Control of an outbreak of COVID-19 at a tertiary hospital in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has circulated in Taiwan since late 2019. Healthcare facilities are vulnerable to COVID-19 outbreaks due to clusters of symptomatic patients and susceptible hosts. Prompt control of outbreaks is crucial. In May 2021, an index case of COVID-19 was detected at Far Eastern Memorial Hospital (FEMH) in New Taipei City, Taiwan, 3 days after hospital admission, spreading to 26 patients and staff. Herein we evaluate control of this COVID-1 outbreak. METHODS: To control the outbreak, the index case ward was closed, and large-scale COVID-19 testing (RT PCR) was performed for all inpatients, caregivers and healthcare workers (HCWs). All exposed persons were quarantined. Thorough investigation was conducted to analyze the transmission route. RESULTS: The outbreak comprised 12 patients, 12 caregivers, and 3 HCWs. Seven patients expired and the remaining cases recovered. Overall, 456 patients/caregivers and 169 HCWs were quarantined. Analysis showed that longer exposure time was the main cause of HCW infection; all three infected HCWs were primary-care nurses related to the index case. To diminish hidden cases, all hospitalized patients/caregivers received PCR examinations and all results were negative. Thereafter, all patients/caregivers routinely received PCR examination on admission. Hospital-wide PCR screening for HCW detected 4 positive HCWs unrelated to this outbreak, and a second-round of screening detected 2 more cases, with no additional cases during the following 6 months. CONCLUSION: Prompt infection control measures and large-scale PCR screening can control a COVID-19 outbreak within 2 weeks. Exposure time is the major risk factor for HCW infection.

Traditional Chinese medicine injection for the treatment of viral pneumonia in children: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, more and more reports are focused on the application of traditional Chinese medicine injection (TCMJ) for the treatment of viral pneumonia. There are about 200 million cases of viral pneumonia worldwide every year, half of which are children. At present, many kinds of TCMJ are created for the treatment of viral pneumonia in children, with good therapeutic effects. However, there are many kinds of TCMJ, and the treatment advantages are different, thus bringing difficulties to the selection of clinical drugs. In order to provide evidence-based evidence support for the clinical selection of TCMJ for the treatment of viral pneumonia in children, this study selected the commonly used TCMJ for clinical treatment of viral pneumonia for meta-analysis to evaluate its efficacy. METHODS: The Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data, Viper information databases, Cochran library Web of Science, PubMed, MEDLINE and EMBASE will be searched. The literature will be searched, with language restriction in English and Chinese. The related reference will be retrieved as well. Two reviewers will independently extract data and perform quality assessment of included studies. Review Manager 5.3 will be applied to conduct this meta-analysis. RESULTS: The results of this systematic review and meta-analysis will be published in a peer-reviewed journal once we finish this study. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides reliable evidence-based evidence for the efficacy of TCMJ in the treatment of viral pneumonia in children. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: We will not be allowed to publish private information from individuals. This kind of systematic review should not harm the rights of participants. No ethical approval was required. The results can be published in peer-reviewed journals or at relevant conferences. OSF REGISTRATION NUMBER: DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/795MB.

Simplest Way to Establish COVID-19 Quarantine Observation Wards Within 24 Hours.

Reducing nosocomial transmission within health care facilities is important, but the number of negative-pressure airborne infection isolation rooms for SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) is limited. It is a daunting challenge to cope with a surge of suspected infectious patients in hospitals. We installed air exhaust fans on the windows to change the pressure direction within the wards rapidly. The best location for the fans was 90 cm from the floor and 90 cm from the edge of bed whether the indoor air conditioners were on or off. The noise level should be <60 dB(A) as per government regulations. General wards can be transformed into makeshift negative-pressure rooms easily and effectively within 24 hours, which is really the simple, fast, and effective way for the transformation being applied.