Search

BackgroundSince the COVID-19 pandemic began, there have been concerns related to the preparedness of healthcare workers (HCWs). This study aimed to describe the level of awareness and preparedness of hospital HCWs at the time of the first wave.MethodsThis multinational, multicenter, cross-sectional survey was conducted among hospital HCWs from February to May 2020. We used a hierarchical logistic regression multivariate analysis to adjust the influence of variables based on awareness and preparedness. We then used association rule mining to identify relationships between HCW confidence in handling suspected COVID-19 patients and prior COVID-19 case-management training.ResultsWe surveyed 24,653 HCWs from 371 hospitals across 57 countries and received 17,302 responses from 70.2% HCWs overall. The median COVID-19 preparedness score was 11.0 (interquartile range [IQR] = 6.0-14.0) and the median awareness score was 29.6 (IQR = 26.6-32.6). HCWs at COVID-19 designated facilities with previous outbreak experience, or HCWs who were trained for dealing with the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, had significantly higher levels of preparedness and awareness (pInterpretationThere was an unsurprising high level of awareness and preparedness among HCWs who participated in COVID-19 training courses. However, disparity existed along the lines of gender and type of HCW. It is unknown whether the difference in COVID-19 preparedness that we detected early in the pandemic may have translated into disproportionate SARS-CoV-2 burden of disease by gender or HCW type.

Introduction: Most hospitalized patients required invasive or non-invasive ventilation and High Flow Nasal Cannula (HFNC). Therefore, this study was conducted to describe the characteristics of patients with severe Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) treated by HFNC and its effectiveness for reducing the rate of intubated-mechanical ventilation in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Phu Chanh COVID-19 Department-Binh Duong General Hospital., Methods: It was a cross-sectional and descriptive study. All severe patients with COVID-19 with acute respiratory failure eligible for the study were included. Patient characteristics, clinical symptoms, laboratory results, and treatment methods were collected for analysis; parameters and data related to HFNC treatment and follow-up were analysed., Results: 80 patients, aged of 49.7 ± 16.6 years, were treated with HFNC at admission in ICU. 14 patients had type 2 diabetes (17.5%), 3 patients had chronic respiratory disease (3.8%), 19 patients had high blood pressure (23.8%), and 5 patients with other comorbidities (7.4%). The majority of patients with severe COVID-19 had typical symptoms of COVID-19 such as shortness of breath (97.5%), intensive tired (81.3%), cough (73.7%), anosmia (48.3%), ageusia (41.3%), and fever (26.3%). The results of arterial blood gases demonstrated severe hypoxia under optimal conventional oxygen therapy (PaO 2  = 52.5 ± 17.4 mmHg). Respiratory rate, SpO2, PaO2 were significantly improved after using HFNC at 1st day, 3rd day and 7th day (P < 0.05; P < 0.05; P < 0.01; respectively). Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) index was significantly increased after treating with HFNC vs before HFNC treatment (4.79 ± 1.86, 5.53 ± 2.39, and 7.41 ± 4.24 vs 2.97 ± 0.39; P < 0.05, P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively). 54 (67.5%) patients were success with HFNC treatment and 26 (32.5%) patients with HFNC failure needed to treat with Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) (13 patients; 50%) or intubated ventilation (13 patients; 50%)., Conclusion: HFNC therapy could be considered as a useful and effective alternative treatment for patients with acute respiratory failure. HFNC might help to delay the intubated ventilation for patients with respiratory failure and to minimise the risk of invasive ventilation complications and mortality. However, it is crucial to closely monitor the evolution of patient's respiratory status and responsiveness of HFNC treatment to avoid unintended delay of intubation-mechanical ventilation., Trial Registration: An independent ethics committee approved the study (The Ethics Committee of Binh Duong General Hospital; No. HDDD-BVDK BINH DUONG 9.2021), which was performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, Guidelines for Good Clinical Practice., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients with sleep disorders may be at greater risk for respiratory exacerbation or death compared to those without. After being infected with COVID-19, patients have many symptoms related to sleep disorders, especially those with severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. This study aimed to evaluate sleep disturbances in patients with severe SARS-CoV-2 infection who were treated in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU)., Methods: This cross-sectional study used the questionnaire provided by the Vietnam Sleep Disorder Study (ViSDiS) research, elaborated by the Vietnam Society of Sleep Medicine (VSSM). Seventy-seven COVID-19 patients were included., Results: There was a significant difference in sleep status before and after SARS-CoV-2 infection among participants. Up to 83% of them reported experiencing insomnia after illness, 60% reported having frequent nightmares, and more than half of participants reported nocturia ( p < 0.0001). More than 81.8% of patients with severe SARS-CoV-2 infection were unsatisfied with their sleep quality during hospitalization After SARS-CoV-2 infection, only 2.6% of participants felt they had good quality sleep ( p < 0.0001). The majority of patients suffered from fatigue after SARS-CoV-2 infection, including a lack of energy, feeling heaviness in their limbs, aggravation of pre-existing sleep disorders, idleness, constant fatigue throughout the day, and difficulty concentrating., Conclusion: Sleep problems are highly prevalence among hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19 in the ICU. Healthcare providers should pay attention to sleep problems and their associated symptoms to initiate appropriate treatment to improve severe COVID-19 patients' health status and minimize the risk of death.