Epidemiologic Features of 135 Patients With Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) in Tianjin, China

What we learned from the infection control and what we need in the future: A quantitative and qualitative study on hospital infection prevention and control practitioners (HIPCPs) in Tianjin, China

BACKGROUND

In December 2022, the epidemic prevention and control policy was upgraded, and China entered a different stage of epidemic control. This study aims to identify implications for better infection control and health care supply during the epidemic.

METHODS

A longitudinal quantitative and qualitative study was performed based on 2 comprehensive questionnaire surveys among 497 hospital infection prevention and control practitioners (HIPCPs) before and during the epidemic peak in Tianjin, China.

RESULTS

The workload (8.2 hours vs 10.14 hours, P = 0) and self-reported mental health problems (23.5% vs 61.8%, P < .05) among the HIPCPs increased significantly in the peak period. Ward reconstruction and resource coordination were the most needed jobs in hospital infection control, and rapidly increased medical waste during the epidemic needs to be considered in advance. Community support for health care personnel and their families, maintaining full PPE to reduce simultaneous infection of medical staff, and clinical training of infectious diseases for medical staff, especially doctors, in advance are the most important things we learned.

CONCLUSION

Although it has been 4 years since the first outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019, more improvements should be made to prepare for the next epidemic of potential diseases.

Effect of Travel Restrictions of Wuhan City Against COVID-19: A Modified SEIR Model Analysis

OBJECTIVE

Since December 2019, a new coronavirus viral was initially detected in Wuhan, China. Population migration increases the risk of epidemic transmission. Here, the objective of study is to estimate the output risk quantitatively and evaluate the effectiveness of travel restrictions of Wuhan city.

METHODS

We proposed a modified susceptible-exposed-infectious-recovered (SEIR) dynamics model to predict the number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) symptomatic and asymptomatic infections in Wuhan. And, subsequently, we estimated the export risk of COVID-19 epidemic from Wuhan to other provinces in China. Finally, we estimated the effectiveness of travel restrictions of Wuhan city quantitatively by the export risk on the assumption that the measure was postponed.

RESULTS

The export risks of COVID-19 varied from Wuhan to other provinces of China. The peak of export risk was January 21-23, 2020. With the travel restrictions of Wuhan delayed by 3, 5, and 7 d, the export risk indexes will increase by 38.50%, 55.89%, and 65.63%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The results indicate that the travel restrictions of Wuhan reduced the export risk and delayed the overall epidemic progression of the COVID-19 epidemic in China. The travel restrictions of Wuhan city may provide a reference for the control of the COVID-19 epidemic all over the world.

Epidemiological Analysis of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in 2 Cities in China Based on Public Data

Based on the public data from the health departments of Tianjin and Shenzhen, we conducted a comparative analysis of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic situation between these 2 cities. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of public data in epidemic prevention and control of COVID-19, providing a scientific advice for the subsequent mitigation and containment of COVID-19 prevalence.

Ten Epidemiological Parameters of COVID-19: Use of Rapid Literature Review to Inform Predictive Models During the Pandemic

Objective: To describe the methods used in a rapid review of the literature and to present the main epidemiological parameters that describe the transmission of SARS-Cov-2 and the illness caused by this virus, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods: This is a methodological protocol that enabled a rapid review of COVID-19 epidemiological parameters. Findings: The protocol consisted of the following steps: definition of scope; eligibility criteria; information sources; search strategies; selection of studies; and data extraction. Four reviewers and three supervisors conducted this review in 40 days. Of the 1,266 studies found, 65 were included, mostly observational and descriptive in content, indicating relative homogeneity as to the quality of the evidence. The variation in the basic reproduction number, between 0.48 and 14.8; and the median of the hospitalization period, between 7.5 and 20.5 days stand out as key findings. Conclusion: We identified and synthesized 10 epidemiological parameters that may support predictive models and other rapid reviews to inform modeling of this and other future public health emergencies.

Prevalence and severity of depression, anxiety, stress and perceived stress in hospitalized patients with COVID-19

PURPOSE

COVID-19, a disease that can be transmitted from person to person and with serious health problems, can be associated with mental health disorders. In this study, we evaluated the prevalence and severity of depression, anxiety, stress, and stress perception among a group of patients with COVID-19 who were hospitalized.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, 106 inpatients with COVID-19 who had stable clinical conditions were evaluated psychologically by two questionnaires: Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-4).

RESULTS

More than one third of patients had underlying disease. Overall, 97.2% of patients with COVID-19 had some degree of depression. Severity of depression, according to the DASS questionnaire, was 85.8%. All patients (100%) had severe (0.9%) and very severe (99.1%) anxiety. Regarding to stress levels, 97.1% of patients had some degree of stress. In the severity of stress category, 84.9% of patients had severe and very severe stress. In terms of perceived stress, 73.6% of patients had high levels and 22.6% had moderate levels. A positive strong correlation was found between depression and perceived stress (Coefficient: 0.33, P-value: 0.001). Correlation between anxiety and perceived stress was statistically significant (Coefficient: 0.2, P-value: 0.04).

CONCLUSIONS

The existence of such a high prevalence and severity of psychiatric disorders among hospitalized patients with COVID-19 underscores the need for serious attention to the mental health status of these patients. It seems that health policymakers need to have coherent plans for screening cases and managing related situations.

N. Rinaldi JP. Available evidence on risk factors associated with COVID-19's poorer outcomes, worldwide and in Brazil

Objectives: Analyse availability and quality of existing evidence on COVID-19's risk factors and underlying health conditions that are associated with poorer outcomes, worldwide and in Brazil. Methods: EBMR (Ovid), Google Scholar, MEDLINE (OvidSP), PubMed, CINAHL (EBSCO) and Cochrane Library databases were screened, plus Brazilian government epidemiological reports. A body of 25 articles plus 1 report met the inclusion criteria. Results: Available data are still disconnected and several biases exist throughout literature, mainly due to COVID-19 novelty aspect. Hypertension was the most analysed risk factor, followed by diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Availability of Brazilian data is significantly scarce and only governmental reports are readily available. Conclusion: Further studies, with good methodological designs, are needed to provide good levels of evidence in order to provide solid background to help the pandemic’s mitigation strategies.