Factors Influencing Viral Clearance in Mild COVID-19 and Clinical Characteristics of Asymptomatic Patients.

BACKGROUND: The outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has become a global public health emergency. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the characteristics and outcomes of patients with COVID-19 in Anhui and to identify predictors of viral clearance. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the data collected from discharged patients with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections. We compared clinical features between viral clearance and viral persistence, and evaluated factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 shedding using multiple linear regression. RESULTS: Among the 83 patients involved in the study, the median age was 43 years, while 60.2% were male, 35.4% had comorbidities, and the mortality was zero. The median time from illness onset to admission was 5 days (interquartile range (IQR), 2-7 days), and the median time from the illness onset to SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection was 16 days (IQR, 13-18 days). The factors influencing viral clearance were as follows: (1) delayed admission (beta 1.057, 95% CI 0.810-1.304; p ≤ 0.001) and (2) underlying comorbidities (beta 1.907, 95% CI 0.198-3.616; p = 0.029). No significant differences were observed in the length of stay (p = 0.246) and pneumonia between asymptomatic and symptomatic patients based on computed tomography (CT) (p = 0.124). CONCLUSIONS: Delayed admission and underlying comorbidities may effectively predict SARS-CoV-2 RNA clearance. For those infected with SARS-CoV-2, even asymptomatic patients without any clinical symptoms should be traced and isolated. This practice may reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and slow the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the virus. Clinical Trial Registration Number: This trial is registered with 2020-051.

Application of geometric morphometrics in ancient human remains / 解剖学报

Based on the data collection and analysis of the sample landmarks, the geometric morphological method shows great prospect in the study of human remains. The purpose of this paper is to briefly outline the application of geometric morphological method in research of human remains and gives an outlook on the application of the method in the study of ancient children.

[Increasing the executive rate of standard central venous catheter care].

The purpose of this project was to increase the executive rate of standard nursing care of central venous catheters. The average rating of the procedure used by our nurses in caring for central venous catheters in our unit was 58.5%. Reasons why our rating failed to reach 100% included: (1) there was no clear, detailed explanation of the aseptic technique of standard nursing care of central venous catheters; (2) nurses were too busy to complete the detailed steps necessary to the procedure; (3) nurses were unfamiliar with standard nursing care of central venous catheters. Observation, analysis, literature review and discussions with the Infection Control Team were the measures we adopted to improve the standard nursing care of central venous catheters in our unit. Through the application of what we learned we increased our average rating of standard nursing care of central venous catheters to 100%.