Outcomes of COVID-19 in children with cancer - Report from the Indian Pediatric Oncology Group (InPOG) COVID-19 registry in India

Introduction: The clinical outcomes of COVID-19 infection in children with cancer have been variable worldwide. Therefore, we aimed to collect data from all regions in India through a national collaborative study and identify factors that cause mortality directly related to COVID-19 infection. Method(s): Data was collected prospectively on children across India on cancer therapy and diagnosed with COVID-19 infections from 47 centers from April 2020 to October 2021. Information was recorded on the demographics, the number of children that required intervention, and the outcome of the infection. In addition, we analyzed the impact of the delta variant in 2021. Result(s): A total of 659 children were studied, of whom 64% were male and 36% were female. The data from the eastern region was sparse, and this was a collection bias. COVID-19 infection was predominantly seen in children less than five years. The delta variant had a higher impact in the southern region, and this was statistically significant. Of the 659 children, 30 children died (4.5%), however only 7 of the deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19 infection (1%). Conclusion(s): The study reports the largest nationally representative cohort of children with cancer and COVID-19 to date in India. We identified demographic and clinical factors associated with increased all-cause mortality in patients with cancer. Complete characterization of the cohort has provided further insights into the effects of COVID-19 on cancer outcomes. The low mortality allows us to recommend that specific cancer treatments be continued without delays in therapy.Copyright © 2022

Teleconsultation for Thyroid Disorders: Different Perceptions between Clinicians and Patients

OBJECTIVE: Teleconsultation has gained traction in the past decade. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated its uptake worldwide. Clinic visits for thyroid disorders includemany routine tasks that may be carried out remotely, and seldom involve intervention procedures. Our study aims to understand clinicians' and patients' perception of teleconsultation for thyroid disorders, in consideration of the barriers and facilitators to sustainable adoption beyond the pandemic. METHOD(S): This is a cross-sectional survey study. Clinicians at a tertiary hospital completed a survey on the suitability of teleconsultation for specific clinic tasks, and an adapted Technological Acceptance Model (TAM) questionnaire scored on a 7-point scale. Patients with thyroid disorders completed the Telemedicine Perception Questionnaire (TMPQ) scored on a 5-point scale. RESULT(S): Thirty-four clinicians (attending specialists:50%;fellows and junior doctors:50%) completed the questionnaire. Review of thyroid ultrasound results (73.5%) and blood tests results (61.8%) were tasks deemed most suitable for teleconsultation. 85.3% of clinicians felt that bad news should not be conveyed remotely. There were no significant differences in the responses between senior and junior clinician groups. Clinicians had a moderately positive attitude towards teleconsultation (mean(M) = 5.01 +/- 1.16) and perceived video platforms as easy to use (M= 4.97+/- 0.88). They were ambivalent about the usefulness of teleconsultation (M= 4.55+/- 1.05) and whether they were time-efficient (M= 4.06+/- 1.37). They were equivocal about their intention to use teleconsultation (M= 4.79+/- 1.28). Fifty patients (mean age = 58(+/-13.3) years) with thyroid disorders completed the survey. Patients felt teleconsultation should complement in-person care instead of substituting it completely (M= 3.72+/- 0.73). Patients perceived teleconsultations to be timesaving for both clinicians (M= 3.88+/- 1.16) and themselves (M= 3.86+/- 0.78). Patients also thought teleconsultations reduced costs for hospitals (M= 3.62+/- 0.83). CONCLUSION(S): Clinicians and patients shared a general positive attitude towards teleconsultation. They agreed that teleconsultation is suitable for some clinic tasks, but cannot completely replace inperson care. Patients felt that teleconsultations saved time for both clinicians and themselves, but this view was not shared by clinicians. Further studies should explore the time efficiency and cost effectiveness of teleconsultation for thyroid disorders. This can inform on sustainable adoption of teleconsultation as an alternative mode of service delivery.

A blended learning framework for delivary of Laboratory Course in Digital Circuits during COVID-19 pandemic

The paper proposes a framework to demonstrate the effectiveness through blended learning in Digital Circuits Course by redesigning the content delivery and mode of hands-on experimentation. The present situation of pandemic has created scope for experimenting with various modes of course redesign and delivery for effective teaching/learning of the courses. A Digital Circuit course in third semester of Engineering discipline is redesigned w.r.t. video lectures, course content, number of experiments, mode of learning, mode of teaching, simulations, hands on experimentation and evaluation rubrics. A webpage was designed for students comprising of all the information needed to conduct the laboratory efficiently. The video lectures were prepared by the course instructors on the concepts and design aspects of all the experiments. The designed experiments were simulated and shown to the students for its appropriateness. The designed circuits were hard wired on the breadboard and the results were demonstrated through the recorded videos of the same. Lab was conducted in marathon from morning to evening with more focus on detailed resources shared and learnt by students before conduction in lab without compromising learning in hardware related labs. All these details helped the students to gather extra knowledge for effective implementation of designed circuits. The effectiveness of learning was measured through designed rubrics and graded accordingly. The students were exposed to another way of efficient learning i.e., blended mode. © 2021 IEEE.

A Hybrid Model for the Undergraduate laboratory Course in Analog Electronics amid the COVID-19 Pandemic Challenges

To ensure the best quality of education in the pandemic situation is a great challenge for any educator. The hands-on experience for students at the Under Graduate Engineering Level in Hardware Circuits Laboratory was of the utmost concern. The situation of COVID-19 made the Educator to rethink, redesign and modify the Laboratory courses. To make students more comfortable in level of understanding, the course with Hands-on Experience in the hardware laboratory was designed and floated for the second-year undergraduate students. In this paper, we the team of educators redesigned the course in a Hybrid Model which includes Blended Learning (BL) as well as offline conduction of the circuits laboratory. The students were provided with the required electronic components kit in prior to the conduction of the laboratory. The paper narrates the conduction of the circuits laboratory by first preparing the video for students and floating on the website. Secondly, the students come prepared with the prior laboratory knowledge as well as with the component kits provided to them. We the team, maintaining the safety precautions of the COVID-19 in view, allow the students to carry out and perform the experiments thoroughly. The authors have attempted to address the following experience of the students in, what is the need to introduce blended learning approach as a pedagogy initiative for academic analysis during a pandemic situation to enhance student's learning experience? The team evaluates each of the student's knowledge by viva-voce and allots the grades. The Learner also asked to show the simulation of the circuits well in advance of the conduction of experiments, which helps in experimenting on devices. Thus, the inventive redesigned approach for teaching, Learning and evaluating process have been successfully applied and great success has been achieved in the level of understanding, as well as on implementation of the laboratory exercises. It is aimed that adaptation period of students in this approach of hybrid model of blended learning is shortened. The objective of the achievement like class participation and involvement was also noticed and course assessment like structured enquiry and open-ended experiments done by students scored satisfactorily high. © 2021 IEEE.

Experiential learning methodology adopted for effective delivery of Computer Communication Networks course during Covid-19 pandemic

The computer communication course aims at familiarizing the students to the networking standards and technologies. In the recent days several strategies and practices are used to incorporate experiential learning which include presentation, class-room delivery, simulation and course projects. This process plays an important role to enhance the student's understanding. The covid-19 pandemic posed a great challenge for effective course delivery to the students in online mode. We present a new structure with analysis tools and methods for active learning in virtual mode. Cisco packet tracer and Wireshark tools are introduced to improve the student's understanding level. The result shows that the adopted approach helped in enhancement of student learning to a better extent. © 2021 IEEE.

The great pretender-Bell's palsy secondary to SARS-CoV-2?

This case series highlights a possible association between isolated facial nerve palsy and SARS-CoV-2. Caution should be exercised in the use of steroids in patients with COVID-19 as its impact is still not well established.

Recommendations for head and neck surgical oncology practice in a setting of acute severe resource constraint during the COVID-19 pandemic: an international consensus.

The speed and scale of the global COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in unprecedented pressures on health services worldwide, requiring new methods of service delivery during the health crisis. In the setting of severe resource constraint and high risk of infection to patients and clinicians, there is an urgent need to identify consensus statements on head and neck surgical oncology practice. We completed a modified Delphi consensus process of three rounds with 40 international experts in head and neck cancer surgical, radiation, and medical oncology, representing 35 international professional societies and national clinical trial groups. Endorsed by 39 societies and professional bodies, these consensus practice recommendations aim to decrease inconsistency of practice, reduce uncertainty in care, and provide reassurance for clinicians worldwide for head and neck surgical oncology in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and in the setting of acute severe resource constraint and high risk of infection to patients and staff.

Safety Recommendations for Evaluation and Surgery of the Head and Neck During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Importance: The rapidly expanding novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, has challenged the medical community to an unprecedented degree. Physicians and health care workers are at added risk of exposure and infection during the course of patient care. Because of the rapid spread of this disease through respiratory droplets, health care workers who come in close contact with the upper aerodigestive tract during diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, such as otolaryngologists-head and neck surgeons, are particularly at risk. A set of safety recommendations was created based on a review of the literature and communications with physicians with firsthand knowledge of safety procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Observations: A high number of health care workers were infected during the first phase of the pandemic in the city of Wuhan, China. Subsequently, by adopting strict safety precautions, other regions were able to achieve high levels of safety for health care workers without jeopardizing the care of patients. The most common procedures related to the examination and treatment of upper aerodigestive tract diseases were reviewed. Each category was reviewed based on the potential risk imposed to health care workers. Specific recommendations were made based on the literature, when available, or consensus best practices. Specific safety recommendations were made for performing tracheostomy in patients with COVID-19. Conclusions and Relevance: Preserving a highly skilled health care workforce is a top priority for any community and health care system. Based on the experience of health care systems in Asia and Europe, by following strict safety guidelines, the risk of exposure and infection of health care workers could be greatly reduced while providing high levels of care. The provided recommendations, which may evolve over time, could be used as broad guidance for all health care workers who are involved in the care of patients with COVID-19.