Articles

Background:</b> The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared COVID-19 a public health emergency of international concern. In this context, effective and affordable diagnostic procedures are essential for identifying and managing cases. Complete blood counts (CBC) are among the most common and readily available diagnostic tests. The current study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of CBC in diagnosing COVID-19 and identifying cases. <b>Patients and Methods:</b> A case-control study was conducted on 173 patients at Ain Shams University Hospitals over a period of three months. Patients were allocated into two groups according to COVID-19 PCR results: Group 1 included patients with COVID-19 positive PCR, and Group 2 included patients with COVID-19 negative PCR. <b>Results:</b> The study found that differential CBC had significant value in diagnosing COVID-19 disease. Many COVID-19 patients had lymphopenia and leucopenia compared to non-COVID-19 suspected patients. The low values of leukocytes, neutrophils, lymphocytes, and eosinophils with a CBC test were found to be valuable in the initial diagnosis of COVID-19. <b>Conclusion:</b> The definitive diagnosis of COVID-19 requires RT-PCR analysis, which is time-consuming and less accessible. Thus, the initial diagnosis and treatment of patients may be delayed. This study suggests that CBC, which is easily available and affordable, can be valuable in the early identification of COVID-19 cases, allowing for prompt treatment and management.

<b>Background: </b>On the first of October 2018, the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP) launched an initiative; named “100 Million Healthy Lives”, for nationwide screening of hepatitis c virus (HCV) and non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Egypt has the highest prevalence of HCV infection in the world where about 10% of the Egyptian population is affected by the disease. NCDs are the leading cause of mortality in Egypt and account for about 84% of all deaths. This study was conducted to a) Estimate the prevalence of participation in the national campaign on viral hepatitis C and non-communicable diseases among administrative workers in Ain shams University (ASU), b) Estimate the self-reported satisfaction of these participants with the campaign. <b>Subjects and</b> <b>Methods: </b>A cross-sectional study was conducted on 400 administrative workers of ASU faculties between March and August 2019 in Cairo, Egypt. A multistage random sample was done. <b>Results: </b>The study showed that 96% of the study group participated in the campaign. “Evaluating health status” was considered the main reason for participation at 92%, followed by "desire to obtain follow-up card", at 36%. Non-participation rate was about 4% and the main cause of non-participation was “fear of needle prick". About 91% of the participants were satisfied with the provided services. Mass media played a major role in awareness about the campaign for 91% of participants. <b>Conclusions: </b>The majority of the study group participated and was satisfied with the campaign. Mass media played a major role in participant awareness of the campaign.

<b>Background: </b>In December 2019, a cluster of patients with unexplained viral pneumonia was identified in Wuhan, China. Since March 11^th 2020 the WHO declared COVID 19 as a pandemic with rising number of cases all over the world. <b>Aim of the work: </b>The aim of the study was to measure the percentages of possible, probable and provisionally excluded cases among the first 500 attendants of the triage of Ain Shams University Hospital and describe their epidemiological and clinical characteristics. <b>Patients and Methods: </b>This was a retrospective descriptive case series study including the first 500 patients attending the triage of Ain Shams University Hospitals from March 29th to May 31st. A constructed questionnaire in the form of a scoring system was used and data was collected through interviewing the patients after appropriate consent. <b>Results: </b>As regard the scoring system, 72.2% of patients had new onset of cough or old worsened cough in the previous 3 days, 59.2% had sore throat and 59% had dyspnea. Out of the 500 cases 33.2% were probable, 38.2% were possible and 28.2% were provisionally excluded. <b>Conclusion: </b>COVID-19 pneumonia usually occurred at an age younger than 47 years and it was more predominant in the male gender. The most common initial clinical presentations were new dry cough or chronic cough with worsening over the last 3 days, sore throat and/or runny nose and fever. Thirty-eight percent were classified as possible COVID-19 cases, and 33% were classified as probable.