Asymptomatic infection and atypical manifestations of COVID-19: Comparison of viral shedding duration Dear Editor, Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) bears several challenging problems, including insidious symptom onset, subclinical manifestations and highly transmissible property during early stage of infection. 1 In the recent study by Huang et al., SARS-CoV-2infection presented strong infectivity during the incubation period with rapid transmission. 2 Some patients with COVID-19 are asymptomatic, while others complain of atypical symptoms including loss of smell and taste sense. 3 However, there is insufficient data on the prevalence of asymptomatic infection and atypical manifestations of COVID-19. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the prevalence of asymptomatic infection, anosmia (smell loss) and ageusia (taste loss) among patients with mild COVID-19 in a residential treatment center (RTC). We also compared the duration of SARS-CoV-2 viral shedding between groups with different clinical manifestations. An observational cohort study was conducted for 199 patients with COVID-19 in a RTC at Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk province, Republic of Korea (ROK). The RTC was introduced to care patients with mild COVID-19 for the efficient distribution of limited medical resources during large epidemic in early March 2020. Data on demographic findings, symptoms, and duration of viral shedding were collected. The patients were interviewed about initial symptoms and their duration in detail. Real-time PCR (RT-PCR) to detect SARS-CoV-2 was performed every 2-7 days. Duration of viral shedding was considered as time from diagnosis date to the day before first negative conversion of two consecutive negative results of RT-PCR. RT-PCR was conducted using Allplex 2019-nCoV assay (Seegene, Seoul, South Korea). Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 20.0 program. Mann-Whitney U test was performed to compare the duration of viral shedding between groups with different clinical manifestations. P-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Korea University Guro Hospital (approval number: 2020GR0135). Among 199 patients with COVID-19, male was 34.7% and mean age of the patients was 38.0 years (Table 1). Most patients (187, 94.0%) were healthy without chronic medical conditions. Among 199 patients, 26.6% were asymptomatic. In the early study, asymptomatic cases accounted for 10.7% (3/28) of COVID-19 cases in the ROK. 1 Asymptomatic proportion of COVID-19 was estimated as 17.9% (95% credible interval, 15.5-20.2%) on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, Japan. 4 Among clinical manifestations, cough (41.2%) was most common, followed by rhinorrhea and nasal stuffiness (30.2%). Of note, 26.1% (52/199) of patients presented anosmia, and 22.6% (45/199) complained of ageusia. Thirty-eight (19.1%) patients complained of both anosmia and ageusia. Duration of anosmia and

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Introduction: Behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia are very common in acute care. Agitation and aggressive behaviours are the most common symptoms and are challenging to manage. Early detection and a nonpharmacological approach are recommended. Objectives: To implement evidence-based recommendations for the prevention and management of aggression/agitation in patients with dementia in an acute geriatric care unit. Methods: The project used the JBI Practical Application of Clinical Evidence System and Getting Research into Practice audit and feedback tool. A baseline audit was conducted with seven audit criteria based on evidence summaries. It was followed by the implementation of an action plan and a follow-up audit. Results: Results showed moderate improvements in compliance with best practice recommendations. The second audit indicated an improvement up to 46% with the identification of factors/triggers that precipitate aggression/agitation and completion of a risk assessment. The highest improvement was the training of the nursing team (79%). Compliance with the involvement of patients and their families in the care planning improved slightly (14%). The lowest improvement was for the development and implementation of individualized care plans (10%). Conclusion: The project implementation achieved some positive changes. A formalized process for preventing aggression/agitation is in place. The interprofessional collaboration, the support given to the nursing team and the basket of nonpharmacological interventions were strengthened. The electronic documentation and a limited collaboration of the nursing team were challenging. As further strategies were implemented, further audit would be required to assess achievement in change and/or demonstration of improved care provided for this vulnerable population.

Background: Prompt recognition of sepsis is critical to improving patients’ outcomes. We compared the performance of NEWS and qSOFA scores as sepsis detection tools in patients admitted to the emergency department (ED) with suspicion of sepsis. Methodology: A single-center 12-month retrospective study comparing NEWS using the recommended cut-off of ≥5 and qSOFA as sepsis screening tools in a cohort of patients transported by emergency medical services (EMS) to the Lausanne University Hospital (LUH). We used the Sepsis-3 consensus definition. The primary study endpoint was the detection of sepsis. Secondary endpoints were ICU admission and 28-day all-cause mortality. Results: Among 886 patients admitted to ED by EMS for suspected infection, 556 (63%) had a complete set of vital parameters panel enabling the calculation of NEWS and qSOFA scores, of whom 300 (54%) had sepsis. For the detection of sepsis, the sensitivity of NEWS > 5 was 86% and that of qSOFA ≥ 2 was 34%. Likewise, the sensitivities of NEWS ≥ 5 for predicting ICU admission and 28-day mortality were higher than those of qSOFA ≥ 2 (82% versus 33% and 88% versus 37%). Conversely, the specificity of qSOFA ≥ 2 for sepsis detection was higher than that of NEWS ≥ 5 (90% versus 55%). The negative predictive value of NEWS > 5 was higher than that of qSOFA ≥ 2 (77% versus 54%), while the positive predictive value of qSOFA ≥ 2 was higher than that of NEWS ≥ 5 (80% versus 69%). Finally, the accuracy of NEWS ≥ 5 was higher than that of qSOFA ≥ 2 (72% versus 60%). Conclusions: The sensitivity of NEWS ≥ 5 was superior to that of qSOFA ≥ 2 to identify patients with sepsis in the ED and predict ICU admission and 28-day mortality. In contrast, qSOFA ≥ 2 had higher specificity and positive predictive values than NEWS ≥ 5 for these three endpoints.

Background: Early detection of delirium among home-dwelling older patients is a substantial challenge for home health care providers. Despite an abundance of literature, recent studies still describe a widespread lack of knowledge about delirium and its underdetection in all types of health care settings. Aims and objectives: This study aimed to assess the knowledge of community health care nurses (CHNs) about delirium in the Switzerland's French-speaking region. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study involving 75 CHNs was conducted between February and July 2015. Data were collected using an autoadministered questionnaire based on the study by Malenfant and Voyer, exploring theoretical knowledge of delirium and its detection using clinical vignette case studies. Outcomes were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: Forty-eight CHNs participated in the study; nearly all of them (44; 94%) selected the correct definition of delirium, and most (36; 78%) knew its four principal diagnostic criteria. Only 16 (34%) participants selected the confusion assessment method (CAM) as the recommended best practice delirium detection tool. Only 19 (40%) and 23 (49%) participants were able to correctly identify hypoactive and hyperactive delirium, respectively, from the clinical vignette case studies. The average score of CHNs on the Malenfant and Voyer's questionnaire was 12.7 (SD 3.2). Conclusion: Participants showed moderate-to-low knowledge about delirium. The study identified a lack of knowledge on how to recognize the signs and symptoms of delirium and the absence of suitable delirium detection tools.