Devastating pregnancy outcomes in the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: This study analyzed pregnancy outcomes in postpartum women who were infected with COVID-19 during their pregnancy in resource-limited settings during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study included all pregnant women with COVID-19 at a tertiary referral hospital in Surabaya, Indonesia, from June to August 2021. Patients were classified according to clinical presentation into asymptomatic-mild, moderate, and severe-critical. Data regarding their basic maternal characteristics, clinical symptoms, delivery, and neonatal outcomes were collected and analyzed across these severity levels through ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis, or Mann-Whitney U test by incorporating SPSS Statistics software version 29.0. RESULTS: During the second wave of COVID-19 in Indonesia, a total of 184 COVID-19 cases were reported, with high mortality rate (22%). Only 26.6% of these cases were asymptomatic-mild, and the remaining 73.4% had more severe conditions. The severe-critical group had significantly lower gestational age, slower onset of diseases/symptoms, and higher maternal death proportions than the other two groups (P < 0.001). Clinical symptoms, vital signs, and inflammatory markers (NLR, CRP, and procalcitonin) were also significantly worse in the severe-critical group than in the other groups (P < 0.05). Consequently, severe cases showed a higher cesarean section rate (P = 0.034), lower birth weight, lower Apgar score, higher incidence of perinatal deaths (P < 0.001), and higher incidence of neonatal support (P = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: The study's findings specified the devastating consequences of second wave of COVID-19 in a resource-limited setting. Focus on improving the health system and health facilities' capacity is warranted to anticipate all possibilities of other pandemics in the future.

Chromogenic reactions of tertiary amines with polycarboxylic acids and acetic anhydride: carbon suboxide as the reactive species in the malonic acid reagent.

Analytical methods based on the title reactions are reviewed, and the malonic acid-acetic anhydride system was selected for detailed study. It is postulated that carbon suboxide, O = C = C = C = O, formed by the action of acetic anhydride on malonic acid, is the effective reactive species in this system. Carbon suboxide was prepared and identified, and spectrophotometric observations of its reactions with tertiary amines are described. Aliphatic and aromatic tertiary amines generate colored products upon reaction with carbon suboxide in the presence of acetic anhydride. It was found that aliphatic tertiary amines form colors upon reaction with carbon suboxide in the absence of acetic anhydride, whereas aromatic tertiary amines require the presence of acetic anhydride.

A pharmacokinetic comparison of cephalexin and cefadroxil using HPLC assay procedures.

The pharmacokinetics of cephalexin and cefadroxil were compared following single 500 mg oral doses to 12 healthy male volunteers. Doses were administered after an overnight fast according to a crossover design. Plasma and urinary levels of both compounds were determined by HPLC procedures. Cephalexin was absorbed rapidly, achieving a mean peak plasma level of 17.5 micrograms ml-1 at 1 h, compared to 16 micrograms ml-1 at 1.8 h for cefadroxil. Elimination half-lives of cephalexin and cefadroxil were 0.7 and 1.1 h, respectively. The area under the cefadroxil plasma curve was significantly larger than that for cephalexin. However, after allowing for differences in elimination rate constants and assuming equal distribution volumes, plasma data indicated the compounds were equally well absorbed. Only 70 per cent of cefadroxil was recovered in urine compared to 87 per cent of cephalexin during the 12 h following drug administration. The therapeutic significance of the different pharmacokinetic characteristics of cephalexin and cefadroxil, if any, may be a function also of their pharmacologic activity and/or the sensitivity of the target organism.