ObjectiveTo investigate the anxious level of people with epilepsy (PWE) during the outbreak of 2019 Novel Coronavirus Diseases (COVID-19) and explore the reasons of anxiety.MethodsAn internet questionnaire survey were conducted on the anxiety state of PWE and health controls (HC) aged 18 to 45 years old between Feb 9, 2020 and Feb 17, 2020. The questionnaire included demographic information, general status and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI).ResultsIn all, 148 PWE and 300 HC were included in this study. The total SAI score (46.72±9.98 vs. 41.77±10.20, P<0.001) and the total TAI score (44.18±8.88 vs. 31.27±17.44, P<0.001) were significantly higher in PWE than in HC. PWE concerned most (69.9%) about the difficulty of obtaining antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) while HC concerned most about the lack of face masks (73.3%).ConclusionHigh anxious level in PWE during the outbreak of COVID is probably due to the difficulty of obtaining AEDs. Thus, the society should strengthen the solution of the problem of purchasing AEDs and conduct timely psychological counseling.
A novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) that broke out at the end of 2019 is a newly discovered highly pathogenic human coronavirus and has some similarities with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV). Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is the receptor for infected cells by SARS-CoV. SARS-CoV can invade cells by binding to ACE2 through the spike protein and SARS-CoV-2 may also infect cells through ACE2. Meanwhile, ACE2 also plays an important role in the course of pneumonia. Therefore the possible role of ACE2 in SARS and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is worth discussing. This paper briefly summarized the role of ACE2 in SARS, and discussed the possible function of ACE2 in COVID-19 and potential risk of infection with other organs. At last, the function of ACE2 was explored for possible treatment strategies for SARS. It is hoped to provide ideas and theoretical support for clinical treatment of COVID-19.
ObjectiveTo systematically review the efficacy of treatments for β-coronaviruses.MethodsPubMed, EMbase, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library, SinoMed, CNKI and WanFang Data databases were electronically searched to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-randomized controlled trials (non-RCTs) of treatments for β-coronaviruses from inception to June 17th, 2020. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies. Meta-analysis was then performed using Stata 14.0 software.ResultsA total of 109 studies invoving 23 210 patients were included. The results of the systematic review showed that compared with standard of care, corticosteroids could reduce mortality and increase cure rate for COVID-19. However, chloroquine could decrease cure rate. In severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) patients, corticosteroids could decrease the cure rate. In Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) patients, ribavirin/interferon/both drugs showed higher mortality.ConclusionsThe currently limited evidence shows that corticosteroids may be effective to COVID-19 patients while having limited effects on SARS patients. Hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine may have negative effects on COVID-19 patients. Ribavirin/interferon may be harmful to MERS patients. Due to limited quality and quantity of the included studies, more high quality studies are needed to verify the above conclusions.
Coronavirus disease 2019 has been widespread in Hubei province since the beginning of 2020. Many medical teams went to aid Hubei from the whole country. The medical team of West China Hospital of Sichuan University arrived in Jianghan district of Wuhan on January 25, 2020. As one of the earliest teams arriving Hubei, we explored the measures for infection prevention and control of resident, in order to reduce the risk for infection of medical team. The infection prevention and control experiences on the establishment of infection control team, process management, behavior management, clean disinfection, infection monitoring and emergency response and emergency response to exposure of the medical team of West China Hospital were summarized in this article.
Objective To investigate the expression of dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) and angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) in lung tissues of patients with four different diseases including coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pulmonary sarcoidosis and pulmonary bullae, and to find out the potential risk factors affecting COVID-19. Methods This study retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 40 patients admitted to Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University with COVID-19 (COVID-19 group), COPD (COPD group), pulmonary sarcoidosis (pulmonary sarcoidosis group) and pulmonary bullae (pulmonary bullae group) and surgically resected paraffin-embedded pathological lung tissues were obtained from their lung tissue pathological specimens after surgery and paraffin embedding. The GEO database (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/) was used for bioinformatics analysis to explore the expression difference of DPP4 and ACE2 mRNA in COVID-19, COPD, pulmonary sarcoidosis and normal lung tissues. Immunohistochemistry method was used to detect the expression of DPP4 and ACE2 protein in lung tissues of each group and the average optical density was measured by image analysis software. Results The results of GEO database analysis showed that compared with pulmonary bullae group, the expression level of DPP4 mRNA had no significant difference in the COPD group and pulmonary sarcoidosis group (both P>0.05), but it was increased in the COVID-19 group (P<0.05); There was no significant difference in the expression level of ACE mRNA in the pulmonary sarcoidosis group (P>0.05), but it was increased in the lung tissue of COVID-19 group and COPD group (both P<0.05). The results of immunohistochemistry showed that DPP4 and ACE2 proteins were lowly expressed in the pulmonary sarcoidosis group and pulmonary bullae group, while their expression level was high in COVID-19 and COPD groups without significant difference (P>0.05). The expression of DPP4 and ACE2 proteins in COVID-19 group was not related to the patient’s gender and age (P>0.05), but was related to smoking and long smoking duration (P<0.05), and there was a positive correlation between DPP4 and ACE2 expression (P<0.05). Conclusions DPP4 and ACE2 proteins are lowly expressed in the pulmonary sarcoidosis group and pulmonary bullae group, while their expression level is high in COVID-19 and COPD groups. There is no significant difference in the expression level of DPP4 and ACE2 protein in the COVID-19 and COPD lung tissues. There may be a positive correlation between DPP4 and ACE2 proteins expression in lung tissue, and smoking may be a potential risk factor for COVID-19.
ObjectiveTo explore the postoperative characteristics and management experience of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) undergoing cardiac and vascular surgery. MethodsFrom December 7, 2022 to January 5, 2023, the patients with COVID-19 who were admitted to Cardiovascular Hospital Affiliated to Kunming Medical University and underwent cardiac and vascular surgery were selected. The clinical history, surgical information, postoperative recovery process and treatment plan were analyzed retrospectively. ResultsThere were 18 patients in this group, including 11 (61.1%) males and 7 (38.9%) females, with an average age of 58.1±10.9 years. There were 7 patients of hypertension, 5 patients of diabetes, 3 patients of respiratory diseases, and 2 patient of chronic renal insufficiency. There were 5 (27.8%) patients receiving emergency operations and 13 (72.2%) elective operations. All the 18 patients underwent cardiac and vascular surgery in the period of COVID-19, and the time between the last positive nucleic acid test and the surgery was 1.50 (1.00, 6.25) days. There were 8 patients of pulmonary imaging changes, including 3 patients with chest patch shadow, 3 patients with thickened and disordered lung markings, and 2 patients with exudative changes before operation. Antiviral therapy was not adopted in all patients before operation. Three patients were complicated with viral pneumonia after operation, including 2 patients with high risk factors before operation, who developed into severe pneumonia after operation, and underwent tracheotomy. One patient with thrombus recovered after anticoagulation treatment. Another patient of mild pneumonia recovered after antiviral treatment. The other 15 patients recovered well without major complications. There was no operation-related death in the whole group. One patient died after surgery, with a mortality rate of 5.6%. Conclusion Patients with COVID-19 are at high risk of cardiac and vascular surgery, and patients with high-risk factors may rapidly progress to severe pneumonia. Patients with preoperative lung imaging changes or other basic visceral diseases should consider delaying the operation. Early antiviral combined with immunomodulation treatment for emergency surgery patients may help improve the prognosis.
A 49-year-old male patient with compartment syndrome of the right leg caused by acute carbon monoxide poisoning was admitted on December 30, 2019. The patient had a 10-year history of chronic nephritis and began dialysis treatment due to renal failure 1 month ago. Emergency surgical decompression for compartment syndrome was performed after admission. Two weeks later, the patient was diagnosed as the novel coronavirus pneumonia caused by 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infection. Then, the patient was transferred to the isolation ward, where he was given anti-infection, anti-virus, expectorant, heat-clearing and detoxifying drugs, bedside dialysis, and nutrition support symptomatic treatment. After 2 weeks of treatment, the patient is getting better, with no fever, cough, wheezing, and other discomfort. Meanwhile, the sensory and motor functions of right lower limb recovered gradually. This case is rare, severe, and difficult to diagnose and treat. It is the first reported case of novel coronavirus pneumonia after orthopedic surgery.
Objective To discuss the epidemiological characteristics of young and middle-aged people infected with COVID-19 in Gansu province under the new epidemic policy. Methods A total of 1800 people were collected from two tertiary hospitals in Gansu province from November 8, 2022 to January 28, 2023. The vaccination status, nucleic acid antigen detection, the specific time of infection, main symptoms and severity of the disease were investigated. Results Among 1800 participants, 1685 (93.6%) were vaccinated and 1565 (86.9%) were infected with COVID-19. Among the 1565 infected persons, 523 (33.4%) completed both nucleic acid and antigen testing, 382 (24.4%) completed nucleic acid testing, 490 (31.3%) completed antigen testing, 170 (10.9%) received IgG testing. 1490 (95.2%) were slight ill, 75 (4.8%) were critical ill, and 96 (6.1%) were hospitalized, and no one died. In 2022, 92 cases (5.9%) were infected in the first half of November, 141 cases (9.1%) in the second half of November, 630 cases (40.3%) in the first half of December, and 553 cases (35.4%) in the second half of December. 109 cases (7.0%) were infected in the first half of January, 38 cases (2.2%) in the second half of January, and 2 cases (0.1%) in the first half of February of 2023. and no cases in the second half of February. Among the 1565 infected persons, 825 (52.7%) had respiratory symptoms, 293 (18.7%) had gastrointestinal symptoms, 257 (16.4%) had autonomic disorders, 140 (8.9%) had other symptoms such as decreased smell and taste, and 48 (3.3%) had no symptoms after infection. Conclusions The vaccination rate of young and middle-aged people in Lanzhou city of Gansu Province is high. Since the new policy, the infection rate of the novel coronavirus among young and middle-aged people is high, the number of antigen tests is more than nucleic acid tests, most of the infected patients are slight, with fewer critical patients, and the hospitalization rate is low. The peak of infection occurred in early December 2022, and the infection rate was basically zero by February 2023. The main symptoms of COVID-19 infection are mainly respiratory tract, followed by digestive tract and autonomic nervous system disorders, and few patients are completely asymptomatic.
ObjectiveTo investigate the antibody concentration and immune status of intensive care medical staff after vaccination against COVID-19. Methods From October 1, 2021 to February 28, 2022, the serial numbers of 47 hospitals were randomly selected by cluster stratified random sampling method. Blood samples were collected from 192 medical staff in intensive care department who had received inactivated novel coronavirus vaccine in 7 hospitals. The antibody concentration was determined by chemiluminescence method to find the antibody rule. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the related factors affecting the production of antibodies. ResultsTotal antibody concentration of 192 blood samples was 23.25 (5.09, 270.22), IgG concentration was 0.94 (0.15, 4.48), IgM concentration was 0.05 (0.03, 0.12). Logistic regression analysis showed that the total antibody concentration might be related to gender and age, and the IgG concentration was significantly related to whether the third injection was administered. One hundred and twenty-seven people received 2 doses of inactivated vaccine, and the positive rate of IgG was the highest within 1 to 2 months, and decreased significantly after 3 months. The positive rate of IgG antibody was 95.4% within 60 days after receiving 3 doses of vaccine, 70% within 1 month after receiving the third dose of vaccine, and 100.0% within 1 to 2 months (P<0.05). The total antibody positive rate was 96.3% in people aged 17 to 35 years and 73.3% in people aged 36 to 58 years, showing statistical difference (P<0.05). The total antibody production rate of those who received the third dose of vaccine was 100.0%, and no severe case of COVID-19 occurred during the sampling period. Conclusions After the first, second, and third doses of COVID-19 vaccine, the total antibody concentration of the virus gradually increases to 100.0%, indicating initial immunity. However, the antibody concentration decreased gradually after 3 months of inoculation. The concentration of IgG in women is higher than that in men, and the concentration of antibody in young people is higher than that in middle-aged and elderly people during the same period.
ObjectiveTo specify the specific wind environment conditions of the outdoor wind speed field and wind pressure field in Wuhan Huoshenshan Hospital, identify the epidemic prevention area under special conditions such as daily cleaning and disinfection as well as accidents, and provide technical references for epidemic prevention work.MethodsThe network open data were adopted to build 3D models of buildings in Wuhan Huoshenshan Hospital and surrounding areas by using Auto CAD 2008 software, and then PHOENICS 2011 software was used to parameterize settings to simulate winter outdoor wind speed and wind pressure fields, to identify the epidemic prevention area under special conditions such as daily cleaning and disinfection as well as accidents.ResultsIn the prevailing wind direction, the speeds of wind towards the No. 1 building, the intensive care unit and the reception area for confirmed patients transferred by ambulance, the No.2 building, and the temporary storage room of the isolation medical area are 1.0?1.5, 2.5?3.0, 2.0?2.5, and 3.0?3.5 m/s, respectively; the speed of wind towards the living area for medical staff is 2.5 m/s. In the isolation medical area, the pressure difference between the windward side and the leeward side of the building in the first row of the windward side is ≥5 Pa, and those of the rest buildings are ≥0.5 and ≤5 Pa; in the living area for medical staff, the pressure difference between the windward side and the leeward side of the north of the building is ≥5 Pa, while that of the south of the building is ≤0.5 Pa.ConclusionOn the whole, there are areas with poor ventilation and at risk of pollutants gathering in Wuhan Huoshenshan Hospital, so the daily cleaning and disinfection work and epidemic prevention work of accident and other special circumstances should be done well.
