Repercussions of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Emergency Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at a Referral Hospital in Portugal

Objective. COVID-19 has spread worldwide and Portugal decreed the State of Emergency on March 18th, 2020. During this period, the population was encouraged to stay at home. Still, there were no restrictions on access to health care. Therefore, we aimed to compare the major causes for attending the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Emergency Department (ED) from a referral centre (Maternidade Dr. Alfredo da Costa, in Lisbon). Materials and Methods. Several variables were collected and compared between two periods of time: from 19th March to 2nd April 2020 and the same period of 2019. Results. During the COVID-19 pandemic period, 49.4% fewer patients visited the ED. We observed a higher number of urgent patients and hospitalization rate than previous year. Conclusions. We experienced a reduction number of admissions to the Obstetrics and Gynaecology ED, but apparently the severity of cases that visited the ED increased.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Systemic risk factors of dry eye disease subtypes:A New Zealand cross-sectional study

PURPOSE: To evaluate systemic risk factors of dry eye disease, aqueous tear deficiency, and meibomian gland dysfunction. METHODS: Three hundred and seventy-two community residents (222 females, 150 males; mean ± SD age, 39 ± 22 years) were recruited in a cross-sectional study. Past medical history, dry eye symptomology, ocular surface characteristics, and tear film quality were evaluated for each participant within a single clinical session. The diagnosis of dry eye disease, aqueous tear deficiency, and meibomian gland dysfunction were based on the global consensus recommendations of the Tear Film and Ocular Surface Society's Dry Eye Workshop II (TFOS DEWS II) and International Workshop on Meibomian Gland Dysfunction. RESULTS: Overall, 109 (29%) participants fulfilled the TFOS DEWS II criteria for dry eye disease, 42 (11%) had aqueous tear deficiency, and 95 (26%) had meibomian gland dysfunction. Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that systemic rheumatologic disease and antidepressant medication were independently associated with aqueous tear deficiency (both p < 0.05). Significant risk factors for meibomian gland dysfunction included age, East Asian ethnicity, migraine headaches, thyroid disease, and oral contraceptive therapy (all p ≤ 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Both etiological subtypes of dry eye disease were associated with a number of systemic risk factors. These findings would support routine systemic inquiry of dry eye disease and associated systemic conditions and medications, in order to facilitate opportunistic screening and timely inter-disciplinary referral where necessary

Electron Transmission Spectroscopy in Atomic Hydrogen

An electron transmission experiment is used to study the resonances in the total scattering cross section of atomic hydrogen below the threshold of the first excited state. The three lowest resonances, designated 1S, 3P, and 1D, are observed and their energies and decay widths are found to be in good agreement with the values predicted theoretically using close coupling with correlation

Negative ions in electron impact excitation of He near 60 eV

An experimentally verifiable effect on the excitation cross section in helium due to the broad (2s2p2) 2Se He- state predicted by Fano and Cooper in 1965, but hitherto unidentified, and other He- states, are predicte

Post-operative changes in the capsulorhexis aperture: a prospective, randomised comparison between loop and plate haptic silicone intraocular lenses.

PURPOSE: There is disagreement regarding whether the capsulorhexis aperture always decreases or may increase post-operatively. The aim of this study was to settle the controversy concerning loop haptic silicone lenses and to learn more of the dynamics of the capsulorhexis relating to plate haptic lenses. METHODS: We performed a prospective randomised study comparing the post-operative changes in capsulorhexis aperture in two groups of eyes implanted with either plate or loop haptic silicone intraocular lenses. All the surgery was performed, at a teaching hospital in the United Kingdom, by a single surgeon, using a standard technique of phacoemulsification. Patients were reviewed at 2 weeks and 6 months post-operatively. Digital retroillumination images of the anterior segment were captured. The area of the capsulorhexis aperture was determined by manually detecting its edge on a computer monitor. RESULTS: Forty-eight cases were randomised. The groups were comparable for demographic variables and mean initial aperture size (p &gt; 0.05). There was an 8.4% mean decrease in aperture size for the loop haptics, contrasting with 4.5% expansion for the plate haptics (p &lt; 0.05). Sixty-five per cent of patients with the plate haptic underwent enlargement of the aperture, contrasting with 25% for the loop haptic lens (p &lt; 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Silicone lenses with plate haptics undergo expansion of the capsulorhexis aperture more frequently than those with Prolene loop haptics