. The Tele-ICU projects reported here were the largest digital health ICU programs ever established in Brazilian National Health System until know. Their results were unprecedented and proved to be crucial for supporting health care professionals nationwide during the COVID-19 pandemic and guide future initiatives in digital health in Brazil's National Health System.

Impact of SARS-CoV-2 on pregnancy and neonatal outcomes: An open prospective study of pregnant women in Brazil.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the incidence and risk of adverse obstetric and neonatal outcomes according to SARS-CoV-2 infection severity in pregnant women. METHOD: Open prospective study of pregnant women tested for SARS-CoV-2 by serological and molecular assays during pregnancy or delivery in two hospitals in Sao Paulo, Brazil from April 12, 2020, to February 28, 2021. Five groups were considered for analysis: C0, negative COVID-19 results and no COVID-19 symptoms; C1, positive COVID-19 results, and no symptoms; C2, positive COVID-19 results with mild symptoms; C3, positive COVID-19 results with moderate symptoms; and C4, positive COVID-19 results with severe symptoms. The association between obstetric and neonatal outcomes and COVID-19 severity was determined using multivariate analysis. RESULTS: 734 eligible pregnant women were enrolled as follows: C0 (n = 357), C1 (n = 127), C2 (n = 174), C3 (n = 37), and C4 (n = 39). The following pregnancy and neonatal outcomes were associated with severe COVID-19: oligohydramnios (adjusted Odds Ratio [aOR] = 6.18; 95% CI 1.87‒20.39), fetal distress (aOR = 4.01; 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 1.84‒8.75), preterm birth (aOR = 5.51; 95% CI 1.47‒20.61), longer hospital stay (aOR = 1.66; 95% CI 1.36‒2.02), and admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (aOR = 19.36; 95% CI, 5.86‒63.99). All maternal (n = 6, 15.4%, p < 0.001) and neonatal (n = 5, 12.5%, p < 0.001) deaths and most fetal deaths (n = 4, 9.8%, p < 0.001) occurred in C4 group. Moderate COVID-19 was associated with oligohydramnios (aOR = 6.23; 95% CI 1.93‒20.13) and preterm birth (aOR = 3.60; 95% CI 1.45‒9.27). Mild COVID-19 was associated with oligohydramnios (aOR = 3.77; 95% CI 1.56‒9.07). CONCLUSION: Adverse pregnancy and neonatal outcomes were associated with maternal symptomatic COVID-19 status, and risk increased with disease severity.

Risk factors for oxygen requirement in hospitalized pregnant and postpartum women with COVID-19.

OBJECTIVE: To identify risk factors for Oxygen (O2) needs in pregnant and postpartum women with COVID-19. METHODS: Prospective cohort involving pregnant women hospitalized with COVID-19 from April to October 2020. The oxygen need was analyzed regarding risk factors: demographic characteristics, clinical and laboratory parameters at hospital admission, and chest Computer Tomography (CT) findings. Poisson univariate analysis was used to estimate the Relative Risk (RR) and 95% Confidence Intervals. RESULTS: 145 patients, 80 who used and 65 who did not use O2, were included. Body mass index ≥ 30, smoking, and chronic hypertension increased the risk of O2 need by 1.86 (95% CI 1.10-3.21), 1.57 (95% CI 1.16‒2.12), and 1.46 (95% CI 1.09‒1.95), respectively. Patients who were hospitalized for COVID-19 and for obstetric reasons had 8.24 (95% CI 2.8‒24.29) and 3.44 (95% CI 1.05‒11.31) times more use of O2 than those admitted for childbirth and abortion. Respiratory rate ≥ 24 breaths/min and O2 saturation < 95% presented RR for O2 requirements of 2.55 (1.82‒3.56) and 1.68 (95% CI 1.27-2.20), respectively. Ground Glass (GG) < 50% and with GG ≥ 50%, the risk of O2 use were respectively 3.41-fold and 5.33-fold higher than in patients who haven't viral pneumonia on CT. The combination of C-reactive protein ≥ 21 mg/L, hemoglobin < 11.0 g/dL, and lymphopenia < 1500 mm3 on hospital admission increased the risk of O2 use by 4.97-times. CONCLUSIONS: In obstetric patients, clinical history, laboratory, clinical and radiological parameters at admission were identified as a risk for O2 need, selecting the population with the greatest chance of worsening.

Disinfection of 3D-printed protective face shield during COVID-19 pandemic.

This study assessed the disinfection using 70% ethanol; H2O2-quaternary ammonium salt mixture; 0.1% sodium hypochlorite and autoclaving of four 3D-printed face shields with different designs, visor materials; and visor thickness (0.5-0.75 mm). We also investigated their clinical suitability by applying a questionnaire to health workers (HW) who used them. Each type of disinfection was done 40 times on each type of mask without physical damage. In contrast, autoclaving led to appreciable damage.