Objective To analyze the characteristics of patients transferred by ambulances to emergency department before and after coronavirus disease 2019 epidemic, in order to improve the efficiency of emergency triage, optimize the utilization of emergency resources, and provide a reference for standardized tiered medical services in different situation. Methods The patients’ information collected through Wenjuanxing questionnaire was extracted, who were transferred by ambulances to the Emergency Department of West China Hospital of Sichuan University between December 27th, 2018 and April 28th, 2019 (before epidemic), or between December 27th, 2019 and April 28th, 2020 (during epidemic), or between December 27th, 2020 and April 28th, 2021 [in regular epidemic prevention and control period (REPCP)]. The general information, sources, reasons for referral, disease spectrum and triage levels of patients in the three periods were compared. Results There were 3993, 2252 and 1851 cases before epidemic, during epidemic, and in REPCP, respectively. The differences in gender and age among the three periods were not statistically significant (P>0.05). The percentage of referrals from tertiary hospitals in each period was 74.00%, 72.65%, and 76.12%, respectively, which was higher in REPCP than that during epidemic (P<0.05). The percentage of direct referrals from emergency department in each period was 41.00%, 42.14%, and 44.46%, respectively, which was higher in REPCP than that before epidemic (P<0.05). The percentage of two-way referrals in each period was 37.79%, 36.63%, and 34.36%, respectively, which was lower in REPCP than that before epidemic (P<0.05). During epidemic and in REPCP, the proportions of referrals due to “need for surgery” (24.72%, 27.84%, and 28.74%, respectively) and “request by family members” (49.64%, 53.33%, and 56.24%, respectively) increased compared with those before epidemic (P<0.05), while the proportion of referrals due to “critical illness” decreased compared with that before epidemic (40.20%, 35.21%, and 33.17%, respectively; P<0.05); the proportion of referrals due to “diagnosis unknown” decreased in REPCP compared with that before epidemic (15.50%, 13.90%, and 11.89%, respectively; P<0.05). The proportion of acute aortic syndromes in REPCP increased compared with that during epidemic (3.46%, 2.98%, and 4.65%, respectively; P<0.05), the proportion of trauma in REPCP increased compared with that before epidemic (13.72%, 15.76%, and 17.77%, respectively; P<0.05), and the proportion of pneumonia/acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease during epidemic and in REPCP decreased compared with that before epidemic (8.44%, 3.73%, and 3.84%, respectively; P<0.05). The proportion of critically ill patients referred in each period was 72.88%, 75.58%, and 79.15%, respectively, which was the highest in REPCP (P<0.05). Conclusions The epidemic has a significant impact on emergency ambulance referrals, and emergency triage needs to be continuously optimised and improved in staff, facilities, processes and management. It is necessary to further improve the implementation of hierarchical diagnosis and treatment, strengthen information communication between referral and emergency departments of receiving hospitals, and improve referral efficiency.
Since the establishment in 2016, especially after the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic, the Hospital Infection Management Quality Control Center of Shuangliu District has carried out quality management and technical ability training for full-time and part-time infection prevention and control personnel through various methods, and used grid management to organize examinations and assessments, inspections and supervision, as well as consultation and assistance. As a result, the culture of infection prevention and control has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, the health administrative departments have increased investment in infrastructure and equipment, the funds for infection prevention and control have continued to increase, and the prevention and control quality of COVID-19 and daily works in the region has been continuously improved. The center plays a leading role in the promotion of the standardization, homogenization, and quality improvement of the prevention and control of hospital infection in the district.
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.
Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics of patients with COVID-19 associated pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA). Methods The clinical data of patients diagnosed with CAPA admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from December 16, 2022 to February 2, 2023 were collected and analyzed. Results Among the 43 enrolled patients,16 patients required invasive mechanical ventilation, 44.19% (19/43) of them with critical novel coronavirus pneumonia, and 86.05% (37/43) had underlying diseases. The peak period of CAPA was 14 - 28 days after SARS-CoV-2 infection (48.84%, 21/43). In the laboratory results, 86.05% (37/43) of patients had varying degrees of lymphocyte reduction, with a lymphocyte count of 0.63 (0.33, 0.96) × 109/L, the median levels of procalcitonin, CRP, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate were all higher than the reference values. 38.89% (14/36) of patients tested positive for serum GM test, and 75.00% (9/12) of patients tested positive for bronchoalveolar lavage fluid GM test. Aspergillus fumigatus is the most common strain. Voriconazole is the most commonly used antifungal drug (86.05%), and other drugs used include caspofungin, posaconazole, isavuconazonium, and amphotericin B. Two patients received local treatment with amphotericin B under bronchoscopy. After treatment, 27 patients improved and were discharged. Conclusions The symptoms, signs, and imaging manifestations of CAPA are not significantly specific, and are prone to misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis. The mortality rate is high. For patients suspected of CAPA and those with CAPA risk factors, relevant examinations should be promptly improved to improve diagnosis and treatment efficiency.
Wuhan Leishenshan Hospital was built within 12 days during the key period of fighting against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Wuhan. It was a field infectious disease hospital with 1500 beds. Due to the emergency of the epidemic situation, the operation mode of “parallel of construction, acceptance, training and treatment” was employed. During the peak period, nearly 3000 medical workers and 13000 builders worked on the same site. In 67 days, 2 011 patients with COVID-19 were treated. Through the bundle infection prevention and control (IPC) measures, Wuhan Leishenshan Hospital achieved zero infection, zero accident, and low level pollution of SARS-CoV-2 (0.3%) by environment monitoring. The bundle IPC measures of Leishenshan Hospital not only provided prevention and control experience for other field infectious disease hospitals at domestic and abroad during the period of COVID-19, but also put forward ideas and work flow for other medical institutions to deal with emerging infectious diseases.
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.
Maintenance hemodialysis patients face great risk and challenges in the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic, and adequate and reasonable nutrition is an important weapon in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. Therefore, the Chinese Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition proposed Dietary Expert Advice on Prevention and Treatment of COVID-19 in Hemodialysis Patients for hemodialysis patients. In this paper, the nine pieces of advice on hemodialysis patients’ staple food, intake of high-quality protein, vegetables and fruits, food types and combinations, prevention of virus transmission, fluid intake, nutritional supplements, regular rest and adequate sleep, as well as supplement of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant preparations are interpreted in detail.
ObjectiveTo describe clinical significance of eosinopenia in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).MethodsThis was a retrospective study conducted in three tertiary hospitals from Anhui province, China. A total of 59 patients with COVID-19 were consecutively reviewed from January 23, 2020 to March 10, 2020.ResultsThe median age of patients with COVID-19 was 39 years old, and 32 were male, 30 with eosinopenia. Cough, sputum and fatigue were more common symptoms in eosinopenia patients compared with non-eosinopenia patients. The counts of blood lymphocytes (median: 101 cells/μL) in eosinopenia patients were significantly less than those of non-eosinopenia patients (median: 167 cells/μL, P<0.001). COVID-19 patients with eosinopenia had a higher proportion of corticosteroids therapy than patients with non-eosinopenia (50.0% vs. 13.8%, respectively, P=0.005). Decreased blood lymphocytes count was an independent risk factor for eosinopenia in COVID-19 patients (odds ratio 6.566, 95%CI 1.101 - 39.173, P=0.039).ConclusionsBlood eosinopenia is frequent in COVID-19 patients. Patients with eosinopenia have different clinical features compared to patients with non-eosinopenia. Decreased lymphocyte count is an independent risk factor for eosinopenia in COVID-19 patients.
Since the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), health authorities at all levels have issued many prevention and control schemes, guidelines, and notices, and medical institutions have also formulated hospital-level COVID-19 prevention and control measures accordingly. However, the epidemic prevention and control work can only be done well when the prevention and control measures are effectively implemented. West China Hospital of Sichuan University has adopted the two-level (hospital-level and department-level) supervision. By clarifying the content and frequency of two-level supervision and adopting multiple forms of supervision, a complete supervision system covering the whole hospital has been formed. Through supervision, risk points in prevention and control were identified and continuous improvement was carried out to promote the implementation of prevention and control measures. This paper introduces the application of two-level supervision in COVID-19 prevention and control in West China Hospital of Sichuan University, providing a reference for peers.
ObjectiveTo observe the clinical and multimodal imaging features of eyes with acute macular neuroretinopathy (AMN) associated with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). MethodsA retrospective study. From December 20, 2022 to January 17, 2023, a total of 29 patients (58 eyes) with COVID-19-associated AMN admitted to Department of Ophthalmology of Eye and ENT Hospital, Shanghai Medical College were included in the study. All the affected eyes underwent the best corrected visual acuity, color fundus photography, infrared fundus photography (IR), short-wavelength autofluorescence (SW-AF), near-infrared autofluorescence (NIL-AF), optical coherence tomography (OCT), and OCT angiography (OCTA). All patients were administered microcirculation-improving oral medication with 12 cases receiving adjunctive low-dose corticosteroid therapy. Follow-ups were conducted 1 to 3 months after the initial diagnosis, with a total of 19 cases (38 eyes) completing the one-month follow-up. ResultsOut of the 29 cases, there were 9 males (18 eyes) and 20 females (40 eyes), all of whom experienced bilateral eye involvement. The age of the patients ranged from 12 to 47 years, with an average age of (29.9±9.5) years. The time from the onset of fever to the appearance of ocular symptoms was (2.52±2.01) days. Among the 58 affected eyes, there were 5 cases with retinal cotton wool spots, 2 cases with optic disc edema, and 1 case with parafoveal branch retinal vein occlusion. All affected eyes exhibited deep reddish-brown macular dark spots. IR revealed wedge-shaped, wedge-like, or "petaloid-like" dark areas involving the fovea and parafovea. SW-AF examination showed no obvious abnormality in 39 eyes. Weak autofluorescence dark area were consistent with IR in 19 eyes. NIR-AF examination showed spot-like or flaky self-fluorescent dark areas. OCT examination showed strong reflex lesions spreading vertically upward from the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) layer in the macular area in the acute stage, showing typical "bean seedling" sign. OCTA revealed reduced blood flow density in the deep capillary plexus (DCP) of 50 eyes. En-face OCT displayed lesion areas that corresponded to the dark areas seen in IR. One month after the initial diagnosis, the condition improved in 18 eyes (47.4%, 18/38). Among the 5 eyes with cotton wool spots, regression of these spots was accompanied by loss of nerve fiber layer in 4 eyes. In cases with optic disc edema, the edema subsided. The "bean sprout" sign disappeared in all affected eyes, and the lesions became localized. The ellipsoid zone and/or interdigitation zone in the lesion areas were discontinuous. ConclusionsCOVID-19-related AMN is characterized by distinctive features. IR fundus reveals wedge-shaped, wedge-like, or petaloid dark areas involving the fovea and parafovea. OCT displays strongly reflective lesions with vertical spread above the RPE. OCTA shows reduced blood flow density in the DCP of the retina.