Comparison between original SARS-CoV-2 strain and omicron variant on thin-section chest CT imaging of COVID-19 pneumonia.

OBJECTIVES: We investigated different computed tomography (CT) features between Omicron-variant and original-strain SARS-CoV­2 pneumonia to facilitate the clinical management. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Medical records were retrospectively reviewed to select patients with original-strain SARS-CoV­2 pneumonia from February 22 to April 22, 2020, or Omicron-variant SARS-CoV­2 pneumonia from March 26 to May 31, 2022. Data on the demographics, comorbidities, symptoms, clinical types, and CT features were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: There were 62 and 78 patients with original-strain or Omicron-variant SARS-CoV­2 pneumonia, respectively. There were no differences between the two groups in terms of age, sex, clinical types, symptoms, and comorbidities. The main CT features differed between the two groups (p = 0.003). There were 37 (59.7%) and 20 (25.6%) patients with ground-glass opacities (GGO) in the original-strain and Omicron-variant pneumonia, respectively. A consolidation pattern was more frequently observed in the Omicron-variant than original-strain pneumonia (62.8% vs. 24.2%). There was no difference in crazy-paving pattern between the original-strain and Omicron-variant pneumonia (16.1% vs. 11.6%). Pleural effusion was observed more often in Omicron-variant pneumonia, while subpleural lesions were more common in the original-strain pneumonia. The CT score in the Omicron-variant group was higher than that in the original-strain group for critical-type (17.00, 16.00-18.00 vs. 16.00, 14.00-17.00, p = 0.031) and for severe-type (13.00, 12.00-14.00 vs 12.00, 10.75-13.00, p = 0.027) pneumonia. CONCLUSION: The main CT finding of the Omicron-variant SARS-CoV­2 pneumonia included consolidations and pleural effusion. By contrast, CT findings of original-strain SARS-CoV­2 pneumonia showed frequent GGO and subpleural lesions, but without pleural effusion. The CT scores were also higher in the critical and severe types of Omicron-variant than original-strain pneumonia.

Teaching environment of primary middle and high schools in Suzhou during 2019 / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To analyze the teaching environment of primary, middle and high schools in Suzhou, and to explore the relevance of students’ myopia with teaching environment, as well as the key problems in teaching environment.@*Methods@#1 253 classrooms in 204 schools rom 10 districts and counties in Suzhou were selected by proportionate stratified sampling. The qualified rate of each indices was described and the teaching environment by county, learning stage were compared by using chi-squared test. The Spearman test is used to explore correlations between myopia with monitoring indicators.@*Results@#The qualified rate of the distance from lamp to table was the highest (98.56%), while matching rate of student desk and chair was the lowest(0.96%). Minimum lamp table spacing, blackboard average illumination, reflectance from blackboard wall, classroom per capita area, classroom microclimate differed significantly in urban and rural (P<0.05); daylighting coefficient, reflectance from walls, average illumination of desktop and blackboard, classroom per capita area, and microclimate indicator were statistically different by learning stages(r=0.42,P<0.05). Prevalence of myopia correlated with the index of lighting.@*Conclusion@#Qualified desks and matched chairs, as well as the daylighting design in classroom should receive more attention in Suzhou. The findings lend support to identification of key health priorities and formulation of the localized health practice for health administrations.