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Anderson C, Nugent K, Peterson C. Academic Journal Retractions and the COVID-19 Pandemic. J Prim Care Community Health 2021; 12:21501327211015592. [PMID: 33949228 PMCID: PMC8114243 DOI: 10.1177/21501327211015592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2021] [Revised: 04/13/2021] [Accepted: 04/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic has produced an unprecedented amount of scientific research, with over 100,000 articles on the SARS-COV2 virus or the associated pandemic published within the first year. To effectively disseminate such a large volume of research, some academic journal publishers altered their review criteria, and many articles were made available before undergoing a traditional review process. However, with this rapid influx of information, multiple COVID-19 articles have been retracted or withdrawn. Some researchers have expressed concern that these retractions call into question the validity of an expedited review process and the overall quality of the larger body of COVID-19 research. We examined 68 removed articles and determined that many of the articles were removed for unknown reasons (n = 22) or as duplications (n = 12); 24 papers were retracted for more significant reasons (data integrity, plagiarism, reporting or analysis, and IRB or privacy issues). The majority of removed papers were from the USA (n = 23) and China (n = 19).
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Affiliation(s)
- Caleb Anderson
- Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX, USA
| | - Kenneth Nugent
- Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX, USA
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Hurst JH, Heston SM, Chambers HN, Cunningham HM, Price MJ, Suarez L, Crew CG, Bose S, Aquino JN, Carr ST, Griffin SM, Smith SH, Jenkins K, Pfeiffer TS, Rodriguez J, DeMarco CT, De Naeyer NA, Gurley TC, Louzao R, Cunningham CK, Steinbach WJ, Denny TN, Lugo DJ, Moody MA, Permar SR, Rotta AT, Turner NA, Walter EB, Woods CW, Kelly MS. SARS-CoV-2 Infections Among Children in the Biospecimens from Respiratory Virus-Exposed Kids (BRAVE Kids) Study. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2020. [PMID: 32908992 PMCID: PMC7480040 DOI: 10.1101/2020.08.18.20166835] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Children with SARS-CoV-2 infection typically have mild symptoms that do not require medical attention, leaving a gap in our understanding of the spectrum of illnesses that the virus causes in children. METHODS We conducted a prospective cohort study of children and adolescents (<21 years of age) with a SARS-CoV-2-infected close contact. We collected nasopharyngeal or nasal swabs at enrollment and tested for SARS-CoV-2 using a real-time PCR assay. RESULTS Of 382 children, 289 (76%) were SARS-CoV-2-infected. SARS-CoV-2-infected children were more likely to be Hispanic (p<0.0001), less likely to have a history of asthma (p=0.009), and more likely to have an infected sibling contact (p=0.0007) than uninfected children. Children ages 6-13 years were frequently asymptomatic (38%) and had respiratory symptoms less often than younger children (30% vs. 49%; p=0.008) or adolescents (30% vs. 59%; p<0.0001). Compared to children ages 6-13 years, adolescents more frequently reported influenza-like (61% vs. 39%; p=0.002), gastrointestinal (26% vs. 9%; p=0.003), and sensory symptoms (43% vs. 9%; p<0.0001), and had more prolonged illnesses [median (IQR) duration: 7 (4, 12) vs. 4 (3, 8) days; p=0.004]. Despite the age-related variability in symptoms, we found no differences in nasopharyngeal viral load by age or between symptomatic and asymptomatic children. CONCLUSIONS Hispanic ethnicity and an infected sibling close contact are associated with increased SARS-CoV-2 infection risk among children, while a history of asthma is associated with decreased risk. Age-related differences in the clinical manifestations of SARS-CoV-2 infection must be considered when evaluating children for COVID-19 and in developing screening strategies for schools and childcare settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jillian H Hurst
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC.,Children's Health and Discovery Institute, Department of Pediatrics, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - Sarah M Heston
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | | | | | | | | | - Carter G Crew
- Children's Health and Discovery Institute, Department of Pediatrics, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - Shree Bose
- Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - Jhoanna N Aquino
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - Stuart T Carr
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - S Michelle Griffin
- Children's Clinical Research Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - Stephanie H Smith
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - Kirsten Jenkins
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - Trevor S Pfeiffer
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - Javier Rodriguez
- Children's Clinical Research Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - C Todd DeMarco
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - Nicole A De Naeyer
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - Thaddeus C Gurley
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - Raul Louzao
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - Coleen K Cunningham
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - William J Steinbach
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - Thomas N Denny
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - Debra J Lugo
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - M Anthony Moody
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC.,Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - Sallie R Permar
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC.,Children's Health and Discovery Institute, Department of Pediatrics, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC.,Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - Alexandre T Rotta
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - Nicholas A Turner
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - Emmanuel B Walter
- Duke Human Vaccine Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC.,Department of Pediatrics, Division of Primary Care Pediatrics, Duke University School of Medicine
| | - Christopher W Woods
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
| | - Matthew S Kelly
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
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Chirico F, Sacco A, Bragazzi NL, Magnavita N. Can Air-Conditioning Systems Contribute to the Spread of SARS/MERS/COVID-19 Infection? Insights from a Rapid Review of the Literature. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2020; 17:E6052. [PMID: 32825303 PMCID: PMC7503634 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17176052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2020] [Revised: 08/10/2020] [Accepted: 08/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
The airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is still debated. The aim of this rapid review is to evaluate the COVID-19 risk associated with the presence of air-conditioning systems. Original studies (both observational and experimental researches) written in English and with no limit on time, on the airborne transmission of SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2 coronaviruses that were associated with outbreaks, were included. Searches were made on PubMed/MEDLINE, PubMed Central (PMC), Google Scholar databases, and medRxiv. A snowball strategy was adopted to extend the search. Fourteen studies reporting outbreaks of coronavirus infection associated with the air-conditioning systems were included. All studies were carried out in the Far East. In six out the seven studies on SARS, the role of Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) in the outbreak was indirectly proven by the spatial and temporal pattern of cases, or by airflow-dynamics models. In one report on MERS, the contamination of HVAC by viral particles was demonstrated. In four out of the six studies on SARS-CoV-2, the diffusion of viral particles through HVAC was suspected or supported by computer simulation. In conclusion, there is sufficient evidence of the airborne transmission of coronaviruses in previous Asian outbreaks, and this has been taken into account in the guidelines released by organizations and international agencies for controlling the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in indoor environments. However, the technological differences in HVAC systems prevent the generalization of the results on a worldwide basis. The few COVID-19 investigations available do not provide sufficient evidence that the SARS-CoV-2 virus can be transmitted by HVAC systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Chirico
- Post-Graduate School of Occupational Health, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Roma, Italy;
- Health Service Department, State Police, Ministry of Interior, 20125 Milan, Italy
| | - Angelo Sacco
- Local Healthcare Unit Roma 2, 00155 Roma, Italy;
| | - Nicola Luigi Bragazzi
- Laboratory for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (LIAM), Department of Mathematics and Statistics, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada;
| | - Nicola Magnavita
- Post-Graduate School of Occupational Health, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Roma, Italy;
- Department of Woman/Child & Public Health, Fondazione Policlinico A. Gemelli IRCCS, 00168 Roma, Italy
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