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Awwad S, Al-Hamdani M, Abdallah AM, Abu-Madi M. Laboratory testing efficiency during the COVID pandemic: Findings from the Primary Health Care Corporation laboratories in the State of Qatar. J Infect Public Health 2024; 17:681-686. [PMID: 38471258 DOI: 10.1016/j.jiph.2024.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2023] [Revised: 02/28/2024] [Accepted: 03/03/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Little is known about how the COVID-19 pandemic altered laboratory testing efficiency in the State of Qatar. The aim of this study was to assess laboratory testing efficiency with respect to the total number and proportion of C-reactive protein (CRP), complete blood count (CBC), and comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP) tests completed on time in 2019-2021 in several ordinary and COVID-converted Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) health centers across Qatar. METHODS Secondary data from 2019 to 2021 were accessed from the PHCC-Clinical Information System center. Six randomly selected centers from three regions of Qatar (Northern, Central, and Western), two of which were COVID-converted, were analyzed. RESULTS A total of 404,316 laboratory tests were analyzed. There were decreasing, U-shaped, and inverted-U-shaped patterns in the numbers of tests conducted in different regions between 2019 and 2021 according to test type. The proportion of urgent (STAT) CBC and CMP tests increased from 2019 to 2021, and the proportion of tests completed by COVID-converted health centers increased for CRP and CBC and decreased for CMP between 2019 and 2021. Northern and Western regions in Qatar showed higher efficiency than the Central region with respect to the proportion of STAT tests completed on time in 2019-2021. COVID-converted centers completed fewer STAT CBC tests on time than ordinary centers. CONCLUSION Pandemics such as COVID-19 shift the allocation of resources from routine tests to urgent tests, as exemplified by the increase in STAT test proportions in 2019 to 2021. High population densities, as noted in the Central region of Qatar, may require additional resources during pandemics to complete urgent tests more efficiently. The conversion of centers to COVID-converted centers may not necessarily translate into higher urgent test efficiency, as exemplified by the STAT CBC test results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Awwad
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Mohammed Al-Hamdani
- Department of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Atiyeh M Abdallah
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Marawan Abu-Madi
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar.
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Shams T, Alhashemi H, Madkhali A, Noorelahi A, Allarakia S, Faden Y, Alhasani A, Alzahrani K, Alrefai A, Ghilan NA, Al-Sum H, Kurdi S, Al-Ansari Y, Alotaibi M. Comparing pregnancy outcomes between symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID-19 positive unvaccinated women- Multicenter study in Saudi Arabia. J Infect Public Health 2022; 15:845-852. [PMID: 35779468 PMCID: PMC9225930 DOI: 10.1016/j.jiph.2022.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2022] [Revised: 05/28/2022] [Accepted: 06/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction COVID-19 infection in pregnancy ranges from asymptomatic infection to severe disease. However, the maternal and pregnancy outcomes are primarily favorable. Acute Respiratory Illness (ARI) score is a Visual Triage Checklist for Acute Respiratory symptoms created by the ministry of health of Saudi Arabia 12 to screen the patient for acute respiratory infection with MERS-CoV. It has been used during the COVID-19 pandemic to identify suspected cases and place patients in isolation precautions if the score is≥ 4. Method This study is a cross-sectional study of all pregnant women who tested positive for COVID-19 in four medical centers located in four different cities in Saudi Arabia. The study period was from 1/3/2020 until 31/10/2020. Outcomes investigated were the prevalence of COVID infection in pregnant women at the time of delivery. Rate of asymptomatic disease, different maternal and pregnancy outcomes. Women were divided into symptomatic and asymptomatic groups according to the ARI score. The two groups were compared in maternal, perinatal, and neonatal outcomes. Furthermore, the cohort was divided according to maternal age into two groups: women of advanced maternal age ≥ 35 years and younger. The two groups were compared in maternal, perinatal, and neonatal outcomes Results During the study period, 9573 women gave birth at KAMCs, and 402 pregnant women were identified as COVID positive. Out of all COVID-positive women, only 394 women gave birth at KAMCs. The screening for COVID infection differed between the centers, but the testing was the same by the Nasopharyngeal polymerase chain reaction (PCR) swab. In Riyadh, screening was based on ARI scoring at the beginning of the pandemic. Then, it became universal. In Jeddah, the screening was based on ARI scoring. Any woman who scored four or more was labeled as suspected, and she was tested. Finally, in Madinah and Dammam, the screening was universal throughout the study. The prevalence of COVID-19 infection among women who gave birth at KAMCs was 4.2% (402/9573). (CI 3.8–4.6%). At the time of diagnosis, most women (62%) were asymptomatic. The most common symptoms were cough and shortness of breath. Twenty-two women (5.5%) had Pneumonia, and five women (1.3%) needed admission to Intensive care units (ICU). One woman died due to respiratory failure. When pregnancy outcomes were compared between symptomatic and asymptomatic women, pregnancy in symptomatic women was more likely to be complicated by Abortion (6 versus 2% p-value 0.00), fetal death (3 versus 1.3%), and cesarean delivery (30.8 versus 22.4%, p-value 0.001). COVID-positive pregnant women of advanced maternal age (AMA) were more likely to be symptomatic, have Abortion (5 versus 1%, p-value 0.01), and have Preterm delivery (17 versus 11% p-value 0.01) than younger women. In addition, neonatal death was more common in AMA COVID-positive women than younger (4 versus 0%), regardless of COVID-related symptoms. Conclusion Most of the COVID-infected pregnant women are asymptomatic. Therefore, the ARI scoring system does not help to triage patients. Symptomatic women, especially those older than 35, tend to have a higher maternal and pregnancy complication rate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taghreed Shams
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ministry of National Health Affairs, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; College of Medicine, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Saudi Arabia; King Abdullah International Research Center (KAIMRC), Saudi Arabia.
| | - Hashem Alhashemi
- Department of Medicine, Ministry of National Health Affairs, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; College of Medicine, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Saudi Arabia; King Abdullah International Research Center (KAIMRC), Saudi Arabia
| | - Azza Madkhali
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ministry of National Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; College of Medicine, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Saudi Arabia; King Abdullah International Research Center (KAIMRC), Saudi Arabia
| | - Abdullah Noorelahi
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ministry of National Health Affairs, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Sabah Allarakia
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ministry of National Health Affairs, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; College of Medicine, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Saudi Arabia; King Abdullah International Research Center (KAIMRC), Saudi Arabia
| | - Yaser Faden
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ministry of National Health Affairs, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; College of Medicine, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Saudi Arabia; King Abdullah International Research Center (KAIMRC), Saudi Arabia
| | - Amar Alhasani
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ministry of National Health Affairs, Al Madinah, Saudi Arabia; King Abdullah International Research Center (KAIMRC), Saudi Arabia
| | - Khalid Alzahrani
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ministry of National Health Affairs, Dammam, Saudi Arabia
| | - Alyaa Alrefai
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ministry of National Health Affairs, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; College of Medicine, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Saudi Arabia; King Abdullah International Research Center (KAIMRC), Saudi Arabia
| | - Nadia Al Ghilan
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ministry of National Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; College of Medicine, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Saudi Arabia; King Abdullah International Research Center (KAIMRC), Saudi Arabia
| | - Haitham Al-Sum
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ministry of National Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; College of Medicine, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Saudi Arabia; King Abdullah International Research Center (KAIMRC), Saudi Arabia
| | - Saad Kurdi
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ministry of National Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Yousif Al-Ansari
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ministry of National Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Maha Alotaibi
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ministry of National Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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Almouaalamy NA, Jafari AA, Althubaiti AM. Tele-clinics in palliative care during the COVID-19 outbreak: Tertiary care cancer center experience. Saudi Med J 2022; 43:394-400. [PMID: 35414618 PMCID: PMC9998063 DOI: 10.15537/smj.2022.43.4.20210808] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2021] [Accepted: 03/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To investigate the effect of tele-clinics on palliative care patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS This is a retrospective cross-sectional study (chart review) carried out from March 17, 2020, to September 16, 2020, included all patients who were booked into the palliative care clinic. Patients were assessed by the palliative nurse specialist for COVID-19 symptoms using the acute respiratory illness screening form and Edmonton Symptoms Assessment System, also identifies the needs of the patient. Data were analyzed to investigate the effect of tele-clinics on the patients regarding ER visits and admission. RESULTS A total of 167 individuals were analyzed and the results showed that 234 of 447 visits were virtual, supporting the increasing value of telemedicine. The number of virtual patients' visits dropped slightly at the beginning of the pandemic (46.4% in March to 39.8% in July). Subsequently, it increased steadily to 72.2% in September. The choice of virtual/non-virtual visits for individuals with cancer diagnosis significantly depends on other factors. Code status, palliative patients or follow-up service, and the frequency of oncology center visits, admissions, or ER visits were crucial in explaining the means of receiving treatment. CONCLUSION Virtual visits in palliative care are efficient means of decreasing the threat of COVID-19 contagion. It is recommended to increase the palliative care patients' awareness of tele-clinics and their positive outcomes, particularly during the pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nabil A. Almouaalamy
- From the Oncology Department (Almouaalamy), Princess Noorah Oncology Center, Ministry of National Guard - Health Affairs; from King Abdullah International Medical Research Centre (Almouaalamy, Althubaiti); from the College of Medicine (Almouaalamy, Althubaiti), King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences; and from the Nursing Department (Jafari), King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard - Health Affairs, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
| | - Amal A. Jafari
- From the Oncology Department (Almouaalamy), Princess Noorah Oncology Center, Ministry of National Guard - Health Affairs; from King Abdullah International Medical Research Centre (Almouaalamy, Althubaiti); from the College of Medicine (Almouaalamy, Althubaiti), King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences; and from the Nursing Department (Jafari), King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard - Health Affairs, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
| | - Alaa M. Althubaiti
- From the Oncology Department (Almouaalamy), Princess Noorah Oncology Center, Ministry of National Guard - Health Affairs; from King Abdullah International Medical Research Centre (Almouaalamy, Althubaiti); from the College of Medicine (Almouaalamy, Althubaiti), King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences; and from the Nursing Department (Jafari), King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard - Health Affairs, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
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Meneses-Medina MI, Hernandez-Felix JH, Anaya-Sánchez LG, Valenzuela-Vidales AK, Rosas-Camargo V, Martos-Armendariz EO, Torres-Valdiviezo LI, Cedro-Tanda A, Noguez-Ramos A, Herrera-Montalvo LA, Hidalgo-Miranda A, Valdez-Echeverria RD, Galindo-Fraga A, Huitzil-Meléndez FD. SARS-CoV-2 Infection Rate in Patients With Cancer and Health Care Workers in a Chemoradiotherapy Unit During the Pandemic: A Prospective Cohort in Mexico. JCO Glob Oncol 2021; 7:1639-1646. [PMID: 34898237 PMCID: PMC8667990 DOI: 10.1200/go.21.00207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Cancer treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic represents a challenge. Hospital visits to receive treatment and interaction with health care workers (HCW) represent potential contagious events. We aimed to determine SARS-CoV-2 infection rate among patients with cancer and HCW of a chemoradiotherapy unit localized in a center designated as a COVID-19 priority facility in Mexico City. We also determined the diagnostic performance of a clinical questionnaire (CQ) as a screening tool and anti–SARS-CoV-2 antibody seroconversion rate. Biweekly RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 detects asymptomatic infections and prevents transmission in an oncological unit![]()
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Affiliation(s)
- Monica Isabel Meneses-Medina
- Departamento de Hematología y Oncología, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Ciudad de México, México
| | - Jorge Humberto Hernandez-Felix
- Departamento de Hematología y Oncología, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Ciudad de México, México.,Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila Unidad Torreón, Torreón, México
| | - Luis Guillermo Anaya-Sánchez
- Departamento de Hematología y Oncología, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Ciudad de México, México.,Escuela de Ciencias, Departamento de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de las Américas Puebla, Puebla, México
| | - Ana Karen Valenzuela-Vidales
- Departamento de Hematología y Oncología, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Ciudad de México, México
| | - Vanessa Rosas-Camargo
- Departamento de Hematología y Oncología, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Ciudad de México, México
| | - Edgar Omar Martos-Armendariz
- Departamento de Hematología y Oncología, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Ciudad de México, México.,Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango, Gómez Palacio, México
| | - Lucero Itzel Torres-Valdiviezo
- Departamento de Hematología y Oncología, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Ciudad de México, México.,Escuela de Ciencias, Departamento de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de las Américas Puebla, Puebla, México
| | | | - Alejandro Noguez-Ramos
- Departamento de Hematología y Oncología, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Ciudad de México, México
| | - Luis Alonso Herrera-Montalvo
- Instituto Nacional de Medicina Genómica, Ciudad de México, México.,Instituto Nacional de Cancerología-Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México, Ciudad de México, México
| | | | - Raymundo David Valdez-Echeverria
- Departamento de Hematología y Oncología, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Ciudad de México, México
| | - Arturo Galindo-Fraga
- Subdirección de Epidemiología Hospitalaria, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Ciudad de México, México
| | - Fidel David Huitzil-Meléndez
- Departamento de Hematología y Oncología, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Ciudad de México, México
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