Articles Tagged With: COVID-19
-
CMS Continues Infection Control Inspections for Coronavirus
The Center for Medicaid & Medicare Services continues to survey hospitals and long-term care facilities for infection control measures to prevent the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. The inspections assess the basics of hand hygiene, personal protective equipment (PPE), and staff education — things most facilities should be doing months into a pandemic.
-
Trial by Fire: IPs Stand Fast Amid Unrelenting Pandemic
Infection preventionists are playing critical roles in the coronavirus response, raising the profile of a profession that will never be viewed quite the same again after having been forged in the crucible of the worst pandemic in a century.
-
COVID-19 and Steroids: Is There a Consensus on the Controversy?
A retrospective, single-center cohort study among 201 adults admitted with COVID-19 pneumonia revealed that risk factors associated with the development of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and progression from ARDS to death included older age, neutrophilia, organ dysfunction, and coagulation derangement. Treatment with methylprednisolone may be beneficial for these patients.
-
Advocates: Long-Term Facilities Remain Hot Spots for COVID-19
Persistent personal protective equipment and testing shortages exacerbate problems.
-
[UPDATED] U.S. Healthcare Orgs Back International Students
The Trump administration’s decision to restrict visas during a pandemic could further strain healthcare workforce.
-
Neurologic Manifestations of Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China
Neurological symptoms and impairments have been found in one-third of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 from countries that have reported these observations so far. This is a rapidly evolving consequence of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
-
Androgen Deprivation Therapy and SARS-CoV-2
Cancer patients are at a higher risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2 vs. non-cancer patients. However, prostate cancer patients who received androgen deprivation therapy seem to be partially protected from such infections.
-
Study of SARS-CoV-2 Finds Airborne Particles, but Are They Infective?
A pre-published study under peer review suggests particles of SARS-CoV-2 can linger on surfaces and travel in the air beyond six feet.
-
Hospitals Innovate to Meet Surging Demand for Palliative Care Services
During the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a surge in demand for palliative care services under circumstances that impede the optimal delivery of this care, causing frontline providers to scramble to understand a critically ill patient’s wishes while donned with face masks and goggles that make communications difficult. The pandemic has made what are always difficult conversations even more fraught, placing added stress on medical providers, patients, family members, and palliative care specialists.
-
Caring for Patients During the Crisis Requires More Creativity, Coordination
The COVID-19 pandemic makes care coordination and case management more difficult for a variety of reasons. For instance, finding community resources for struggling senior patients is difficult in areas where organizations have closed operations or restricted access to services. Also, senior adults face more loneliness and emotional health challenges. They have lost access to many of their traditional social support networks because of physical distancing during the pandemic.