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Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 has become a public health concern with a high number of fatalities. Thalidomide can target inflammatory mediators and decrease inflammation in SARS-CoV-2. Materials and Methods: An open-label, randomized controlled trial was conducted on patients with compatible lung high-resolution computed tomography scan for COVID-19 pneumonia and moderate involvement. Childbearing-age women were excluded. A total of 20 patients in the control group receiving usual treatment were compared with 26 patients in the case group who in addition to the same regimen also received thalidomide. The primary outcome was time for clinical recovery (TTCR) and intensive-care unit (ICU) admission. Results: From April 25 to August 8, 2020, based on the inclusion criteria, 47 patients were assigned to the study. Patients receiving thalidomide had a mean TTCR of days 5.5 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.7–10.3), as compared with days 5.3 (95% CI, 1.7–8.9) with control (odds ratio 0.01; 95% CI, −1.58–1.59, P = 0.807). The incidence of ICU admission was 27% in the thalidomide group compared with 20% in the control group (odds ratio 3.89; 95% CI, 0.55–27.4, P = 0.425). The mean length of stay in hospital in both groups was 10 days. Progressive improvement in respiratory rate, fever, and O2 saturation during the study was seen in both groups without a significant difference between the thalidomide and control group (P > 0.05). Conclusion: This study investigated the effects of thalidomide to treat moderate COVID-19 clinical outcomes. The results established that this drug regimen did not add more effect to usual treatment for moderate COVID-19 pneumonia.

Background: The intensive care unit is one of the most critical parts of the hospital, where the services provided to patients are of great importance. Because nurses have a high volume of work and should respond to patients at the earliest time, the existence of a curriculum is essential. Therefore, proper planning can reduce their fatigue and dissatisfaction caused by the high volume of work. Materials and Methods: In this research, all activities performed by nurses in the intensive care unit during different shifts for patients, their timing and their GERT network were drawn. The time of each activity was calculated in 4 optimistic time, most likely time, average time and pessimistic time. Also, the total time of activities that can be done by a nurse for one patient from the beginning to the end of the shift can be calculated based on these four modes and an innovative method was used for planning the nursing activities. Results: The results showed that the total time spent by nurses is significantly different. Therefore, with the help of the proposed algorithm, the activities were allocated to nurses in a way that it created a time equilibrium and significantly reduced the standard deviation and time domain of assigned activities. Conclusion: The proposed method showed that it is better to allocate patientschr('39') work to nurses instead of allocating the patient to the nurse. This will cause all nurses with a fairly equal workload, which can increase the satisfaction of nurses and increase the quality of service.

Background: The intensive care unit is one of the most critical parts of the hospital, where the services provided to patients are of great importance. Because nurses have a high volume of work and should respond to patients at the earliest time, the existence of a curriculum is essential. Therefore, proper planning can reduce their fatigue and dissatisfaction caused by the high volume of work. Materials and Methods: In this research, all activities performed by nurses in the intensive care unit during different shifts for patients, their timing and their GERT network were drawn. The time of each activity was calculated in 4 optimistic time, most likely time, average time and pessimistic time. Also, the total time of activities that can be done by a nurse for one patient from the beginning to the end of the shift can be calculated based on these four modes and an innovative method was used for planning the nursing activities. Results: The results showed that the total time spent by nurses is significantly different. Therefore, with the help of the proposed algorithm, the activities were allocated to nurses in a way that it created a time equilibrium and significantly reduced the standard deviation and time domain of assigned activities. Conclusion: The proposed method showed that it is better to allocate patients' work to nurses instead of allocating the patient to the nurse. This will cause all nurses with a fairly equal workload, which can increase the satisfaction of nurses and increase the quality of service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]