At present a better way for the treatment of SARS is to search and apply the best evidence that comes from the same kind of diseases and symptoms in the past and include personal experiences of clinicians. The intervention should be adjusted with the development of basic research. In this paper the important of projects are predicted and necessity of randomized controlled trials are discussed emphasizing scientific value of case reports and case series for such disease. It is essential to well justify priority and integrate resources for the trials against SARS.
ObjectiveBy summarizing the clinical characteristics of perioperative patients with cross infection of novel coronavirus in thoracic surgery ward, to guide the prevention and treatment of nosocomial infection during the anti-epidemic period.MethodsThe clinical data of 451 patients with chest diseases in the Department of Thoracic Surgery of Tongji Hospital Affiliated to Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology from January 1st to 24th, 2020 were analyzed and followed up. There were 245 surgical patients and 206 non-surgical patients.ResultsIn the department, 7 patients (7/451, 1.55%) were infected with the novel coronavirus and all of them were surgical patients, whose preoperative imaging data did not reveal the imaging changes of novel coronavirus. There were 5 males and 2 females, aged 56 to 68 years. The patients with old age, smoking, surgery, coronary heart disease, chronic liver disease and tumor history were more susceptible to infection. From the spatial distribution of patient beds, it was found that the distance among infected patients was greater than 1 m, and no cross infection was found in the other patients of the same ward. During follow-up, two family members of noninfected patients were found to be infected one week after discharge. However, there was no overlap of spatiotemporal distribution between the family members and the infected patients during the hospitalization period.ConclusionThe novel coronavirus pneumonia rate in the department of thoracic surgery is low, which may be opportunistic infection. At the same time, a good control and prevention of epidemic disease can reduce the occurrence of cross infection in the department of thoracic surgery.
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is characterized by a long incubation period, strong infectivity and general susceptibility to the population. At present, there are no specific medicines that can treat coronavirus disease 2019. In order to increase the understanding of the molecular biology of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and try to find effective treatments, we used SnapGene Viewer to analyze the genomic sequences of five strains of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 that published by National Genomics Data Center. The results showed that the genome length of this virus was about 29.8 kb and twelve open reading frames were predicted, and five nucleotide change sites were found in the open reading frames. In addition, we analyzed drugs used during the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, current drugs for the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 and other possible drugs, to find some possible medicines with clinical treatment effects.
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.
At present, there are few studies on patients with epilepsy (PWE) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), and the results of many studies are inconsistent. SARS-CoV-2 may cause new seizures through a variety of mechanisms, and the susceptibility and mortality of PWE to SARS-CoV-2 remains controversial. During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, anxiety, depression and other psychological problems were common among epileptic patients. Clinicians providing telemedicine, telephone chat and video call can effectively reduce the risk of psychological disorders in PWE patients. At the same time, there are many interactions between antiepileptic drugs and various antiviral drugs, which should be carefully considered when using. Considering that the research results are few and many studies contradict each other, PWE and SARS-CoV-2 deserve further exploration in future studies.
Objective To investigate the effects of noninvasive ventilation for the treatment of acute respiratory failure secondary to severe acute respiratory syndrome ( SARS) . Methods 127 patients with complete information were collected from the database of SARS in Guangdong province, who were all consistent with the ALI/ARDS diagnostic criteria. The patients were divided into three groups depending on ventilation status, ie. a no-ventilation group, a noninvasive ventilation group, and a mechanical ventilation group. The outcome of ventilation treatmentwas followed up.Multi-factor regression analysis was conducted to analyze the relations of ventilation treatment with ARDS and mortality, and factors associated with success of noninvasive ventilation. Results As soon as the patients met the diagnostic criteria of ALI/ARDS, the patients in the noninvasive ventilation group were in more serious condition and had a higher proportion of ARDS compared with the no-ventilation group ( P lt;0. 01) . The patients in the mechanical ventilation group had a higher mortality rate ( P lt;0.01) . 6 and 7 patients in the no-ventilation group had noninvasive ventilation and invasive ventilation thereafter, respectively. 15 patients in the noninvasive group switched to invasive ventilation. Compared with the patients without ventilation ( n =45) , the patients receiving noninvasive ventilation ( n = 61) were in more serious condition and at higher risk of developing ARDS ( P lt;0. 01) , but the mortality was not different between them ( P gt; 0. 05) . The patients who continued to receive noninvasive ventilation ( n = 40) were in more serious condition, and at higher risk of developing ARDS compared with the patients without ventilation ( n = 45) ( P lt; 0. 01) . 15 patients in the noninvasive group who switched to invasive ventilation were older than those patients continuing noninvasive ventilation.Conclusions For SARS patients fulfilling the ALI/ARDS criteria, the patients underwent noninvasive ventilation are more severe, run a higher probability of developing ARDS from ALI. But earlier initiation of noninvasive ventilation has no impact on mortality. The patients who tolerate noninvasive ventilation can avoid intubation, especially for young patients. However, the time and indication of shifting from noninvasive ventilation to invasive ventilation should be emphasized.
Objective To study the efficacy of invasive ventilation in critical severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Methods Retrospective analysis was applied to study the efficacy of invasive ventilation and the effect of isolating and protecting measures in 6 critical SARS patients and the effect of isolation measures in ICU from November 2002 to April 2003. Results Six SARS patients were successfully weaned from mechanical ventilation and left hospital. Hypoxemia and oxygenation index（PaO2/FiO2）improved significantly after ventilation (Plt;0.01), peak inspiratory airway pressure (P=0.002), mean airway pressure (P=0.004), and the level of positive expiration end pressure decreased significantly (Plt;0.001). Ventilator-associated pneumonia occurred in 5 patients. Sedatives were used less and the duration of ventilation was shorter when using PRVC compared with SIMV. There was no SARS nosocomial infection among medical staff, other patients and their families. Conclusions Application of invasive ventilation and effective isolation measures could reduce the death rate, shorten the duration of ventilation, and also decrease SARS nosocomial infection.
Objective To investigate the quality of the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) integrated with western medicine for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Method All the randomized controlled trials of traditional Chinese medicine integrated with western medicine for SARS worldwide were gained by electronic searching and hand searching. The quality of the RCTs was analyzed by the quality grade evaluation used in Cochrane handbook.The sample size, the baseline data, the results indexes were also analyzed. Results Seven RCTs included 501 SARS cases were identified. The quality grade of one RCT is B, the other six RCTs were graded C. None pre-specified sample size. One RCT tested the differences of the baseline data by statistic method. One RCT reported quality of life as result index. None reported the adverse events.Conclusions Current RCTs of TCM integrated with western medicine can’t provide b evidence for clinical practice because of the poor quality.
ObjectivesTo systematically review the clinical characteristics of pregnant females, newborns, children and adolescents with SARS infection.MethodsThe clinical characteristics of patients with SARS infection were searched using PubMed, EMbase, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library, CNKI, WanFang Data and VIP databases. Descriptive analysis was performed to analyze the clinical characteristics of the patients, clinical manifestations, treatment and prognosis.ResultsA total of 13 studies including 19 pregnant females, 14 newborns, and 81 children and adolescents were identified. The ratio of male to female was 1 to 1.2 in children and adolescents patients aged 56 days to 17.5 years. Children under 12 years old accounted for 58.3% (28/48). Of the child patients, 34.0% (16/47) had close contact with patients with SARS. Fever (93.8%, 76/81) and cough (49.4%, 40/81) were the most common symptoms in children and adolescents with SARS infection, and 17.5% (11/63) occurred with shortness of breath or dyspnea. The positive ratio of nucleic acid detection for SARS-CoV was 9.2% (14/48), and the positive ratio of serum antibody was 92.9% (13/14). Peripheral blood lymphocyte reduction was approximately 65.7% (44/67). Approximately 70.8% (51/72) unilateral and 29.2% (21/72) bilateral lesions were found by thoracic X-ray or CT scan. No child fatalities were reported. As of maternal patients, aged 23 to 44 years, 10 cases (52.6%) were infected during early and middle pregnancy, and 9 cases (47.4%) during late pregnancy. Fever (100.0%, 19/19) and cough (78.9%, 15/19) were the main clinical symptoms, and shortness of breath/dyspnea occurred in 36.8% (7/19) of infected pregnant females. The positive ratio of nucleic acid detection for SARS-CoV was 50.0% (8/16), whereas the positive ratio of serum antibody was 93.3% (14/15). The ratios of thrombocytopenia, lymphopenia, and liver enzymes abnormalities were 38.9% (7/18), 61.1% (11/18) and 50.0% (3/6). All patients were identified for lesions by thoracic X-ray or CT scan examination. Seven cases were severe (36.8%). Five patients were treated with mechanical ventilation (26.3%). Three patients died (15.8%). Four patients were spontaneous abortion (40.0%, 4/10). Nine patients were cesarean sectioned (75.0%, 9/12). Six fetuses (46.2%, 6/13) with fetal distress, 7 cases (53.8%, 7/13) with premature delivery were identified. Three fetuses (23.1%) had intrauterine growth retardation. None of the fourteen newborns was diagnosed as SARS infection.ConclusionsThe clinical symptoms such as fever and cough in children and adolescents with SARS infection are similar to that of adult patients. However, children and adolescents are usually manifested as mild infection without reported death. There is no evidence to support that SARS-CoV could transmit vertically from infected mother to their fetuses.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is highly contagious, and the route of transmission is dominated by respiratory droplets and contact transmission. At present, the disease prevention and control are difficult. In order to prevent and control COVID-19 and prevent its spread in the hospital, West China Hospital of Sichuan University has set up isolation wards in the center of infectious diseases. The work norms for isolation ward were formulated. This may help to strengthen the prevention and treatment of COVID-19, effectively control the epidemic situation, as well as protect the health and safety of the public and medical staff. This article introduces the specific settings, diagnosis and treatment specifications, and hospital infection prevention and control strategies of the isolation ward of West China Hospital of Sichuan University, shares the work experience of isolation wards, aims to provide a reference for other hospitals to effectively prevent the spread of COVID-19 in hospitals and curb the spread of COVID-19.