Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on bone marrow transplantation in Morocco

Prevalence and associated factors of COVID-19 among Moroccan physicians: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has emerged and spread rapidly worldwide and established a global public health crisis in early 2020. The first Moroccan case was reported on March 2, 2020. Since then, healthcare workers (HCWs) played a major role in saving human lives threatened by COVID-19. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of COVID-19 infection among Moroccan physicians and to report associated risk factors prior vaccination campaign.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was carried out in the Fez-Meknes region of Morocco, 545 physicians' data was collected using a self-reported online questionnaire. The data collection was done between December 1, 2020, and February 1, 2021.

RESULTS

The prevalence of COVID-19 among physicians was 27.3%. The mean age of the confirmed COVID-19 group was 38.4±12.9 years old. There was no association between COVID-19 infection and preventive measures compliance by physicians and healthcare authorities in the workplace. However, multivariate analysis strengthened the following factors such as increased risk of COVID-19 infection within men ☯aOR:1.896; 95% IC 1.272-2.828; p = 0.002]; the presence of at least one comorbidity ☯aOR:2.268; 95%IC 1.414-3.637; p = 0.001]; and working at a university or military hospitals ☯aOR:2.578; 95%IC 1.667-3.989; p = 0.001].

CONCLUSION

This study allows comparing COVID-19 prevalence among healthcare workers before and after vaccination programs. This should support better preparation strategy for any future pandemics with appropriate and increased awareness for men, carrying comorbidity, and working environment with high COVID-19 disease management.

Use of domestic tools to downstage the reconstructive ladder in a patient with severe crush and degloving injury: a case report

In the COVID-19's crisis, elective surgery and non-emergent cases were postponed; all other procedures have to be minimized. A 17-year male patient with severe crush and degloving injury over the thigh, gluteal, sacral, and perineum areas was admitted to our Department on the 16^th of March 2020. The patient presented soft tissue skin and muscle loss. A double Latissimus Dorsi and Anterolateral Thigh free flaps were indicated. However, due to the particular circumstance of the COVID-19 crisis, we applied domestic negative wound therapy (NPWT) using gauzes and wall suction. We obtained suitable granulation tissue after 17 consecutive days with this treatment. The raw area was then covered with an expanded split-thickness skin graft. The wound healed at 95%, and the patient was discharged on 25^th of April 2020. He was followed up in an outpatient setting with wound care and physiotherapy. This case showed that in a limited-resource setting, with available wall suction, the domestic NPWT is a versatile tool to promote granulation tissue.