Smart Check - COVID-19 triage system: Evaluation of the impact on the screening time and identification of clinical manifestations of SARS-CoV-2 infection in a public health service.

INTRODUCTION: Most patients with COVID-19 have mild or moderate manifestations; however, there is a wide spectrum of clinical presentations and even more severe repercussions that require high diagnostic suspicion. Vital sign acquisition and monitoring are crucial for detecting and responding to patients with COVID-19. OBJECTIVE: Thus, we conducted this study to demonstrate the impact of using a tool called Smart Check on the triage time of patients with suspected COVID-19 and to identify the main initial clinical manifestations in these patients. METHODOLOGY: We assessed triage times before and after the use of Smart Check in 11 466 patients at Hospital Nossa Senhora da Conceição in Porto Alegre, Brazil, from 1 June to 31 July 2020. In this group, we identified 220 patients for the identification of COVID-19 clinical manifestations in a case-control analysis. RESULTS: Smart Check was able to decrease the triage time by 33 seconds on average (P < .001), with 75% of the exams being performed within 5 minutes, whereas with the usual protocol these steps were performed within 6 minutes. A range of clinical presentations made up the COVID-19 initial manifestations. Those with the highest frequency were dry cough (46.4%), fever (41.3%), dyspnoea (35.8%), and headache (31.8%). Loss of appetite was the manifestation that had a statistically significant association with the SARS-CoV-2 presence (univariate analysis). When analysed together, loss of appetite associated with dyspnoea and/or ageusia and/or fever was related to the diagnosis of COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: Smart Check, a simple clinical evaluation tool, along with the targeted use of rapid PCR testing, can optimise triage time for patients with and without COVID-19. In triage centres, a number of initial signs and symptoms should be cause for SARS-CoV-2 infection suspicion, in particular the association of respiratory, neurological, and gastrointestinal manifestations.

Photoluminescent organisms: how to make fungi glow through biointegration with lanthanide metal-organic frameworks.

We show that filamentous fungi can emit green or red light after the accumulation of particulate lanthanide metal-organic frameworks over the cell wall. These new biohybrids present photoluminescence properties that are unaffected by the components of the cell wall. In addition, the fungal cells internalise lanthanide metal-organic framework particles, storing them into organelles, thereby making these materials promising for applications in living imaging studies.

Monophasic and biphasic shock for transthoracic conversion of atrial fibrillation: Systematic review and network meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Conduct a systematic review of the literature to compare the efficacy of different biphasic and monophasic shock waveforms technologies for transthoracic cardioversion of Atrial Fibrillation (AF). METHODS: We searched PubMed, EMBASE, The Cochrane Library, LILACS and ClinicalTrials.gov databases for randomized clinical trials comparing two or more defibrillation waveforms when performing elective transthoracic cardioversion of AF. The outcomes assessed were 1st shock success, overall success, cumulative energy and number of shocks to restore Normal Sinus Rhythm. RESULTS: Were included 23 trials involving 3046 patients, 5 biphasic and the monophasic waveform. Direct meta-analysis revealed that Biphasic waveforms have higher chance to achieve cardioversion in the 1st shock (OR: 3.2; 95% CI 2.2-4.7) and after a sequence of attempts (OR:2.4; 95% CI 1.5-3.9), requiring 296 less Joules (95% CI 356-237) and 0.74 less shocks (95%CI 1.03-0.44) when compared to Monophasic. Network meta-analysis showed no significant differences between the Biphasic technologies of PhysioControl ADAPTIV, Philips SMART and ZOLL Rectilinear, in any of the four outcomes. CONCLUSION: The evidences points to a Biphasic waveform superiority over Monophasic to perform AF cardioversion, supporting current guidelines to use less energy when using a Biphasic defibrillator. It is suggested that the Biphasic defibrillators from PhysioControl ADAPTIV, Philips SMART and ZOLL Rectilinear have similar efficacy and the use of any of them may result in similar chances, energy and number of shocks to achieve successful AF cardioversion.