The global pandemic caused by COVID‐19 has had a significant global impact on healthcare systems. One implication of this pandemic is the cancellation of elective cardiac surgeries and the centralization of services. As a result, hospitals in Europe, North America, and the United Kingdom have had to alter the services offered to patients to be able to cope with service provision for COVID infected patients. Data should be collected during this period to provide a good insight following the lockdown period to understand the implication of such service alteration. Future research should also focus on the effects on long‐term mortality and morbidity as well as financial implications on hospitals as a result of these changes.
Although advances in knowledge and technology have improved outcomes in surgical cardiac patients over the last decade, complications following cardiac operations still remain to be potentially fatal. Gastrointestinal complications, in particular, tend to have high rates of reintervention and mortality following cardiac surgery, with ischemia and hemorrhage being two of the commonest underlying causes. The intention of this review is to identify which risk factors play important roles in predisposing patients to such complications and to gain better insight into the pathogenesis of the sequelae. Furthermore, strategies for prevention have been discussed to educate and increase awareness of how adverse cardiac surgical outcomes can be minimized.
Introduction: Coronavirus Disease 2019 is a contagious infection that has infected millions worldwide. The objective of this systematic review is to identify studies pertaining to antivirals, both as sole and combined therapies, in COVID-19 patients and review the clinical outcomes of these treatment methods. Areas covered: A systematic review was conducted using Preferred Reporting Items or Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. A literature search was done on Medline, Global Health, and EMBASE using keywords and MeSH terms relevant to COVID-19 and antivirals. Limits were put on date to obtain articles between December 2019 to May 2020 (the time at which the search was performed). 776 articles were identified and screened. After screening, 16 studies were included. The narrative synthesis revealed three key themes (1) Use of antivirals only (such as lopinavir, umifenovir, and remdesivir), (2) Use of lopinavir-ritonavir alongside other treatments, and (3) Use of other antivirals in combination with other treatments. Expert opinion: Using antivirals in combination with other treatments has potential; however, further randomized controlled trials with larger sample sizes are required to identify the best candidate components that should comprise combined treatments for COVID-19. This should optimize treatment efficacy and improve patient outcomes.
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