All COVID-19 News
Surge Mechanical Ventilation During COVID-19
2022 09 Aug
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many hospitals in the U.S. exceeded their mechanical ventilation capability. As COVID-19 spread to communities with limited immunity, challenges associated with providing surge mechanical ventilation were reported. Hospitals, healthcare systems, and jurisdictional authorities purchased more ventilators. But the fear that the... Read more
The Influence of COVID-19 on Intensivist Wellbeing
2022 09 Aug
The COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging for healthcare systems around the world. In particular, the pandemic has resulted in critical care staffing shortages and has affected the quality of care. In this review, the researchers examine the emergency response of hospitals to the pandemic and how it influenced the well-being of frontline intensivists.... Read more
Capnodynamic Monitoring to Assess PEEP in COVID-19
2022 02 Aug
Optimal positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) level during mechanical ventilation for COVID-19 pneumonia remains debated. A third of experts in a recent consensus statement supported a low-level PEEP for COVID-19-related acute respiratory failure (C-ARDS), with half of the panel remaining neutral without agreement on PEEP titration. However, the... Read more
Is Nursing Without a Mask Strange?
2022 22 Jul
Before I go on my annual leave, I thought I'd drop a line. Last week I did my first shift in a little private hospital in my hometown. When I arrived on the ward, I called in at the Sister's office. As I headed towards her door, I realised I was the only nurse wearing a mask. I was still in my civilian clothes, and as I said, my mask was... Read more
Impact of COVID on violence against healthcare – report published by ICN, ICRC, IHF and WMA
2022 19 Jul
Survey results show that the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened violence against healthcare, with a documented increase of incidents in many countries. Health personnel and their patients, as well as healthcare facilities and ambulances, are subject to persistent acts of violence in all regions of the world. The results of a global survey conducted... Read more
Association of COVID-19 Pandemic Measures and Cancer Screening
2022 19 Jul
According to GLOBOCAN estimates, 19.3 million new cancer cases and 10 million cancer deaths occurred in 2020 due to breast, colorectal, and cervical cancer, the first, third, and seventh-most prevalent cancers worldwide. Cancer screening programmes help detect cancer at early stages and can lead to decreased mortality. In the past few years, cancer... Read more
Neurologic Manifestations of COVID-19
2022 19 Jul
Approximately 10-15% of patients with COVID-19 require ICU treatment. Respiratory failure and multi-organ dysfunction are the most common indications for ICU admission. However, nearly 1/3 of COVID-19 patients also present with neurologic manifestations. Neurologic manifestations are believed to predict mortality and functional outcome. While there... Read more
#ECR2022: Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Radiology
2022 14 Jul
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared a public health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO) in January 2020. Radiologists have played a critical role in patient management and COVID-19 diagnosis since the beginning of this pandemic. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) remains the standard of reference for COVID-19 detection.... Read more
Extended Prone Positioning for COVID-19 ARDS
2022 12 Jul
COVID-19 has resulted in an estimated 270,000 hospitalisations in ICUs in Europe between May 2020 and March 2022. Nearly 80% of these patients have required tracheal intubation and invasive mechanical ventilation. While there is still an ongoing debate whether acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) physiopathology is the same in COVID-19 and non-COVID-19... Read more
Hospitals-on-FHIR: Preparing Hospitals for European Health Data Space
2022 08 Jul
Hospitals and other healthcare organisations are where health data is predominantly created. If the European Health Data Space (EHDS) is to become a reality for citizens, both via supporting primary use as well as secondary use of health data, data located in these organisations needs to be able to be shared. Experts, industry, and EU-funded projects... Read more
How Digitisation is Transforming the MedTech Talent Landscape
2022 08 Jul
An overview of the process of digitisation in the medical device industry and important questions that organisations should ask to best prepare for the digital disruption ahead. Key Points Digitisation is in full swing for the medical device industry and will continue to disrupt the sector throughout the 2020s. This has created a need... Read more
Artificial Intelligence and Radiomics at the University of Florence
2022 08 Jul
This paper provides an overview of current research at the Department of Radiology of the University of Florence. It concerns radiomics along with Artificial Intelligence (AI) applied to various medical fields. The need for personalised medicine and the transition from qualitative to quantitative imaging are at the heart of the projects... Read more
Network Modernisation: The Key to the Future of Healthcare
2022 08 Jul
In the post-COVID era, network modernisation will be key for healthcare organisations as they continue to introduce Internet of Things devices to their operations- in fact, it must underpin every institution’s roadmap towards digital transformation. Key Points Outdated networks can act as roadblocks and trying to adapt them to modern demand... Read more
Response to PEEP in COVID-19 ARDS With & Without ECMO
2022 05 Jul
There have been conflicting results concerning lung recruitability of COVID-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and the use of techniques derived from changes in respiratory mechanics and/or gas exchange in response to positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) increase. Various factors may explain the heterogeneity of reports regarding recruitability... Read more
COVID-19 Vaccines Prevented 20 Million Deaths Worldwide
2022 28 Jun
Findings from the first modelling study to quantify the impact of COVID-19 vaccines show that nearly 19.9 million out of a potential 31.4 million deaths were prevented in the first year (December 2020-December 2021) after the introduction of the vaccine. The findings are based on data from 185 countries using COVID-19 death records and total excess... Read more
Omicron Has Half the Risk of Long COVID Compared to Delta
2022 21 Jun
New research shows that the Omicron variant is less likely to cause Long-COVID compared to the Delta variant. The findings are published in The Lancet. This is the first peer-reviewed study to report the risk of Long-COVID associated with the Omicron variant. As per the NICE guidelines, Long-COVID is defined as new or ongoing symptoms four weeks... Read more
COVID-19 Lockdown and Weight Changes
2022 21 Jun
It has been speculated that the COVID-19 stay-at-home orders and shutdown of public places may have resulted in weight gain and increased rates of obesity. A recent survey reported that 60% of adults had gained a mean of 5.6 kg in body weight. However, another meta-analysis suggested much smaller gains at about 1.57 kg. The findings are hence quite... Read more
Early Deep Sedation in Mechanically Ventilated COVID-19 Patients
2022 20 Jun
Sedation management is a critical component when managing mechanically ventilated patients. It is important to use a protocol-driven approach, which favours paired spontaneous awakening (SAT) and breathing (SBT) trials, along with light levels of sedation. The initial period of respiratory failure in the emergency department and the first 48 hours... Read more
FDA Approves COVID-19 Vaccine for Children Under Five
2022 19 Jun
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given emergency use authorisation to the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines for children under five. Vaccine advisors at the CDC have voted unanimously in support of the measure. As a result, the COVID-19 vaccine can now be given to children as young as six months old. The Pfizer vaccine is good for... Read more
#EA22: Long-Term Exposure to Air Pollution Increases Risk of Severe COVID-19
2022 07 Jun
New research presented at Euroanaesthesia 2022 finds that long-term exposure to air pollution is linked to a greater risk of severe COVID-19. Findings from the study show that people living in counties with higher levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) were more likely to need ICU care and mechanical ventilation if they had COVID-19. Long-term exposure... Read more