Mask wearing has been on the rise in recent months as experts have stated that masks provide a critical barrier that can help prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2. While at the start of the pandemic, there were concerns that physicians and healthcare workers did not have access to enough personal protective equipment (PPE), the potential impact of such … [Read more...]
Protecting Healthcare Workers: New Data on Mask Wearing
The Pandemic is Leading to Increased Levels of Broken Heart Syndrome
New data have shown that patients with acute coronary syndrome have suffered broken heart syndrome, also known as stress cardiomyopathy or takotsubo syndrome, at higher rates during the COVID-19 pandemic than before the pandemic. These results have been published in JAMA Network Open and, according to the authors, highlight the significant stress … [Read more...]
Acute Kidney Failure in COVID-19 Patients
Acute kidney failure has been observed frequently in patients with COVID-19 and tends to occur to respiratory failure. It is associated with poor prognosis in patients who suffer it. Research has begun to focus on characterizing acute kidney injury that occurs in COVID-19 so that its implications can be better understood and so that it can be … [Read more...]
Measures to Identify Moral Injury Endured by Healthcare Workers
The term ‘moral injury’ originated in the military as a way to describe psychological stress caused by events that are interpreted as unjust. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the term is being applied to refer to the emotionally difficult and unique circumstances that healthcare providers are facing, and there is significant concern that … [Read more...]
ACE Inhibitors Do Not Seem to Interact With COVID-19
Given the discovery that the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE-2) – a key protein in the renin-angiotensin system – is the receptor through which SARS-CoV-2 enters cells, physicians and scientists have been concerned that patients taking ACE inhibitors may be more vulnerable to COVID-19. A study was therefore undertaken to investigate any … [Read more...]