Introduction. Understanding the symptoms associated with COVID-19 cases that require intensive care unit (ICU) attention is important in management of the life threatening case of the disease. Method : This study was carried out with the aim of determining the laboratory indicators of ICU admission. Data from 126 COVID-19 patients (ICU patients, n = 18, Non-ICU, n = 98) were analyzed from a Caribbean Territory.Results: The median age for the non-ICU patients was 59.0 (IQR = 23.5) years while the ICU patients had a median age of 62.5 (IQR = 17.5). The univariate analysis indicted that laboratory indicators that were significantly associated with ICU admission included WBC (P = 0.037), lymphocyte (P = 0.016), LDH (P = 0.002), AST (P = 0.005) and CRP (P = 0.0001). However, multivariate analysis that included WBC, neutrophil, lymphocyte, PLT, AST, LDH, ALT, and CRP indicated that only AST was associated with high odds of patients being admitted to ICU (OR .002, 95% CI 0.000-.004, P = 0.017). Statistically significant area under the curve (AUC) were obtained for Neutrophil (AUC = 0.704, P = 0.007), CRP (AUC = 0.81, p= 0.00) and LDH (AUC=0.766, P= 0.00) and AST (AUC= 0.729, P= 0.003). Conclusion: The findings indicate that neutrophils, AST and LDH’s ROC curves are good tests while CRP curve is a very good test. However, lymphocyte curve is a poor test for determining COVID-19 patient for ICU admission. Neutrophil, AST, LDH and CRP are suitable predictors of COVID-19 patients that should receive ICU care
Background. COVID-19 vaccine acceptance is important in ensuring the widespread vaccination of the population to achieve herd immunity. Establishing the acceptance of vaccines among healthcare workers, who play a vital role in an immunization program’s success, is important. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of social trust and demographic factors on COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among healthcare workers. Methods. A cross-sectional survey utilizing an electronic questionnaire inquiring about COVID-19 vaccine uptake, preferences, and concerns was distributed via e-mail to 1,351 North Central Regional Health Authority (NCRHA) healthcare workers of the following categories: medical practitioners, nursing personnel, veterinary surgeons, medical interns, dental interns, paramedics, and pharmacists. These professions were selected as they were granted power to administer COVID-19 vaccines during the period of public emergency by the President of Trinidad and Tobago and were therefore likely to be NCRHA healthcare workers directly involved in vaccine administration services. Bivariate analysis using Chi-squared analysis of association was used to determine the association between the respondents’ characteristics and the acceptance of the vaccine and the association between vaccine acceptance among healthcare workers and trust. The association between the acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccines and healthcare workers’ characteristics and trust was established using multinomial logistic regression. Results. A total of 584 healthcare workers took part in the study, and 1.4% showed unwillingness to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The study indicates that age, profession, trust in international public health organizations, and trust in other healthcare providers predict the uptake of COVID-19 vaccines among healthcare workers, with younger age groups and the nursing profession associated with an unwillingness to accept the vaccine. Gender of the healthcare workers does not predict vaccine acceptance. Conclusions and relevance: efforts towards enhanced vaccine acceptance among healthcare workers should take into consideration age, profession, and the trust in international organizations and other healthcare providers. Sensitization programs aimed at informing and creating awareness among healthcare workers about the COVID-19 vaccines should be age-specific as well as occupation-based.
BackgroundCOVID-19 vaccine acceptance is important in ensuring the widespread vaccination of the population to achieve herd immunity. Establishing the acceptance of vaccines among healthcare workers, who play a vital role immunization program success, is important. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of social trust and demographic factors on COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among healthcare workers.MethodsA cross-sectional survey utilizing an electronic questionnaire inquiring about COVID-19 vaccine uptake, preferences, and concerns was distributed via email to 1,351 North Central Regional Health Authority (NCRHA) healthcare workers of the following categories: medical practitioners, nursing personnel, veterinary surgeons, medical interns, dental interns, paramedics, and pharmacists. These professions were selected as they were granted power to administer COVID-19 vaccines during this period of public emergency by the President of Trinidad and Tobago and were therefore likely to be NCRHA healthcare workers directly involved in vaccine administration services. 584 participants returned a completed questionnaire. Bivariate analysis using Chi-square analysis of association was used to determine the association between the respondents’ characteristics and the acceptance of the vaccine and the association between vaccine acceptance among healthcare workers and trust. The association between the acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccines and healthcare workers’ characteristics and trust was established using multinomial logistic regression.ResultsA total of 584 healthcare workers took part in the study and 1.4% showed unwillingness to receive COVID-19 vaccine. The study indicates that age, profession, and the trust in international organizations and other healthcare providers predict the uptake of COVID-19 vaccines among healthcare workers. However, gender of the healthcare workers does not predict vaccine acceptance.Conclusions and RelevanceEfforts towards enhanced vaccine acceptance among healthcare workers should take into consideration age, profession, and the trust in international organizations and other healthcare providers. Sensitization programs should be age-specific as well as occupation-based.
Background: The purpose of the study is to determine the epidemiology of COVID-19 in a Caribbean Territory by the characterisation of patients in terms of, the numbers, socio demographics and associated co-morbidities. This comparison was done between local cases and imported cases. There have been no prior studies on COVID-19 in the Caribbean and as such this paper attempts to discuss the patterns associated with COVID-19 patients in the Caribbean. Methods: This study determined the epidemiology of COVID-19 in a Caribbean territory using retrospective data. Analysis was performed using Excel and SPSS v23. Results: The majority of patients were female (61.9%) vs male (38.0%). The majority of the population were between 45 -64 yrs (43.4%) followed by above 65 at 28.8%. Cough was the most common presenting complaint at 44.9%, with fever being second 37.1%. The majority of female participants had a travel history at 61.9%, while males were 38.0 %. The occurrence of cough was high among both local cases (46.4%) and imported cases (47.6%). Conclusions: These patterns can inform clinicians and other health care workers on the unique findings associated with COVID-19 positive patients especially those in the Caribbean region
Vaccine hesitancy due to safety concerns is a hindrance to the success of vaccination campaigns. In February 2021, Trinidad and Tobago commenced its National COVID-19 Vaccination Program. Healthcare workers were among the first group to receive the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (Oxford–AstraZeneca (Covishield, Serum Institute of India, Pune, India), the first COVID-19 vaccine available nationally. This study examined the safety of this vaccine in terms of the systemic and local adverse events following immunization reported by healthcare worker recipients. A cross-sectional study was conducted via a telephone questionnaire. Data concerning demographics, medical and COVID-19-related anamneses, and local and systemic side effects experienced within the first 48 h after receiving the first and second dose of this vaccine, respectively, were gathered. Among the 687 participants (male = 275; female = 412), prevalence of fever, body pain, chills, nausea, myalgia, headache, malaise, fatigue, and other systemic symptoms declined significantly 48 h after administration of the second dose compared to the first dose. Chi-square test and multiple logistic regression demonstrated the greater likelihood of younger recipients to report systemic symptoms compared to older recipients. Multiple logistic regression indicated that females were more likely to report headache, fatigue, and discomfort, and were less likely to report no symptoms, compared to males, after both doses. On average, recipients reported less local and systemic side effects 48 h after receiving the second dose compared to the first dose. The reported rate of occurrence of side effects was <50% for most adverse events, which is consistent with the manufacturer’s claims that the vaccine is safe. This study adds data on the safety of this vaccine in a population that has not been previously studied. The findings can inform public health policy efforts to lower vaccine hesitancy based on safety concerns surrounding the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine across various groups in society, including healthcare workers.
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