Chapters authored
Children Living a Global Pandemic: Anxiety Repercussions
A global pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 is still beaten our world. The disease, termed COVID-19 by the WHO, has a wide range of clinical manifestations, ranging from a mild, self-limiting form of the disease to multiple organ failure and death, forcing governments to take measures to mitigate the transmission and reduce the economic impact. However, the paediatric manifestation appears to take a milder form of the disease but they are not oblivious to the consequences of the disease. They suffered personal and parental lost, broke their social relationships, forced to home confinement, school closures, all of them with secondary implications. As a result, children’s anxiety levels and manifestations have increased during pandemic. To prevent and counteract this situation, measures were implemented like increase physical activity, a balanced diet, and regular sleep pattern; and in relationship sphere use social media to stay in touch with school mates and relatives.
Part of the book: Anxiety, Uncertainty, and Resilience During the Pandemic Period
Usefulness of the Hemogram in COVID-19
SARS-CoV2 infection has devastating consequences on healthcare systems and has caused 3 million deaths by April 2021. Identifying patients at risk of death is a priority. Moderate–severe COVID-19 cases seem to associate a cytokine release that follows endothelial injury, triggering a hyperinflammatory and procoagulant state in which leukocytes and platelets are protagonists. Our group has published some reports about the usefulness of the hemogram in COVID-19. Hemogram-derived ratios, mainly the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and the novelty neutrophil-to-platelet ratio (NPR), obtained on admission and their rate of change during hospitalization, can easily detect patients with high risk of mortality. Hemogram is a tool available to all hospitals and analyzing the hemogram-derived ratios would provide much more information than could be extracted by evaluating the counts in isolation. We now know that in COVID-19 it is essential to start early anti-inflammatory treatment when patient deteriorates and the hemogram could be a good indicator of this situation. More comprehensive studies are needed to determine how useful these hemogram-derived ratios and prognostic scores are. In the next chapter we will present information related to this aspect as well as our group’s research on the usefulness of the hemogram in COVID-19.
Part of the book: Fighting the COVID-19 Pandemic