Environmental contamination of the SARS-CoV-2 in healthcare premises: An urgent call for protection for healthcare workers

ImportanceA large number of healthcare workers (HCWs) were infected by SARS-CoV-2 during the ongoing outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China. Hospitals are significant epicenters for the human-to-human transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 for HCWs, patients, and visitors. No data has been reported on the details of hospital environmental contamination status in the epicenter of Wuhan. ObjectiveTo investigate the extent to which SARS-CoV-2 contaminates healthcare settings, including to identify function zones of the hospital with the highest contamination levels and to identify the most contaminated objects, and personal protection equipment (PPE) in Wuhan, China. DesignA field investigation was conducted to collect the surface swabs in various environments in the hospital and a laboratory experiment was conducted to examine the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 RNA. SettingSix hundred twenty-six surface samples were collected within the Zhongnan Medical Center in Wuhan, China in the mist of the COVID-19 outbreak between February 7 - February 27, 2020. ParticipantsDacron swabs were aseptically collected from the surfaces of 13 hospital function zones, five major objects, and three major personal protection equipment (PPE). The SARS-CoV-2 RNAs were detected by reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR). Main Outcomes and MeasuresSARS-CoV-2 RNAs ResultsThe most contaminated zones were the intensive care unit specialized for taking care of novel coronavirus pneumonia (NCP) (31.9%), Obstetric Isolation Ward specialized for pregnant women with NCP (28.1%), and Isolation Ward for NCP (19.6%). We classified the 13 zones into four contamination levels. The most contaminated objects are self-service printers (20.0%), desktop/keyboard (16.8%), and doorknob (16.0%). Both hand sanitizer dispensers (20.3%) and gloves (15.4%) were most contaminated PPE. Conclusions and RelevanceMany surfaces were contaminated with SARS-CoV-2 across the hospital in various patient care areas, commonly used objects, medical equipment, and PPE. The 13 hospital function zones were classified into four contamination levels. These findings emphasize the urgent need to ensure adequate environmental cleaning, strengthen infection prevention training, and improve infection prevention precautions among HCWs during the outbreak of COVID-19. The findings may have important implications for modifying and developing urgently needed policy to better protect healthcare workers during this ongoing pandemic of SARS-CoV-2. Key PointsO_ST_ABSQuestionC_ST_ABSWhat was the hospital setting contamination status, the most contaminated objects and PPE of SARS-CoV-2 during the outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China? FindingsThe most contaminated zones were the intensive care unit for novel coronavirus pneumonia (NCP) (31.9%), Obstetric Isolation Ward specialized for pregnant women with NCP (28.1%), and Isolation Ward for NCP (19.6%). The most contaminated objects and PPE are self-service printers (20.0%), hand sanitizer dispensers (20.3%), and gloves (15.4%). MeaningThe findings may have important implications for modifying and developing urgently needed policy to better protect healthcare workers during this ongoing pandemic of SARS-CoV-2.

Can routine laboratory tests discriminate 2019 novel coronavirus infected pneumonia from other community-acquired pneumonia?

BackgroundThe clinical presentation of 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCov) infected pneumonia (NCIP) resembles that of other etiologies of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). We aimed to identify clinical laboratory features to distinguish NCIP from CAP. MethodsWe compared the ability of the hematological and biochemical features of 84 patients with NCIP at hospital admission and 316 patients with CAP. Parameters independently predictive of NCIP were calculated by multivariate logistic regression. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were generated and the area under the ROC curve (AUC) was measured to evaluate the discriminative ability. ResultsMost hematological and biochemical indexes of patients with NCIP were significantly different from patients with CAP. Nine laboratory parameters were identified to be highly predictive of a diagnosis of NCIP by multivariate analysis. The AUCs demonstrated good discriminatory ability for red cell distribution width (RDW) with an AUC of 0.88 and Hemoglobin (HGB) with an AUC of 0.82. Red blood cell (RBC), albumin (ALB), eosinophil (EO), hematocrit (HCT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and white blood cell (WBC) had fair discriminatory ability. Combinations of any two parameters performed better than did the RDW alone. ConclusionsRoutine laboratory examinations may be helpful for the diagnosis of NCIP. Application of laboratory tests may help to optimize the use of isolation rooms for patients when they present with unexplained febrile respiratory illnesses.

Causes and countermeasures of false-negative results for 2019 novel coronavirus nucleic acid test / 中华检验医学杂志

In December 2019, a cluster of patients with pneumonia of unknown cause were linked to a seafood wholesale market in Wuhan, China. Some studies found that the virus was a new kind of virus which had never been found in the human body. Then, the virus was named 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) by the World Health Organization (WHO). 2019-nCoV nucleic acid detection is one of the essential indicators of COVID-19. Recently, some false-negative cases in China-Japan Friendship Hospital and Hangzhou Hospital led the clinical doctors to question the value of the nucleic acid detection. In this paper, more than 3 000 results of 2019-nCoV detection in Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan University were analyzed. Attention should be paid to the root cause of false-negative results and the related countermeasures should be taken.

Analysis of false-negative results for 2019 novel coronavirus nucleic acid test and related countermeasures / 中华检验医学杂志

In December 2019, a cluster of patients with pneumonia of unknown cause were linked to a seafood wholesale market in Wuhan, China. Some studies found that the virus was a new kind of virus which had never been found in the human body. Then, the virus was named 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) by the World Health Organization (WHO). 2019-nCoV nucleic acid detection is one of the essential indicators of NCP (Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia). Recently, some false-negative cases in China-Japan Friendship Hospital and Hangzhou Hospital led the clinical doctors to question the value of the nucleic acid detection. In this paper, more than 3 000 results of 2019-nCoV detection in Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan University were analyzed. Attention should be paid to the root cause of false-negative results and the related countermeasures should be taken.

Associations of cognitive function with APOE gene polymorphism and chronic diseases among long-lived people in Zhongxiang City of Hubei Province / 中华老年医学杂志

Objective To investigate the associations of cognitive function with apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene polymorphism and chronic diseases among long-lived people in Zhongxiang City of Hubei Province.Methods A total of 110 long-lived elderly residents aged 90 years and over were collected.Their cognitive function was determined face-to-face using questionnaires by trained interviewers.According to mini-mental state examination(MMSE) scores,subjects were divided into a no dementia risk group and a high dementia risk group.General demographic characteristics,activities of daily living,depression state and nutrition status were compared between the two groups.Correlations of dementia with APOE gene polymorphism and chronic diseases were analyzed.Results The average MMSE score was 22.3±4.8.Among the 110 long-lived people,18 cases had a high risk for dementia,accounting for 16.4％,and 92 cases had no risk of dementia,accounting for 83.6％.The risk of dementia in long-lived elderly people was correlated with activities of daily living,mental state,nutritional status and falls(all P＜0.05).There were 8 cases with the APOE gene ε4/ε3 genotype in the high dementia risk group and 16 cases with the APOE gene ε4/e3 genotype in the no dementia risk group,with the former group showing a higher frequency of the APOE ε4/ε3 genotype (44.4％ vs.17.4％,x2 =6.46,P＜0.05).The former group also seemed to have a higher APOE ε4 frequency,but the difference was not statistically significant(22.2 ％ vs.10.3 ％,x2 =3.96,P =0.055)Chronic diseases prevalent in the long-lived people were hypertension(86 cases,78.2 ％),hearing loss (72 cases,65.5％),hyperlipidemia(56 cases,50.9％),anemia(43 cases,39.1％),impaired vision(39 cases,35.5 ％),chronic kidney diseases(25 cases,22.7 ％),chronic heart diseases (18 cases,16.4 ％) and osteoarthritis(18 cases,16.4％).No correlation was found between the risk of dementia and chronic diseases(P＞0.05).Conclusions Cognitive function is highly correlated with activities of daily living,mental state and nutritional status among long-lived elderly people in Zhongxiang City.The risk of dementia has a correlation with the APOE gene e4/e3 genotype but not with chronic diseases in long-lived people.

Relationship between metabolic syndrome and total bilirubin in nonagenarians and centenarians living in Hubei Zhongxiang Province / 中华内分泌代谢杂志

Metabolic syndrome is closely related to target organ injury such as heart, brain, and kidney. And bilirubin is an effective antioxidant. At present, there is a lack of research data on metabolic syndrome and serum total bilirubin in longevity elderly people. This study aimed to study the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and its correlation with serum total bilirubin level in nonagenarians and centenarians living in Hubei Zhongxiang Province. According to the demographic information provided by Zhongxiang Civil Affairs Bureau, 128 elderly people were interviewed and 11 of them were excluded. A total of 117 population were included in the study. Questionnaires, physical examination, and blood test were made. 117 subjects aged 90-113 years with an average age of (98.6 ± 4.8) years old were analysed. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its diagnostic components were obesity 19. 7％, hyperglycemia 29. 9％, hypertension 94. 0％, hypertriglyceridemia 33. 3％, low high density lipoprotein-cholesterol ( HDL-C) levels 17.1％, and metabolic syndrome 23. 9％. Logistic regression analysis found that the total bilirubin level was negatively correlated with metabolic syndrome and triglyceride levels(P<0.05), but not with obesity, hyperglycemia, hypertension, and total cholesterol ( P>0.05) . The nonagenarians and centenarians have a low prevalence of metabolic syndrome in Zhongxiang, Hubei Province, total bilirubin was negatively correlated with metabolic syndrome and triglyceride.

Relationship between metabolic syndrome and total bilirubin in nonagenarians and centenarians living in Hubei Zhongxiang Province / 中华内分泌代谢杂志

Metabolic syndrome is closely related to target organ injury such as heart, brain, and kidney. And bilirubin is an effective antioxidant. At present, there is a lack of research data on metabolic syndrome and serum total bilirubin in longevity elderly people. This study aimed to study the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and its correlation with serum total bilirubin level in nonagenarians and centenarians living in Hubei Zhongxiang Province. According to the demographic information provided by Zhongxiang Civil Affairs Bureau, 128 elderly people were interviewed and 11 of them were excluded. A total of 117 population were included in the study. Questionnaires, physical examination, and blood test were made. 117 subjects aged 90-113 years with an average age of (98.6±4.8) years old were analysed. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its diagnostic components were obesity 19.7%, hyperglycemia 29.9%, hypertension 94.0%, hypertriglyceridemia 33.3%, low high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) levels 17.1%, and metabolic syndrome 23.9%. Logistic regression analysis found that the total bilirubin level was negatively correlated with metabolic syndrome and triglyceride levels(P<0.05), but not with obesity, hyperglycemia, hypertension, and total cholesterol (P>0.05). The nonagenarians and centenarians have a low prevalence of metabolic syndrome in Zhongxiang, Hubei Province, total bilirubin was negatively correlated with metabolic syndrome and triglyceride.

Research progress in sinomenine structural modification / 药学实践杂志

Sinomenine is an alkaloid found in the climbing plant Sinomenium acutum.Structurally,it belongs to the iso-quinoline derivatives,which have various bioactivities.Clinically,it is used in the treatment for rheumatism,rheumatoid arthri-tis and arrhythmia,etc.Nevertheless,due to the need of large dose,photo and thermal instability,quick metabolism in vivo and highly allergic for some patients,scientists have committed to modify its structure to develop the highly effective and low toxic derivatives.In this paper,the recent advances in structural modification of sinomenine are reviewed.