Tag: COVID-19

Bacterial contamination of HCWs smartphones before, during COVID-19

Editor's Note This German study finds that bacterial contamination of healthcare workers’ (HCWs’) smartphones can be a source of cross-contamination, and cleaning intensity increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Of 295 HCWs (99 in 2012 and 196 in 2021) from 26 wards comprising 19 different specialties included in the analysis, bacterial…

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By: Judy Mathias
April 4, 2022
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Healthcare employment up in March

Editor's Note Overall healthcare employment in the US was up in March to a seasonally adjusted 16,192,400 workers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on April 1. That’s up 8,300 since February. Hospital employment also was up by 5,100 jobs. The overall unemployment rate for March was 3.6%, for a…

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By: Judy Mathias
April 4, 2022
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Report: Hospital margins declined during pandemic, not yet recovered

Editor's Note Hospital margins are off to a rough start this year, reports Becker’s Hospital Review March 30. According to a March 28 report by Kaufman Hall, the “median operating margin for hospitals and health systems” was down by 11.8% compared to February 2021 and by 42.4% compared to February…

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By: Tarsilla Moura
March 31, 2022
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Protection against COVID-19 after vaccination, previous infection

Editor's Note This study from the UK finds that two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine were associated with high short-term protection, but this protection waned considerably after 6 months; whereas, infection-acquired immunity boosted with vaccination remained high more than 1 year after COVID-19 infection. Of 35,768 participants analyzed, 9,488 (27%)…

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By: Judy Mathias
March 31, 2022
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Risk factors for COVID-19 in HCWs

Editor's Note This French study finds that contact with COVID-19 patients was not the highest risk of COVID-19 in healthcare workers (HCWs). Of 3,234 HCWs enrolled in the study, 120 (3.8%) contracted COVID-19. The highest risk factors were contact with relatives or other HCWs  with COVID-19. Multivariate analysis showed that…

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By: Judy Mathias
March 31, 2022
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Study links COVID-19 to greater diabetes risk

Editor's Note This cohort study by researchers at the VA Saint Louis Health Care System and Saint Louis University finds that after the first 30 days of infection, COVID-19 patients have increased risks and burdens of incident diabetes and antihyperglycaemic use. A total of 181,280 COVID-19 patients in the US…

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By: Judy Mathias
March 30, 2022
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NIOSH rescinds approval for Pacific PPE N95 respirator masks

Editor's Note The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) announced on March 28 that it had honored a request by Pacific PPE Corp to rescind all of its N95 respirator mask approvals, effective immediately. Respirators with NIOSH approval numbers TC-84A-9278, TC-84A-9299, and TC-84A-9313 will no longer be manufactured,…

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By: Judy Mathias
March 30, 2022
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FDA: Class I recall of certain Celltrion USA COVID-19 test kits labeled for research use only

Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on March 23, identified the recall by Celltrion USA of certain point of care DiaTrust COVID-19 Ag Rapid Test kits (labeled for research use only) as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because the kits were distributed to customers…

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By: Judy Mathias
March 29, 2022
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Racial disparities in COVID-19 outcomes of cancer patients

Editor's Note This multi-center study by cancer centers across the US finds that having cancer and COVID-19 is associated with worse outcomes in Black patients compared with White patients. Of 3,506 patients included in the analysis, 1,068 (30%) were Black and 2,438 (70%) were White. At the time of COVID-19…

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By: Judy Mathias
March 28, 2022
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Impact of supply chain crisis on surgical services

What happens when global supply chains—which are already typically operated lean across the board—are hit with a once-in-a-century pandemic? An ongoing, collective lesson in economics. The problem is not hard to understand: COVID-19 shutdowns brought manufacturing to a near standstill, during which time the demand for goods increased, and now there…

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By: Carisa Brewster
March 25, 2022
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