ABSTRACT
Regular PCR testing of nasopharyngeal swabs from symptomatic individuals for SARS-CoV-2 virus has become the established method by which health services are managing the COVID-19 pandemic. Businesses such as AstraZeneca have also prioritised voluntary asymptomatic testing to keep workplaces safe and maintain supply of essential medicines to patients. We describe the development of an internal automated SARS-CoV-2 testing programme including the transformative introduction of saliva as an alternative sample type.
Subject(s)
Asymptomatic Diseases/epidemiology , COVID-19 Nucleic Acid Testing/methods , COVID-19/diagnosis , COVID-19/epidemiology , Pandemics/prevention & control , Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction/methods , SARS-CoV-2/genetics , Saliva/virology , Workforce , COVID-19/virology , Diagnostic Tests, Routine/methods , Humans , Nasopharynx/virology , RNA, Viral/genetics , RNA, Viral/isolation & purification , Specimen Handling/methodsABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To review journalists' preferences and accuracy in reporting comatose states. METHODS: Using the Lexis-Nexis database, we selected newspaper headlines from January 1, 2001, through December 31, 2005, that included the words coma, comatose, unconsciousness, vegetative state, awakening, and brain dead. RESULTS: We identified 340 stories by headlines. The median age of persons in coma was 26 years. Coma cases in men were twice as common as those in women. In 71% of coma cases, the cause of coma was associated with motor vehicle crashes or violence. Persistent vegetative state was reported in 25 articles (7%), frequently when a family or physician conflict emerged. In 33 stories (10%), coma was medically induced but not mentioned in the headline. Three "miracle" recoveries involved resumption of speech in patients in a minimally conscious state. CONCLUSION: Few news reports had gross inaccuracies or misrepresentations; however, definitional difficulties of unconscious states with the reporters remain. The reporting of coma may be biased toward violence and trauma. Medically induced coma was present in 1 of 10 reports but rarely mentioned in the headline.
Subject(s)
Journalism, Medical , Newspapers as Topic , Unconsciousness , Coma , Female , Humans , MaleABSTRACT
It is commonly thought that bacterial endotoxin such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS) causes sepsis. Authors argue that LPS is merely a disease marker. The real mechanism of sepsis lies in the Toll-like receptors that suppress sepsis caused by tissue injury or endotoxin. When Toll-like receptors' initial suppression role is overwhelmed, sepsis ensues.
