COVID‐19 healthcare workers (HCW) require frequent hand‐washing and personal protective equipment(PPE) to prevent infection. However evidence is emerging that these practices are causing adverse effects on their skin integrity. A single centre cross sectional study of HCW from an Irish hospital was undertaken to evaluate the degree of COVID‐19 related dermatitis between April and May 2020. Out of 270 participants surveyed, 223(82.6%) reported symptoms of dermatitis. Hands were the most commonly affected site(76.47%) and the most frequently reported symptom was dry skin(75.37%). 268(99.26%) HCW increased hand‐washing frequency, however 122(45.35%) denied using emollients. 24.7% of the dermatitis group cited a history of dermatitis compared to 4.3% of unaffected staff.(p <0.001)The dermatitis group recorded PPE usage for an average of 3.15 hours versus the non‐dermatitis group at 1.97 hours(p = 0.211). Promoting awareness of COVID‐19 related dermatitis is vital to highlight prevention and treatment for our frontline staff.

Adverse 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; ecstasy) effects are usually ascribed to neurotransmitter release in the central nervous system. Since clinical features such as fasciculations, muscle cramps, rapidly progressing hyperthermia, hyperkalemia, and rhabdomyolysis point to the skeletal muscle as additional target, we studied the effects of MDMA on native and cultured skeletal muscle. We addressed the question whether malignant hyperthermia (MH)-susceptible (MHS) muscle is predisposed to adverse MDMA reactions. Force measurements on muscle strips showed that 100 M MDMA, a concentration close to that determined in some MDMA users, regularly enhanced the sensitivity of skeletal muscle to caffeine-induced contractures but did not cause contractures on its own. The left-shift of the dose-response curve induced by MDMA was greater in normal than in MHS muscle. Furthermore, MDMA did not release Ca 2ϩ from isolated sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles. These findings do not support the view of an MH-triggering effect on muscle. However, MDMA induced Ca 2ϩ

ObjectiveThis study investigated seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG antibodies, using the Abbott antinucleocapsid IgG chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay (CMIA) assay, in five prespecified healthcare worker (HCW) subgroups following the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.SettingAn 800-bed tertiary-level teaching hospital in the south of Ireland.ParticipantsSerum was collected for anti-SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid IgG using the Abbott ARCHITECT SARS-CoV-2 IgG CMIA qualitative assay, as per the manufacturer’s specifications.The groups were as follows: (1) HCWs who had real-time PCR (RT-PCR) confirmed COVID-19 infection (>1-month postpositive RT-PCR); (2) HCWs identified as close contacts of persons with COVID-19 infection and who subsequently developed symptoms (virus not detected by RT-PCR on oropharyngeal/nasopharyngeal swab); (3) HCWs identified as close contacts of COVID-19 cases and who remained asymptomatic (not screened by RT-PCR); (4) HCWs not included in the aforementioned groups working in areas determined as high-risk clinical areas; and (5) HCWs not included in the aforementioned groups working in areas determined as low-risk clinical areas.ResultsSix of 404 (1.49%) HCWs not previously diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection (groups 2–5) were seropositive for SARS-CoV-2 at the time of recruitment into the study.Out of the 99 participants in group 1, 72 had detectable IgG to SARS-CoV-2 on laboratory testing (73%). Antibody positivity correlated with shorter length of time between RT-PCR positivity and antibody testing.Quantification cycle value on RT-PCR was not found to be correlated with antibody positivity.ConclusionsSeroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in HCWs who had not previously tested RT-PCR positive for COVID-19 was low compared with similar studies.

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Background It is recognized that healthcare workers (HCWs) are at high risk of contracting Covid-19. It is incumbent on occupational health staff to recognize potential symptoms of Covid-19 among HCWs. Aims The aims of the study were to describe the presenting symptoms of HCWs who developed Covid-19 in Ireland, and to estimate the odds of specific symptoms being associated with a positive Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) result. Methods A retrospective chart review of all symptomatic HCWs who self-presented for Covid-19 testing in Cork from March to May 2020 was conducted. A sex-matched case–control study was carried out to compare presenting features among those who tested positive compared to those who tested negative. Univariate and multivariable-adjusted conditional logistic regression models were run using Stata 15.0 to identify the symptoms associated with positive Covid-19 swab results. Results Three hundred and six HCWs were included in the study; 102 cases and 204 controls. Common presenting features among cases were fever/chills (55%), cough (44%) and headache (35%). The symptoms which were significantly associated with a positive Covid-19 swab result were loss of taste/smell (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 12.15, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.36–108.79), myalgia (aOR 2.36, 95% 1.27–4.38), fatigue (aOR 2.31, 95% CI 1.12–4.74), headache (aOR 2.11, 95% CI 1.19–3.74) and fever/chills (aOR 1.88, 95% CI 1.12–3.15). Conclusions Fever, fatigue, myalgia, loss of taste/smell and headache were associated with increased odds of a Covid-19 diagnosis among symptomatic self-referred HCWs compared with those had negative swab results. Testing criteria for HCWs should reflect the broad range of possible symptoms of Covid-19.