Association of Early Favipiravir Use with Reduced COVID-19 Fatality among Hospitalized Patients

Background: The antiviral agent favipiravir is an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) inhibitor. Materials and Methods: We examined patients with a clinical, laboratory, and radiological diagnosis of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia. We investigated the effect of administering enteral favipiravir at a 2 × 1,600 mg loading dose and 2 × 600 mg maintenance dose for 5 days in addition to the standard COVID-19 treatment. Results: In total, 180 patients, who were hospitalized at the Istanbul Tuzla State Hospital and received favipiravir treatment between March 20, 2020 and May 30, 2020, were examined. Of these, 47 patients died. Thirty-three of the patients who died were aged over 65 years (70%), indicating that fatality was higher in elderly patients. Most of those who died had at least one comorbidity. Of the 101 patients who initiated favipiravir within ≤3 days of hospitalization, 17 died (17%). Of the 79 patients who initiated favipiravir after >3 days of hospitalization, 30 died (38%) (P = 0.002). Conclusion: We found that initiation of favipiravir within the first 72 h after the onset of disease symptoms reduced fatality in patients with COVID-19.

Prevalence of Burnout Syndrome among Clinical Nurses Working at State Hospital, Ijaye, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria

Even though burnout syndrome is detected in professionals from various areas, prevalence is particularly high in service and care workers, especially health and care ones. Among those, nurses have been the subject of several studies, because they experience constant stressful labour situations, working in direct contact with patients who have different expectations and degrees of suffering. It is, therefore, necessary to conduct a study to determine the prevalence of the symptoms of burnout among nurses in hospitals in an effort to anticipate the negative impact of burnout on hospital nursing services. Consequently, this study aims to determine the level, knowledge and prevention among clinical nurses. A descriptive design was adopted for this study which was conducted in State Hospital, Ijaye, Abeokuta. A total of 100 respondents were used for the study, a stratified sampling technique was used to select the participants. A modified, structured, closed-ended questionnaire was used. Analysis was presented in tables, charts and percentages. Nearly all the causes listed in the questionnaire were seen as factors causing burnout in clinical nurses (99% of working long hours). 96%: from patients and families. Furthermore, it was found out that the majority of the nurses agreed to items listed in the questionnaire as things a nurse can do to prevent burnout, establishing social support; 94%, set goals for self; 99% etc. This implies that the majority of the nurses know what they can do to prevent burnout. Aside from free study grants, job opportunities that are most likely to attract young people, what can be done to retain nurses are to improve job satisfaction, patient safety, quality of health care and quality of life for both nurses and patients.