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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of transarterial embolization in COVID-19 patients with an arterial bleeding and to investigate differences between various patient groups concerning survival., Method: We retrospectively reviewed COVID-19 patients undergoing transarterial embolization due to an arterial bleeding in a multicenter study from April 2020 to July 2022 and analyzed the technical success of embolization and survival rate. 30-day survival between various patient groups was analyzed. The Chi- square test and Fisher's exact test were used for testing association between the categorical variables., Results: 53 COVID-19 patients (age: 57.3 ± 14.3 years, 37 male) received 66 angiographies due to an arterial bleeding. The initial embolization was technically successful in 98.1% (52/53). In 20.8% (11/53) of patients, additional embolization was necessary due to a new arterial bleeding. A majority of 58.5% (31/53) had a severe course of COVID-19 infection necessitating ECMO-therapy and 86.8% (46/53) of patients received anticoagulation. 30-day survival rate in patients with ECMO-therapy was significantly lower than without ECMO-therapy (45.2% vs. 86.4%, p = 0.004). Patients with anticoagulation did not have a lower 30-day survival rate than without anticoagulation (58.7% vs. 85.7%, p = 0.23). COVID-19 patients with ECMO-therapy developed more frequently a re-bleeding after embolization than non-ECMO-patients (32.3% vs. 4.5%, p = 0.02)., Conclusions: Transarterial embolization is a feasible, safe, and effective procedure in COVID-19 patients with arterial bleeding. ECMO-patients have a lower 30-day survival rate than non-ECMO-patients and have an increased risk for re-bleeding. Treatment with anticoagulation could not be identified as a risk factor for higher mortality., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

The structural proteins of coronaviruses portray critical information to address issues of classification, assembly constraints, and evolutionary pathways involving host shifts. We compiled 173 complete protein sequences from isolates belonging to the four genera of the subfamily Coronavirinae. We calculate a single matrix of viral distance as a linear combination of protein distances. The minimum spanning tree (MST) connecting the individuals captures the structure of their similarities. The MST re-capitulates the known phylogeny of Coronovirinae. Hosts were mapped onto the MST and we found a non-trivial concordance between host phylogeny and viral proteomic distance. We also study the chimerism in our dataset through computational simulations. We found evidence that structural units coming from loosely related hosts hardly give rise to feasible chimeras in nature. This work offers a fresh way to analyze features of SARS-CoV-2 and related viruses., Competing Interests: Virginia Abdala is Academic Editor for PeerJ., (©2022 Dos Santos et al.)

Purpose: During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, higher education worldwide had to switch to digital formats. The purpose of this study was to evaluate CoRad-19, a digital teaching tool created by the German Radiological Society for medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic., Materials and Methods: A total of 13 German-speaking universities implemented CoRad-19 in their curriculum and partially or completely replaced their classes with the online courses. Previous experience and contact with radiology and the participants' opinions regarding the medium of e-learning were surveyed using a custom questionnaire. The subjective level of knowledge regarding the individual modules was also surveyed before and after participation to measure learning effects. The data of 994 medical students from the participating sites were analyzed and compared intraindividually using the Friedman test., Results: From 4/1/2020-10/1/2020, 451 complete data sets from a total of 994 surveys were included. E-learning was rated "very useful" both before and after course participation (4 [IQR 3-4], p = 0.527, r = 0.16). E-learning as a method was also rated as a "very good" medium both before and after participation (4 [IQR 3-4], p = 0.414, r = 0.17). After participation, participants rated radiology as particularly suitable for digital teaching (before: 3 [IQR 3-4] vs. after 4 [IQR 3-4], p = 0.005, r = 0.6). Significant learning gains were measurable in all course modules (p ≤ 0.009). Post-hoc analysis showed interest in radiology to increase significantly after course participation (p = 0.02)., Conclusion: In the representative survey, significant learning effects were observed in all course modules. In addition, it should be particularly emphasized that the students' interest in radiology was increased by course participation. Thus, the German Radiological Society provided significant support to German-speaking medical faculties with respect to maintaining excellent education using CoRad-19., Key Point: · Co-Rad-19 course participation results in measurable subjective learning effects and increases student interest in radiology.., Citation Format: · Brendlin AS, Molwitz I, Oechtering TH et al. CoRad-19 - Modular Digital Teaching during the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic. Fortschr Röntgenstr 2022; 194: 644 - 651., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Thieme. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many researchers have developed artificial intelligence (AI) tools to differentiate COVID-19 pneumonia from other conditions in chest CT. However, in many cases, performance has not been clinically validated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of commercial AI solutions in differentiating COVID-19 pneumonia from other lung conditions., Methods: Four commercial AI solutions were evaluated on a dual-center clinical dataset consisting of 500 CT studies; COVID-19 pneumonia was microbiologically proven in 50 of these. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and AUC were calculated. In a subgroup analysis, the performance of the AI solutions in differentiating COVID-19 pneumonia from other conditions was evaluated in CT studies with ground-glass opacities (GGOs)., Results: Sensitivity and specificity ranges were 62-96% and 31-80%, respectively. Negative and positive predictive values ranged between 82-99% and 19-25%, respectively. AUC was in the range 0.54-0.79. In CT studies with GGO, sensitivity remained unchanged. However, specificity was lower, and ranged between 15 and 53%. AUC for studies with GGO was in the range 0.54-0.69., Conclusions: This study highlights the variable specificity and low positive predictive value of AI solutions in diagnosing COVID-19 pneumonia in chest CT. However, one solution yielded acceptable values for sensitivity. Thus, with further improvement, commercial AI solutions currently under development have the potential to be integrated as alert tools in clinical routine workflow. Randomized trials are needed to assess the true benefits and also potential harms of the use of AI in image analysis., Key Points: • Commercial AI solutions achieved a sensitivity and specificity ranging from 62 to 96% and from 31 to 80%, respectively, in identifying patients suspicious for COVID-19 in a clinical dataset. • Sensitivity remained within the same range, while specificity was even lower in subgroup analysis of CT studies with ground-glass opacities, and interrater agreement between the commercial AI solutions was minimal to nonexistent. • Thus, commercial AI solutions have the potential to be integrated as alert tools for the detection of patients with lung changes suspicious for COVID-19 pneumonia in a clinical routine workflow, if further improvement is made., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Purpose: To evaluate the association between the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and post-inflammatory emphysematous lung alterations on follow-up low-dose CT scans., Methods: Consecutive patients with proven COVID-19 infection and a follow-up CT were retrospectively reviewed. The severity of pulmonary involvement was classified as mild, moderate and severe. Total lung volume, emphysema volume and the ratio of emphysema/-to-lung volume were quantified semi-automatically and compared inter-individually between initial and follow-up CT and to a control group of healthy, age- and sex-matched patients. Lung density was further assessed by drawing circular regions of interest (ROIs) into non-affected regions of the upper lobes., Results: A total of 32 individuals (mean age: 64 ± 13 years, 12 females) with at least one follow-up CT (mean: 52 ± 66 days, range: 5-259) were included. In the overall cohort, total lung volume, emphysema volume and the ratio of lung-to-emphysema volume did not differ significantly between the initial and follow-up scans. In the subgroup of COVID-19 patients with > 30 days of follow-up, the emphysema volume was significantly larger as compared to the subgroup with a follow-up < 30 days (p = 0.045). Manually measured single ROIs generally yielded lower attenuation values prior to COVID-19 pneumonia, but the difference was not significant between groups (all p > 0.05)., Conclusion: COVID-19 patients with a follow-up CT >30 days showed significant emphysematous lung alterations. These findings may help to explain the long-term effect of COVID-19 on pulmonary function and warrant validation by further studies., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Objectives: To find out the opinion of radiological inpatient and outpatient medical staff regarding the measures taken in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic during the first and second waves and to identify the measures that are still perceived as needing improvement., Materials and Methods: We conducted an anonymous online survey among more than 10 000 radiologists/technicians in Germany from January 5 to January 31, 2021. A total of 862 responses (head physicians, n = 225 [inpatient doctors, n = 138; outpatient doctors, n = 84; N/A, n = 3]; radiologic personnel, n = 637 [inpatient doctor, n = 303; outpatient doctor, n = 50; inpatient technician, n = 217; outpatient technician, n = 26; N/A, n = 41]) were received. Questions of approximation, yes/no questions, and Likert scales were used., Results: During the first/second wave, 70 % (86/123)/43 % (45/104) of inpatient and 26 % (17/66)/10 % (5/52) of outpatient head physicians agreed that they received financial support from the authorities but the majority rated the financial support as insufficient. During the first and second wave, 33 % (8/24) and 80 % (16/20) of outpatient technicians agreed that they were adequately provided with personal protective equipment. The perceived lack of personal protective equipment improved for all participants during the second wave. Inpatient [outpatient] technicians perceived an increased workload in the first and second wave: 72 % (142/198) [79 % (19/24)] and 84 % (146/174) [80 % (16/20)]., Conclusion: Technicians seem increasingly negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. Financial support by the competent authorities seems to be in need of improvement., Key Points: · The accessibility of personal protective equipment resources improved in the second wave.. · In particular, radiology technicians seem increasingly negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.. · Financial and consulting support from the government could be improved.., Citation Format: · Bernatz S, Afat S, Othman AE et al. Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Radiology in Inpatient and Outpatient Care in Germany: A Nationwide Survey Regarding the First and Second Wave. Fortschr Röntgenstr 2022; 194: 70 - 82., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Thieme. All rights reserved.)

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic led to far-reaching restrictions of social and professional life, affecting societies all over the world. To contain the virus, medical schools had to restructure their curriculum by switching to online learning. However, only few medical schools had implemented such novel learning concepts. We aimed to evaluate students' attitudes to online learning to provide a broad scientific basis to guide future development of medical education., Methods: Overall, 3286 medical students from 12 different countries participated in this cross-sectional, web-based study investigating various aspects of online learning in medical education. On a 7-point Likert scale, participants rated the online learning situation during the pandemic at their medical schools, technical and social aspects, and the current and future role of online learning in medical education., Results: The majority of medical schools managed the rapid switch to online learning (78%) and most students were satisfied with the quantity (67%) and quality (62%) of the courses. Online learning provided greater flexibility (84%) and led to unchanged or even higher attendance of courses (70%). Possible downsides included motivational problems (42%), insufficient possibilities for interaction with fellow students (67%) and thus the risk of social isolation (64%). The vast majority felt comfortable using the software solutions (80%). Most were convinced that medical education lags behind current capabilities regarding online learning (78%) and estimated the proportion of online learning before the pandemic at only 14%. In order to improve the current curriculum, they wish for a more balanced ratio with at least 40% of online teaching compared to on-site teaching., Conclusion: This study demonstrates the positive attitude of medical students towards online learning. Furthermore, it reveals a considerable discrepancy between what students demand and what the curriculum offers. Thus, the COVID-19 pandemic might be the long-awaited catalyst for a new "online era" in medical education., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Copyright of Revista Foco (Interdisciplinary Studies Journal) is the property of Revista Foco and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The structural proteins of coronaviruses portray critical information to address issues of classification, assembly constraints, and evolutionary pathways involving host shifts. Wecompiled 173 complete protein sequences from isolates belonging to the four genera of the subfamily Coronavirinae. We calculate a single matrix of viral distance as a linear combination of protein distances. The minimum spanning tree (MST) connecting the individuals captures the structure of their similarities. The MST re-capitulates the known phylogeny of Coronovirinae. Hosts were mapped onto the MST and we found a non-trivial concordance between host phylogeny and viral proteomic distance. We also study the chimerism in our dataset through computational simulations. We found evidence that structural units coming from loosely related hosts hardly give rise to feasible chimeras in nature. This work offers a fresh way to analyze features of SARSCoV-2 and related viruses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Saúde Coletiva is the property of MPM Comunicacao and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)