Despite a growing data set on COVID-19 infection worldwide, there are no published local clinical data that have studied the impact of different aspects of COVID-19 infection in South Africa. Wits University Press is pleased to announce the publication of the COVID-19 Special Issue of the Wits Journal of Clinical Medicine. In this issue many aspects of this viral pandemic in South Africa are reviewed and information and direction is provided for health-care professionals in South Africa.
This journal is OPEN ACCESS and covers a range of aspects of the pandemic, from the clinical to ethical and also the social dynamics of its impact, such as what are the ethical aspects related to the pandemic? For example, in the setting of severe COVID-19 infection; do you resuscitate because the prospect of recovery is slim and risk to a health-care team is very high? Which patients do you admit to already-filled ICUs and who are the decision-makers in this triage process? Prof Kevin Behrens, Director and Head of Discipline of Bioethics at Wits’ Medical School discusses many of these ethical conundrums in his review.
In this country with its vast social disparities, Prof Laurel Baldwin-Ragaven, (Wits Department of Family Health), presents a sobering overview of the social inequalities that exist in South Africa, on how some of these inequalities may play out during this unique situation in our country and what will be our responsibilities, both clinical and social, during this pandemic.
The vexed issue of the burden of HIV and tuberculosis in South Africa and the risk of influenza in HIV-positive patients is dissected by Prof Charles Feldman, of Pulmonology at the Wits Medical School.
This special issue of the journal includes a guide to worldwide Medical Resources on COVID-19, as well as a handy poster-style PATIENT GUIDE.
Commenting on these difficult and somewhat scary times where social media is awash with all sorts of quackery regarding prevention and treatment remedies for COVID-19, Prof Pravin Manga, from the Wits School of Medicine, and Editor-in-chief of the Wits Journal of Clinical Medicine says, “it is during these times that we need to keep rationality and be guided by science rather than by emotion.”
Find the full list of articles on COVID-19 here and below:
- The Journal is OPEN ACCESS under a Creative Commons license. For more information, extracts, or interviews contact Corina van der Spoel, Marketing, Wits University Press on corina.vanderspoel@wits.ac.za
CONTENTS:
Wits Journal of Clinical Medicine – April 2020
Volume 2 , Issue Si1 (article(s) published – 20 April 2020)
- “Editorial” Pravin Manga.
- “Patient guide – COVID 19”
- “COVID-19 resource page”
- “Diagnosis of COVID-19: considerations, controversies and challenges in South Africa” Keertan Dheda, Shameem Jaumdally, Malika Davids, Ju-Wei Chang , Phindile Gina, Anil Pooran, Edson Makambwa, Ali Esmail, Eftyxia Vardas and Wolfgang Preiser.
- “COVID-19 and the rationale for pharmacotherapy: a South African perspective” Guy Richards, Mervyn Mer, Gunther Schleicher and Sarah Stacey.
- “Potential impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection in HIV-positive patients in South Africa” Charles Feldman.
- “Should ACE inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers be withdrawn in the current setting of COVID-19 infection?” Pravin Manga.
- “Clinical ethical challenges in the Covid-19 crisis in South Africa” Kevin G. Behrens.
- “Social dimensions of COVID-19 in South Africa : a neglected element of the treatment plan” Laurel Baldwin-Ragaven.
- “COVID-19 : the concept of herd immunity – is it a strategy for South Africa?” Ismail S. Kalla and Abdullah Laher.
- “COVID-19 preparedness in a neonatal unit at a tertiary hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa” Robin T. Saggers, Tanusha D. Ramdin, Rossella M. Bandini and Daynia E. Ballot.
- “Case study : a patient with asthma, Covid-19 pneumonia and cytokine release syndrome treated with corticosteroids and tocilizumab” Gunter K. Schleicher, Warren Lowman and Guy A. Richards.