Project description:To understand and analyse the global impact of COVID-19 on outpatient services, inpatient care, elective surgery, and perioperative colorectal cancer care, a DElayed COloRectal cancer surgery (DECOR-19) survey was conducted in collaboration with numerous international colorectal societies with the objective of obtaining several learning points from the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on our colorectal cancer patients which will assist us in the ongoing management of our colorectal cancer patients and to provide us safe oncological pathways for future outbreaks.
Project description:The main objective of this study is to offer and evaluate an interim triage approach for patients waiting for surveillance colonoscopies. This will reduce the waiting period and the psychological stressors for our patients and from a scientific point of view allow us to compare the yield of findings for each approach.
Project description:To curb the spread of the coronavirus, China implemented lockdown policies on January 23, 2020. The resulting extreme changes in human behavior may have influenced the air pollutants concentration. However, despite these changes, hazy weather persisted in Shanghai and became a public issue. This study aims to investigate air pollutant mass concentration changes during the lockdown in Shanghai. Air pollutant mass concentration data and meteorological data during the pre-lockdown period and the level I response lockdown period were analyzed by statistical analysis and a Lagrangian particle diffusion model. The data was classified in three periods: P1 (pre-lockdown: 10 days before the Spring Festival), P2 (the first 10 days after lockdown: during the Spring Festival celebration), and P3 (the second 10 days after lockdown: after the Spring Festival). Data for the same period in 2019 were used as a reference. The results indicate that the Spring Festival holiday in 2019 resulted in a reduction in energy consumption, which led to a decrease in PM2.5 (26.4%) and NO2 (43.41%) mass concentration, but an increase in ozone mass concentration (31.39%) in P2 compared with P1. The integrated effect of the Spring Festival holiday and lockdown in 2020 resulted in a decrease in PM2.5 (36.5%) and NO2 (51.9%) mass concentrations, but an increase in ozone mass concentration (43.8%) in P2 compared with P1. After the Spring Festival, the mass concentrations of PM2.5, SO2, and NO2 increased by 74.41%, 5.52%, and 53.28%, respectively in P3 compared with P2 in 2019. However, PM2.5 and SO2 concentrations in 2020 continued to decrease, by 14.74% and 4.61%, respectively, while NO2 mass concentration increased by 7.82% in P3 compared with P2. We also found that PM2.5 mass concentration is susceptible to regional transmission from the surrounding cities. PM2.5 and other gaseous pollutants show different correlations in different periods, while NO2 and O3 always show a strong negative correlation. The principal components before the Spring Festival in 2019 were O3 and NO2, and after the Spring Festival, they were PM2.5 and CO, while the principal components before the lockdown in 2020 were PM2.5 and CO, and during lockdown they were O3 and NO2.
Project description:Due to COVID 19 (Corona virus disease)pandemic, majority of surgeries, including surgery for cancer patients got delayed across the globe. Surgeries were limited to emergency set up only. At our institute we tried to perform colorectal cancer surgeries through out the pandemic, albeit in less numbers, as we thought cancer in itself is an emergency setting. we are planning to analyse the prospectively managed database of this particular group of patients over a period of last six 6 months and look out at 30 day post operative morbidity and mortality. Besides we will try to analyse the implications of our decision to carry on with cancer surgeries in terms of number of health care workers who got infected while being involved in primary care of these patients.
Project description:Biofilm (BF) growth is believed to play a major role in the development of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in the intensive care unit. Despite concerted efforts to understand the potential implication of endotracheal tube (ETT)-BF dispersal, clinically relevant data are lacking to better characterize the impact of its mesostructure and microbiological singularity on the occurrence of VAP. We conducted a multicenter, retrospective observational study during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, between March and May 2021. In total, 64 ETTs collected from 61 patients were included in the present BIOPAVIR study. Confocal microscopy acquisitions revealed two main morphological aspects of ETT-deposited BF: (1) a thin, continuous ribbon-shaped aspect, less likely monobacterial and predominantly associated with Enterobacter spp., Streptococcus pneumoniae or Viridans streptococci, and (2) a thicker, discontinuous, mushroom-shaped appearance, more likely characterized by the association of bacterial and fungal species in respiratory samples. The microbiological characterization of ETT-deposited BF found higher acquired resistance in more than 80% of analyzed BF phenotypes, compared to other colonization sites from the patient's environment. These findings reveal BF as a singular microbiological compartment, and are of added clinical value, with a view to future ETT-deposited BF-based antimicrobial stewardship in critically ill patients. Trial registration NCT04926493. Retrospectively registered 15 June 2021.
Project description:Stagnant water can cause water quality deterioration and, in particular, microbiological contaminations, posing potential health risks to occupants. University buildings were unoccupied with little water usage during the COVID-19 pandemic. It's an opportunity to study microbiological quality of long-term stagnant water (LTSW) in university buildings. The tap water samples were collected for three months from four types of campus buildings to monitor water quality and microbial risks after long-term stagnation. Specifically, the residual chlorine, turbidity, and iron/zinc were disqualified, and the heterotrophic plate counts (HPC) exceeded the Chinese national standard above 100 times. It took 4-54 days for these parameters to recover to the routine levels. Six species of pathogens were detected with high frequency and levels (101-105 copies/100 mL). Remarkably, L. pneumophilia occurred in 91% of samples with turbidity > 1 NTU. The absence of the culturable cells for these bacteria possibly implied their occurrence in a viable but non-culturable (VBNC) status. The bacterial community of the stagnant tap water differed significantly and reached a steady state in more than 50 days. Furthermore, a high concentration of endotoxin (>10 EU/mL) was found in LTSW, which was in accordance with the high proportion of dead bacteria. The results suggested that the increased microbiological risks require more attention and the countermeasures before the building reopens should be taken.
Project description:The aim of this study was to assess the gene expression profil of skin chilblain-like lesions that appeared during the COVID-19 pandemic and to compare it with seasonal chilblain and healthy skin
Project description:Lifespan Cancer Institute serves over 50% of cancer patients in the state. Rhode Island is known for strong medical care and high rates of cancer screening with mammography and colonoscopy. However, cancer screening has plummeted during the COVID-19 pandemic, in part to closing physician offices and stopping non-urgent medical procedures. In addition, anecdotal reports suggest the public remains concerned about returning to physician’s offices and risking possible exposure to COVID-19. As in the United States as a whole, COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted ethnic and minority individuals within underserved communities; and in Rhode Island, African Americans, Hispanics and undocumented individuals living in communities such as Central Falls, Pawtucket, Providence, East Providence and North Providence have had the highest rate of COVID-19. These communities are also impacted by healthcare disparities to access and affordability of healthcare, and as such, may be among the least likely to resume cancer screening.
The Lifespan Cancer Institute will institute a project to address health disparities in cancer screening during the pandemic through the use of a targeted campaign involving social media. The goals will be to re-establish screening in the era of COVID-19 and ensure timeliness of care for those found to be at risk, or are positive for, cancer.