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Introduction and objectives: Vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 have been a major scientific and medical achievement in the control of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, very infrequent cases of inflammatory heart disease have been described as adverse events, leading to uncertainty in the scientific community and in the general population. Methods: The Vaccine–Carditis Registry has included all cases of myocarditis and pericarditis diagnosed within 30 days after COVID-19 vaccination since August 1, 2021 in 29 centers throughout the Spanish territory. The definitions of myocarditis (probable or confirmed) and pericarditis followed the consensus of the Centers for Disease Control and the Clinical Practice Guidelines of the European Society of Cardiology. A comprehensive analysis of clinical characteristics and 3-month evolution is presented. Results: From August 1, 2021, to March 10, 2022, 139 cases of myocarditis or pericarditis were recorded (81.3% male, median age 28 years). Most cases were detected in the 1st week after administration of an mRNA vaccine, the majority after the second dose. The most common presentation was mixed inflammatory disease (myocarditis and pericarditis). 11% had left ventricular systolic dysfunction, 4% had right ventricular systolic dysfunction, and 21% had pericardial effusion. In cardiac magnetic resonance studies, left ventricular inferolateral involvement was the most frequent pattern (58%). More than 90% of cases had a benign clinical course. After a 3-month follow-up, the incidence of adverse events was 12.78% (1.44% mortality). Conclusions: In our setting, inflammatory heart disease after vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 predominantly affects young men in the 1st week after the second dose of RNA-m vaccine and presents a favorable clinical course in most cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new corona virus disease has started in Wuhan - China at the end of 2019 and quickly spread with a pandemic trend across the rest of the world. The scientific community is making an extraordinary effort to study and control the situation, but the results are just partial. Based on the most recent scientific literature and strong statements by the most prestigious international health institutions, the Italian Society of Digestive Endoscopy has drawn up some recommendations about the use of personal protective equipment, the correct way of dressing and undressing of endoscopists and nurses, before and after digestive endoscopy procedures. In addition, some other important indications are given to reduce the risk of contamination of healthcare providers during endoscopic activities, in the setting of a pandemic. Nevertheless, because of the very quick evolution of our knowledge on this issue, these recommendations must be considered as evolving, because they could change in a short time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: SARS-CoV-2 in children with cystic fibrosis (CF) has been reported to cause mild illness without pre-existing severe lung disease. This review described the clinical presentation and course of COVID-19 infection in children with CF in Qatar., Methods: The pediatric CF registry of 51 patients in Qatar was reviewed for COVID-19 cases from February 2020 to February 2022. Demographics, vaccination status, symptoms, and course were reviewed. Data were expressed as median, range, frequencies, and percentages., Results: The study included eight patients with CF below 18 years of age infected with COVID-19. The incidence of COVID-19 in children with CF was 15.7%. The median age was 11 (2-18) years. Half of the cohort were males. Seven patients were pancreatic sufficient (I1234V mutation), and one was pancreatic insufficient (3129del4 mutation). The median baseline FEV1 was 91 (78-107%) predicted. None had received CFTR modulators or undergone a lung transplant. Three patients were vaccinated before their infections. Two of them were asymptomatic. Six patients (75%) had a cough and flu-like symptoms. Three patients had a fever. Two patients were hospitalized due to pulmonary exacerbation; both had mild CF-lung disease. None required respiratory support., Conclusion: We report a favorable outcome of COVID-19 infection in children with CF, similar to published international studies. Our findings are attributable to the community-dominant milder CFTR mutation, precautionary measures, and causative COVID-19 strain. More longitudinal data are needed to study these factors as potential protective mechanisms., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (© 2023 Hamad, Kammouh, Alamri, Zahraldin, licensee HBKU Press.)

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, healthcare workers (HCW) have been leading the charge in combating it, in spite of being disproportionately affected by the disease compared to the general population. This study describes the measures instituted at the largest maternity center in the United Arab Emirates during the pandemic to mitigate the risk of HCW contracting COVID-19, as well as the effectiveness of those measures. The incidence of COVID-19 amongst healthcare workers at the facility was compared to that in the general population over a 13-month period from February 2021 to February 2022. Data on population testing was obtained from the database maintained by the regional testing lab, while HCW testing data was obtained from the occupational health department at the hospital. The incidence of COVID-19 in HCWs and the general population was compared using summary statistics and charts. Several mitigation measures were instituted to protect HCW during the pandemic including patient traffic management, adequate provision of personal protective equipment, staff vaccination campaigns, infrastructure enhancement, workforce planning, and structured occupational health policies. During the study period the overall positivity rate in the general population was 5.78% (83,005/1.4 million tests) and that for staff was 1.19% (401/33,228 tests). The peaks and troughs on staff turning positive for COVID-19 coincided with peaks and troughs of the pandemic in the general population. The hospital instituted effective mitigation measures in protecting the staff and keeping COVID-19 rates well below the ones encountered in the general population., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2023 The Author(s).)

The severity of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and its effects remain unpredictable. Certain factors, such as obesity, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes mellitus, may increase the severity of the disease. Rheumatology experts suggest that patients with active autoimmune conditions and controlled autoimmune diseases on immunosuppressive therapy may be at higher risk of developing severe COVID-19. In this retrospective observational study, we aimed to examine the patterns of COVID-19 in patients with underlying rheumatological diseases and their association with disease severity and hospital outcomes. A total of 34 patients with underlying rheumatological diseases who tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were included between March 2020 and April 2021 at King Fahd Hospital of the University. The study population consisted of 76.47% female and 23.53% male patients, with a mean age ranging from 20 to 40 years. Female gender (p=0.0001) and younger age (p=0.004) were associated with milder disease. The most frequent rheumatological disease was systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) (38.24%), which was associated with a milder infection (p=0.045). Patients treated with mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) had a milder disease course (p=0.0037). Hypertension was significantly associated with severe COVID-19 disease (p=0.037). There was no significant relationship between SLE and the need for ICU admission. Patients on hydroxychloroquine and MMF tended to develop milder disease, and there was no association between the severity of the infection and the treatment with steroids., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (©2023 JOURNAL of MEDICINE and LIFE.)

To raise awareness for possible benefits of examining known COVID-19 patients presenting sudden clinical worsening with CT pulmonary angiography instead of standard non-contrast chest CT. • Patients having COVID-19 pneumonia are at risk of coagulopathy and pulmonary embolism • In the absence of contraindications, patients admitted for COVID-19 should receive prophylactic low molecular weight heparin • Elevated D-dimer levels on admission or sudden clinical deterioration should raise suspicion of pulmonary embolism • Selected patients may benefit from CT pulmonary angiography to confirm pulmonary embolism and initiate appropriate therapy [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To assess the reporting quality of abstracts for published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of interventions for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), including the use of spin strategies and the level of spin for RCTs with statistically non-significant primary outcomes, and to explore potential predictors for reporting quality and the severity of spin., Study Design and Setting: PubMed was searched to find RCTs that tested interventions for COVID-19, and the reporting quality and spin in the abstracts were assessed. Linear regression analyses were used to identify potential predictors., Results: Forty RCT abstracts were included in our assessment of reporting quality, and a higher word count in the abstract was significantly correlated with higher reporting scores (95% CI 0.044 to 0.658, P=0.026). Multiple spin strategies were identified. Our multivariate analyses showed that geographical origin was associated with severity of spin, with research from non-Asian regions containing fewer spin strategies (95% CI -0.760 to -0.099, P=0.013)., Conclusions: The reporting quality of abstracts of RCTs of interventions for COVID-19 is far from satisfactory. A relatively high proportion of the abstracts contained spin, and the findings reported in the results and conclusion sections of these abstracts need to be interpreted with caution., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors have stated explicitly that they have no conflicts of interest in connection with this article., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Inc.)