UNASSIGNED: Comparisons of the characteristics of individuals hospitalised with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) or seasonal influenza in low-to middle-income countries with high human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevalence are limited.
UNASSIGNED: Determine the epidemiological differences with those hospitalised with influenza or SARS-CoV-2 infection.
UNASSIGNED: We investigated hospitalised individuals ≥18 years of age testing positive for seasonal influenza (2016-2019) or SARS-CoV-2 (2020-2021). We used random effects multivariable logistic regression, controlling for clustering by site, to evaluate differences among adults hospitalised with influenza or SARS-CoV-2 infection.
UNASSIGNED: Compared to individuals with influenza, individuals with SARS-CoV-2 infection were more likely to be diabetic (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 1.70, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.11-2.61) or die in hospital (aOR: 2.57, 95% CI: 1.61-4.12). Additionally, those with SARS-CoV-2 infection were less likely to be living with HIV (not immunosuppressed) (aOR: 0.50, 95% CI: 0.34-0.73) or living with HIV (immunosuppressed) (aOR: 0.27, 95% CI: 0.18-0.39) compared to not living with HIV and less likely to be asthmatic (aOR: 0.21, 95% CI: 0.13-0.33) rather than those living with influenza.
UNASSIGNED: Individuals hospitalised with SARS-CoV-2 had different characteristics to individuals hospitalised with influenza before the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Risk factors should be considered in health management especially as we move into an era of co-circulation of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza pathogens.
UNASSIGNED: Identifying groups at high risk of severe disease could help to better monitor, prevent and control SARS-CoV-2 or influenza severe disease.

BACKGROUND:  Telemedicine expanded rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic, as key policy changes, financial support, and pandemic fears tipped the balance toward internet-based care. Despite this increased support and benefits to patients and clinicians, telemedicine uptake was variable across clinicians and practices. Little is known regarding physician and institutional characteristics underlying this variability.
OBJECTIVE:  This study aimed to evaluate factors influencing telemedicine uptake among frontline physicians in the early pandemic response.
METHODS:  We surveyed a national stratified sample of frontline clinicians drawn from the American Medical Association Physician Professional Data in June or July 2020. The survey inquired about the first month and most recent month (June 2020) of pandemic telemedicine use; sample data included clinician gender, specialty, census region, and years in practice. Local pandemic conditions were estimated from county-level data on COVID-19 rates at the time of survey response. Data were analyzed in a weighted logistic regression, controlling for county-specific pandemic data, and weighted to account for survey data stratification and nonresponse.
RESULTS:  Over the first 3-4 months of the pandemic, the proportion of physicians reporting use of telemedicine in >30% of visits increased from 29.2% (70/239) to 35.7% (85/238). Relative to primary care, odds of substantial telemedicine use (>30%) both during the first month of the pandemic and in June 2020 were increased among infectious disease and critical care physicians and decreased among hospitalists and emergency medicine physicians. At least minimal prepandemic telemedicine use (odds ratio [OR] 11.41, 95% CI 1.34-97.04) and a high 2-week moving average of local COVID-19 cases (OR 10.16, 95% CI 2.07-49.97) were also associated with substantial telemedicine use in June 2020. There were no significant differences according to clinician gender, census region, or years in practice.
CONCLUSIONS:  Prepandemic telemedicine use, high local COVID-19 case counts, and clinician specialty were associated with higher levels of substantial telemedicine use during the early pandemic response. These results suggest that telemedicine uptake in the face of the pandemic may have been heavily influenced by the level of perceived threat and the resources available for implementation. Such understanding has important implications for reducing burnout and preparation for future public health emergencies.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses remain a major threat to both the poultry industry and human public health, and these viruses continue to spread worldwide. In this study, mice were vaccinated with COBRA H2, H5, and H7 hemagglutinin (HA) and two neuraminidase (NA) proteins, N1 and N2. Vaccinated mice were fully protected against lethal challenge with H5N6 influenza virus. Sera collected after vaccination showed cross-reactive IgG antibodies against a panel of wild-type H2, H5, and H7 HA proteins, and N1 and N2 NA proteins. Mice with pre-existing immunity to H1N1 and H3N2 influenza viruses that were subsequently vaccinated with COBRA HA/NA vaccines had enhanced anti-HA stem antibodies compared to vaccinated mice without pre-existing immunity. In addition, sera collected after vaccination had hemagglutinin inhibitory activity against a panel of H2Nx, H5Nx, and H7Nx influenza viruses. These protective antibodies were maintained up for up to 4 months after vaccination.

Healthcare workers, particularly nurses, engage in a daily work routine that takes a toll on their emotional well-being, rendering them vulnerable to psychosocial risk factors. This research seeks to analyse the influence of psychosocial risk factors on the occurrence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders among nurses. An additional analysis was performed to understand the role of age in work-related musculoskeletal disorders and the perception of psychosocial risk factors. The study was conducted during two separate periods-pre-pandemic and pandemic times-involving a sample of 456 nurses from both public and private hospitals in Portugal. The INSAT-Health and Work Survey-was used as measuring instrument. The primary observations indicated a consistency between psychosocial risk factors and the occurrence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders. The findings revealed a significant exposure to psychosocial risk factors, with work pace, intensity, work relationships, and emotional demands exhibiting higher global average percentages during both periods, pre-pandemic and pandemic. Nonetheless, we find that the psychosocial risk factors change when we analyse the pre-pandemic and pandemic results. During the period before the pandemic, the psychosocial risk factors that were most commonly reported included the demanding pace of work, long working hours, and emotional demands. Through the pandemic, the most pronounced psychosocial risk factors were work relationships, employment relationships, and ethical and values conflicts. Therefore, research in this domain is essential to understanding psychosocial risk factors and assessing the less obvious links between work and health.

Varied seasonal patterns of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) have been reported worldwide. We conducted a systematic review on articles identified in PubMed reporting RSV seasonality based on data collected before 1 January 2020. RSV seasonal patterns were examined by geographic location, calendar month, analytic method, and meteorological factors including temperature and absolute humidity. Correlation and regression analyses were conducted to explore the relationship between RSV seasonality and study methods and characteristics of study locations. RSV seasons were reported in 209 articles published in 1973-2023 for 317 locations in 77 countries. Regular RSV seasons were similarly reported in countries in temperate regions, with highly variable seasons identified in subtropical and tropical countries. Longer durations of RSV seasons were associated with a higher daily average mean temperature and daily average mean absolute humidity. The global seasonal patterns of RSV provided important information for optimizing interventions against RSV infection.

One of the unexpected outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic was the relatively low levels of morbidity and mortality in Africa compared to the rest of the world. Nigeria, Africa\'s most populous nation, accounted for less than 0.01% of the global COVID-19 fatalities. The factors responsible for Nigeria\'s relatively low loss of life due to COVID-19 are unknown. Also, the correlates of protective immunity to SARS-CoV-2 and the impact of pre-existing immunity on the outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa are yet to be elucidated. Here, we evaluated the natural and vaccine-induced immune responses from vaccinated, non-vaccinated and convalescent individuals in Southern Nigeria throughout the three waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria. We also examined the pre-existing immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 from samples collected prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
We used spike RBD and N- IgG antibody ELISA to measure binding antibody responses, SARS-CoV-2 pseudotype assay protocol expressing the spike protein of different variants (D614G, Delta, Beta, Omicron BA1) to measure neutralizing antibody responses and nucleoprotein (N) and spike (S1, S2) direct ex vivo interferon gamma (IFNγ) T cell ELISpot to measure T cell responses.
Our study demonstrated a similar magnitude of both binding (N-IgG (74% and 62%), S-RBD IgG (70% and 53%) and neutralizing (D614G (49% and 29%), Delta (56% and 47%), Beta (48% and 24%), Omicron BA1 (41% and 21%)) antibody responses from symptomatic and asymptomatic survivors in Nigeria. A similar magnitude was also seen among vaccinated participants. Interestingly, we revealed the presence of preexisting binding antibodies (N-IgG (60%) and S-RBD IgG (44%)) but no neutralizing antibodies from samples collected prior to the pandemic.
These findings revealed that both vaccinated, non-vaccinated and convalescent individuals in Southern Nigeria make similar magnitude of both binding and cross-reactive neutralizing antibody responses. It supported the presence of preexisting binding antibody responses among some Nigerians prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lastly, hybrid immunity and heterologous vaccine boosting induced the strongest binding and broadly neutralizing antibody responses compared to vaccine or infection-acquired immunity alone.

The present study explored whether there had been significant changes in 12-month suicidal thoughts, incidence, and persistence of suicidal ideation among college students prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were drawn from the French portion of the World Mental Health International College student Survey Initiative (WMH-ICS), a prospective cohort survey initiated in 2017. Students who completed both the baseline and one-year follow-up surveys were included (n = 1,216). Lifetime suicidal ideation and behaviors and mental disorders were assessed at baseline, and 12-month suicidal ideation and behaviors were also assessed at one-year follow-up. Logistic regressions were used to determine whether the odds of 12-month suicidal ideation at follow-up was associated with COVID-19 pandemic period while adjusting for lifetime psychopathology. No significant change in the odds of 12-month suicidal ideation was observed during the pandemic when compared to pre-pandemic times. Adjusting for prior psychopathology, 12-month suicidal ideation was not significantly associated with pandemic times, nor was incidence or persistence. No evidence of a significant increase in suicidal thoughts during the pandemic was observed. Longer follow-up periods and larger samples are needed in order to determine whether suicidal ideation and behaviors remain stable in the future.

Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic provoked disruptions in healthcare delivery, leading to the cancellation and postponement of various health services, including surgery. Numerous countries closed their borders and established laws mandating the use of face masks and social distancing and enforced lockdowns, and various activities were constrained. Brazil, the largest and most populous country in Latin America, also experienced a rapid and sustained surge in infections and deaths. Brazil was the most severely impacted nation in Latin America. The impact of the pandemic on surgical services in Brazil has not been adequately studied since most studies only cover the early phases of the pandemic. Thus, this study aimed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on surgical services throughout the entire period. Methods A retrospective cross-sectional design was used to examine surgical cases from 2019 to 2022 and compared the following indicators: (1) number of hospital admissions, (2) length of hospital stay (LOS) (in days), and (3) volume of urgent and elective procedures. Data was divided into four time periods, pre-pandemic (March-December 2019), pandemic (March-December 2020), recovery (March-December 2021), and post-pandemic (March-December 2022), and was analyzed for the number of admissions and LOS based on surgical procedures performed by stratifying according to region, sex, age, and type of surgery (urgent versus elective). Results The number of admissions for surgical procedures ranged between 859,646 and 4,015,624 for 2019, 686,616 and 3,419,234 for 2020, 787,791 and 3,829,019 for 2021, and 760,512 and 3,857,817 for 2022 for the category of region; 4,260,900 and 5,991,775 for 2019, 3,594,117 and 4,984,710 for 2020, 4,182,640 and 5,590,808 for 2021, and 4,077,651 and 5,561,928 for 2022 for the category of sex; and 2,170,288 and 3,186,117 for 2019, 1,516,830 and 2,825,189 for 2020, 1,748,202 and 3,030,272 for 2021, and 1,900,023 and 2,859,179 for 2022 for the category of age. The variable age showed a comparable trend, albeit with an expressive decline for surgeries in the age range of 0-19 years. The LOS (in days) for surgical procedures ranged between 110,157 and 910,846 for 2019, 58,562 and 897,734 for 2020, 67,926 and 904,137 for 2021, and 100,467 and 823,545 for 2022. Thoracic surgery indicated no statistically significant difference in the number of admissions and LOS. Elective surgeries had a decline in the number of admissions and LOS, a 13% and 9.3% decline between 2019 and 2020, respectively. Urgent surgeries experienced a slight decrease in admissions and LOS, with a decline of 2.4% and 2.8% between 2019 and 2020, respectively. Conclusions Population characteristics, such as age, sex, and region, showed decreased hospital admissions during the pandemic, followed by a recovery toward pre-pandemic levels afterward. The number of surgical admissions and the length of hospital stays decreased during the pandemic but gradually returned to pre-pandemic levels in the recovery and post-pandemic phases. Notably, thoracic surgery remained statistically consistent across all periods, indicating its emergency nature compared to other surgeries. Thus, we conclude that the pandemic had minimal impact on thoracic surgery cases, contributing to a stable trend.

Several studies suggested that SARS-CoV-2 was already spreading worldwide during the last months of 2019 before the first outbreak was detected in Wuhan, China. Lombardy (Northern Italy) was the first European region with sustained SARS-CoV-2 transmission and recent investigations detected SARS-CoV-2-RNA-positive patients in Lombardy since late 2019.
We tested for anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG all serum samples available in our laboratory (N = 235, collected between March 2017 and March 2022) that we received within the framework of measles/rubella surveillance from measles and rubella virus-negative patients.
Thirteen of 235 samples (5.5%) were IgG-positive. The positivity rate increased starting in 2019 and was significantly different from the expected false positive rate from 2019 onwards. Additionally, in 2019 the percentage of IgG-positive patients was significantly lower among SARS-CoV-2 RNA-negative patients (3/92) compared to SARS-CoV-2 RNA-positive patients (2/7, p = 0.04). The highest percentage of IgG positivity in the pre-pandemic period was recorded during the second half of 2019. This coincided with an increase in negativity for measles and a widening of the peak of the number of measles discarded cases per 100,000 inhabitants, indicating a higher-than-normal number of measles-negative patients experiencing fever and rash. This also coincided with the first patient positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA (September 12th, 2019); this patient was also positive for anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG and IgM.
Although the number of samples was low and one cannot conclusively establish that the virus started circulating in Lombardy around September 2019, our findings should stimulate similar research investigating the possibility of undetected SARS-CoV-2 pre-pandemic circulation.

UNASSIGNED: The COVID-19 pandemic caused people to stay indoors, resulting in social isolation and reluctance to access healthcare services in hospitals because of the fear of acquiring COVID-19. This fear caused a decrease in health service utilization during the pandemic.
UNASSIGNED: To compare paediatric forensic cases admitted to an emergency department before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
UNASSIGNED: We retrospectively compared the age, sex, type, frequency, and distribution of forensic cases admitted to the Paediatric Emergency Department of Umraniye Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Türkiye, before the COVID-19 pandemic between 1 July 2019 and 8 March 2020, and during the pandemic between 9 March and 31 December 2020.
UNASSIGNED: There were 226 paediatric forensic cases among 147 624 emergency admissions before the COVID-19 pandemic, and 253 among 60 764 admissions during the pandemic. The proportion of forensic cases increased from 0.15% before the pandemic to 0.41% during the pandemic. Intoxication by accidental ingestion was the most common reason for forensic cases before and during the pandemic. There was a significant increase in ingestion of corrosive material during the pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period.
UNASSIGNED: Parental anxiety and depression caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown resulted in decreased attention to childcare, leading to increased accidental ingestion of harmful materials among paediatric forensic cases admitted to the emergency department.
آثار جائحة كوفيد-19 على الحالات الجنائية في قسم طوارئ الأطفال في أحد المستشفيات في تركيا.
سيفجي أكوفا، شاسنيم أوزدوجان، آيشنور كاباي، بيزا كيريسي، ميليك بولات، أوزجي يجيت، سينيم شيتينل، شيما مصري، نسيبي بايراك.
UNASSIGNED: دفعت جائحة كوفيد-19 الناس إلى المكوث في منازلهم، وهو ما أدى إلى العزلة الاجتماعية والعزوف عن الذهاب إلى المستشفيات للحصول على خدمات الرعاية الصحية؛ خشية الإصابة بكوفيد-19. وتسبَّب هذا الخوف في انخفاض معدل الاستفادة من الخدمات الصحية أثناء الجائحة.
UNASSIGNED: هدفت هذه الدراسة إلى مقارنة حالات الأطفال الجنائية التي أُدخلت إلى قسم الطوارئ قبل جائحة كوفيد-19 وأثناءها.
UNASSIGNED: أُجريت مقارنة بأثر رجعي للحالات الجنائية التي أُدخلت إلى قسم طوارئ الأطفال في مستشفى العمرانية للتدريب والبحوث، إسطنبول، تركيا، من حيث السن، والجنس، ونوع الحالات، وتواترها، وتوزيعها قبل جائحة كوفيد-19 في المدة ما بين 1 يوليو/ تموز 2019 و8 مارس/ آذار 2020، وفي أثناء الجائحة في المدة ما بين 9 مارس/ آذار و31 ديسمبر/ كانون الأول 2020.
UNASSIGNED: كان هناك 226 حالة من حالات الأطفال الجنائية من بين 147624 حالة من حالات الطوارئ التي دخلت المستشفى قبل جائحة كوفيد-19، و253 حالة من بين 60764 حالة من حالات الطوارئ التي دخلت المستشفى أثناء الجائحة. وارتفعت نسبة الحالات الجنائية من 0.15٪ قبل الجائحة إلى 0.41٪ في أثنائها. وكان التسمم عن طريق الابتلاع العرَضي هو السبب الأكثر شيوعًا للحالات الجنائية قبل الجائحة وأثناءها. وقد حدثت زيادة كبيرة في ابتلاع المواد الأكَّالة أثناء الجائحة مقارنةً بالمدة التي سبقتها.
UNASSIGNED: أدت إصابة الآباء بالقلق والاكتئاب الناجمَين عن جائحة كوفيد-19 والإغلاق إلى تدنِِّّي الاهتمام برعاية الأطفال، الأمر الذي أفضى إلى زيادة الابتلاع العرَضي للمواد الضارة بين حالات الأطفال الجنائية التي أُدخلت إلى قسم الطوارئ.
Effets de la pandémie de COVID-19 sur les cas médico-légaux dans un service d\'urgence pédiatrique en Türkiye.
UNASSIGNED: La pandémie de COVID-19 a poussé les gens à rester chez eux, entraînant un isolement social et une réticence à accéder aux services de santé dans les hôpitaux par crainte de contracter la COVID-19. Cette peur s\'est traduite par une baisse du recours aux services de santé pendant la pandémie.
UNASSIGNED: Comparer les cas médico-légaux pédiatriques admis dans un service d\'urgence avant et pendant la pandémie de COVID-19.
UNASSIGNED: Nous avons comparé rétrospectivement l\'âge, le sexe, le type, la fréquence et la répartition des cas médico-légaux admis aux services des urgences pédiatriques de l\'hôpital de formation et de recherche d\'Umraniye à Istanbul (Türkiye) avant la pandémie de COVID-19 entre le 1er juillet 2019 et le 8 mars 2020 ainsi que pendant la pandémie entre le 9 mars et le 31 décembre 2020.
UNASSIGNED: Il y a eu 226 cas médico-légaux pédiatriques parmi 147 624 admissions aux urgences avant la pandémie de COVID-19 et 253 parmi 60 764 admissions pendant la pandémie. La proportion de cas médico-légaux est passée de 0,15 % avant la pandémie à 0,41 % pendant la pandémie. L\'intoxication par ingestion accidentelle était la cause la plus courante des cas médico-légaux avant et pendant la pandémie. Il y a eu une augmentation significative de l\'ingestion de matières corrosives au cours de la pandémie par rapport à la période pré-pandémique.
UNASSIGNED: L\'anxiété et la dépression parentales causées par la pandémie de COVID-19 et le confinement ont entraîné une diminution de l\'attention portée aux soins des enfants. Il en est résulté une augmentation de l\'ingestion accidentelle de matériaux nocifs parmi les cas médico-légaux pédiatriques admis aux services des urgences.