Objectives:To assess the efficacy of corticosteroid treatment of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 .

This study aimed to compare clinical courses and outcomes between pregnant and reproductive-aged non-pregnant women with COVID-19, and to assess the vertical transmission potential of COVID-19 in pregnancy. Methods: Medical records of pregnant and reproductive-aged non-pregnant women hospitalized with COVID-19 from January 15 to March 15, 2020 were retrospectively reviewed. The severity of disease, virus clearance time, and length of hospital stay were measured as the primary objective, while the vertical transmission potential of COVID-19 was also assessed. Results: Eighty-two patients (28 pregnant women, 54 reproductive-aged non-pregnant women) with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 were enrolled in this study. Univariate regression indicated no association between pregnancy and severity of disease (OR 0.73, 95% CI 0.08-5.15; p = 0.76), virus clearance time (HR 1.16, 95% CI 0.65-2.01; p = 0.62), and length of hospital stay (HR 1.10, 95% CI 0.66-1.84; p = 0.71). Of the pregnant women, 22 delivered 23 live births, either by cesarean section (17, 60.7%) or vaginal delivery (5, 17.9%), and no neonate was infected with SARS-CoV-2. Conclusions: Pregnant women have comparable clinical courses and outcomes with reproductive-aged non-pregnant women when infected with SARS-CoV-2. No evidence supported vertical transmission of COVID-19 in the late stage of pregnancy, including vaginal delivery.

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Objective This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and related factors of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms among doctors and nurses who were exposed to H7N9 patients during the H7N9 influenza epidemic. To provide scientific basis for promoting the physical and psychological health of these staff members. Method The 102 medical staff workers who were exposed to H7N9 patients were recruited through convenient sampling between January 2015 and May 2016. We used a self-reported questionnaire, the PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C), to evaluate the PTSD symptoms among doctors and nurses from an intensive care unit ( n = 61), a respiratory department ( n = 20), and an emergency department ( n = 21). We then analyzed the related factors. Results Around 20.59% of the tested doctors and nurses showed PTSD symptoms. The sample had a mean PCL-C score of 30.00 ± 9.95. The differences in the scores of doctors and nurses with different genders, ages, professional titles, contact frequencies, trainings, and experiences were statistically significant ( P < 0.05, P < 0.01). Moreover, t-tests and one-way analysis of variance showed that nurses received higher scores than doctors, female participants received higher scores than male participants, and the participants with low professional title and high contact frequency, aged between 20 years and 30 years, with less than five years of work experience, having not received related training and with no related experience obtained higher PCL-C scores than the others ( P < 0.05, P < 0.01). Conclusion The PTSD level of doctors and nurses after their exposure to H7N9 patients was high, which warrant further research. Health and medical institutions should pay attention to the physical and psychological health of these staff members.

Objective This study aimed to investigate the value of high‐flow nasal cannula (HNFC) oxygen therapy in treating patients with severe novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID‐19). Methods The clinical data of 22 patients with severe COVID‐19 were collected. The heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR) and oxygenation index (PO2/FiO2) at 0, 6, 24 and 72 hours after treatment were compared between the HFNC oxygen therapy group and the conventional oxygen therapy (COT) group. In addition, the white blood cell (WBC) count, lymphocyte (L) count, C‐reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT) were compared before and at 72 hours after oxygen therapy treatment. Results The differences at 0 hours between the two groups were not statistically significant. Compared with COT group,in the HFNC oxygen therapy group, HR, RR and PaO2/FiO2 were better at 6 hours after treatment, PaO2/FiO2 was better at 24 and 72 hours. After 72 hours, L and CRP had improved in the HFNC oxygen therapy group compared with the COT group, but the differences in WBC and PCT were not statistically significant. The length of stay in the intensive care unit (ICU) and the total length of hospitalization was shorter in the HFNC oxygen therapy group than in the COT group. Conclusion Compared with COT, early application of HFNC oxygen therapy in patients with severe COVID‐19 can improve oxygenation and RR, and HFNC oxygen therapy can improve the infection indexes of patients and reduce the length of stay in the ICU of patients. Therefore, it has high clinical application value.