The Association of Seasonal Variations and COVID-19 Clinical Features: A Comparative Study on the Fourth and Fifth Waves.

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has overwhelmed many healthcare systems. Seasonality is a feature of several infectious diseases. Studies regarding the association of seasonal variations and COVID-19 have shown controversial results. Therefore, we aimed to compare COVID-19 characteristics and survival outcomes between the fourth and fifth waves in Iran, which corresponded to spring and summer, respectively. Methods: This is a retrospective study on the fourth and fifth COVID-19 waves in Iran. One hundred patients from the fourth and 90 patients from the fifth wave were included. Data from the baseline and demographic characteristics, clinical, radiological, and laboratory findings, and hospital outcomes were compared between the fourth and fifth COVID-19 waves in hospitalized patients in Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex, Tehran, Iran. Results: The fifth wave patients were more likely to present with gastrointestinal symptoms than the patients from the fourth wave. Moreover, patients in the fifth wave had lower arterial oxygen saturation on admission (88% vs. 90%; P = 0.026), lower levels of WBCs (neutrophils and lymphocytes) (6300.00 vs. 8000.00; P = 0.004), and higher percentages of pulmonary involvement in the chest CT scans (50% vs. 40%; P < 0.001). Furthermore, these patients had longer hospital stays than their fourth-wave counterparts (7.00 vs. 5.00; P < 0.001). Conclusions: Our study indicated that patients in the summer COVID-19 wave were more likely to present with gastrointestinal symptoms. They also experienced a more severe disease in terms of peripheral capillary oxygen saturation, percentages of pulmonary involvement in CT scans, and length of hospital stay.

The Efficacy Of Ginger And Doxedetomidine In Reducing Postoperative Nausea And Vomiting In Patients Undergoing Abdominal Hysterectomy.

BACKGROUND: Nausea and vomiting are the most common complaints of patients after any general anesthesia, which are often accompanied by postoperative pain. Previous studies showed that ginger and dexmedmoidine can reduce postoperative nausea and vomiting. Therefore, the effectiveness of ginger was compared with dexmedmoidine for prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting. METHODS: This randomized clinical trial study was performed on 92 patients who had abdominal hysterectomy in a double-blind evaluation. In this study, 92 patients were randomly divided into two equal groups of dexmedmotidine and ginger. In the ginger group, 1 gr of ginger was given orally before and after the anesthesia and in the second group, 25 mg of dexmedmotidine was slowly injected before surgery. Finally, after the operation, the questionnaire was completed for patients and the data obtained from the questionnaires were analyzed by SPSS19 software. RESULTS: There was a significant difference between the two groups of dexmodetomidine and ginger in terms of scorpion vomiting in recovery and 2 hours after operation. Vomiting scores were significantly lower in the ginger group than dexmodetomidine group (P = .02 and P = .03). However, no significant difference was defined between the two groups 4 hours after operation, and the scoring was reported to be zero in both groups. Moreover, a decreased level of nausea was observed in the ginger group as compared to the of dexmedetomidine group. CONCLUSION: Both dexmedmotidine and ginger are effective in reducing postoperative nausea and vomiting. But the effect of ginger is greater than that of dexmodetomidine.