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Found 12 results for "coronavirus disease"
Articles (6)
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Mar 24, 2020
A Fiasco in the Making? As the Coronavirus Pandemic Takes Hold, We Are Making Decisions Without Reliable Data
coronavirus disease, Covid-19, has been called a once-in-a-century pandemic . But it may also
JohnPAIoannidis
8 min
Jun 09, 2020
Op-Ed: To Citizens Wearing Medical Masks: You're Whacko Conspiracy Theorists
Coronavirus Disease": "Unless you are sick, a health care worker, or caring for someone who has COVID
jonrappoport
5 min
Jul 28, 2020
If COVID Fatalities Were 90.2% Lower, How Would You Feel About Schools Reopening?
By H. Ealy, M. McEvoy, M. Sava, S. Gupta, D. Chong, D. White, J. Nowicki
Children's Health Defense
35 min
Mar 31, 2020
Unprecedented Response to COVID-19 by Governments Prohibits Physical Contact and Cripples World Economy
Originally published on www.thevaccinereaction.org After officials at the World Health Organization (WHO) declared on Mar. 11, 2020 that outbreaks of a mutated coronavirus (COVID-19)1 2 had become a...
barbloe2
23 minAbstracts (6)
View allBiochemical Markers as Predictors of Coronavirus Disease-2019 Severity and Intensive Care Unit Admission: A Retrospective Study in Saudi Arabia.
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is an emerging infectious disease that can present with a wide range of symptoms and lead to increased mortality by causing extreme respiratory failure, multiple organ dysfunction, and death. Several biochemical markers have been proposed to predicting the severity of COVID-19 and the consequent need for intensive care unit (ICU) admission. This study provides insight into the role of different laboratory parameters as a minimally invasive method in the prediction of COVID-19 severity and the need for ICU admission. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective observational study included all patients with positive real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) results for COVID-19 who were hospitalized at the Ministry of Health South Al-Qunfudah General Hospital between March and September 30, 2020. Laboratory parameters (white blood cell [WBC] count, lymphocytes, lactate dehydrogenase [LDH], and erythrocyte sedimentation rate [ESR]) levels were evaluated. RESULTS: Biochemical parameters were analyzed in 342 COVID-19 patients, comprising 206 males and 136 females, with a mean age of 54 years. 97 patients had critical illnesses, while 245 had noncritical illnesses. Critical illness was defined as a condition that required intensive care or that resulted in death. Noncritical illnesses did not require intensive care, resulting in recovery. High LDH levels were significantly associated with critical COVID-19 cases compared with noncritical cases. WBC and lymphocyte parameter analyses included 287 patients. Of these, 170 were male and 117 were female. These analyses were conducted under severe conditions. The mean WBC count was significantly higher in the critical cases than in the noncritical cases (11.15 vs. 6.96, P = 0.001). The mean lymphocyte count (LC) was significantly lower in critical cases than in noncritical cases (1.11 vs. 1.89, P = 0.007). Age and sex were not significantly associated with the disease severity or mortality. The ESR parameter analysis included 161 patients. Based on the severity of the condition, there were 63 women. These patients' critical outcomes included 15 patients, while the noncritical outcomes included 146 patients; however, it was not significant to compare critical and noncritical patients, indicating that these parameters cannot be used as biomarkers to predict the severity of COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: We studied the effects of various biochemical markers on the prognosis of COVID-19. Our findings concluded critical COVID-19 is associated with significantly increased WBCs counts, LDH, and decreased LC. The ESR is not a potential biomarker for predicting the severity of COVID-19. It is important to note that the use of biochemical markers to assess severity has been reported in the literature, and further research is required to validate their effectiveness.
Hakami AM, Annals of African medicine
Longitudinal impact of the coronavirus disease pandemic on pediatric adenoidectomy volume and referrals in Japan: A 6-year retrospective study.
OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and public health measures, including emergency declarations and reclassification of COVID-19, on pediatric adenoidectomy (Ad) volume and referrals diagnosed with adenoidal hypertrophy (AH) accompanied by obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and/or otitis media with effusion (OME) in Japan. METHODS: Monthly case volumes from January 2019 to December 2024 were analyzed at a regional tertiary hospital. Trends were assessed for pediatric Ad, new referrals, general anesthesia surgeries (all departments and ENT), and regional COVID-19 cases. Ad cases were classified according to the presence of concomitant tonsillectomy (T) or tympanostomy tube insertion (TTI); referrals based on the presence of OSA or OME symptoms. The annual age trends were also evaluated. RESULTS: General anesthesia surgeries across the hospital and in the adult ENT department declined temporarily during the emergency declarations but rapidly recovered afterward, whereas those in the pediatric ENT department remained below the baseline even after each declaration. Notably, Ad volumes showed no apparent post-declaration recoveries and remained suppressed until 2023, except for a transient increase in summer 2021, followed by a sharp rebound after the COVID-19 reclassification. In 2024, the volumes of Ad with concurrent T and referrals for AH with OSA or OME symptoms both exceeded the pre-pandemic baseline. Surgical age declined during the pandemic, while referral age remained stable until 2023. Both ages increased in 2024. CONCLUSION: The total Ad volume-especially Ad with concurrent T-and referrals for AH with OSA symptoms showed an abrupt decline immediately after the pandemic onset, followed by a sharp recovery exceeding pre-pandemic levels. These findings suggest that public health crises can disrupt elective care for chronic pediatric conditions and that the post-pandemic surge reflects behavioral changes and pent-up demand as well as possible epidemiological alterations in tonsillar tissue dynamics.
Ogawa M, Maruta T, Kamakura T, Otami Y, Sudo T, Fujita H, Fujisawa N, Okamoto S, Yamashita M, Okazaki S, Hosokawa K, Mishiro Y, International journal of pediatric otorhinolaryngology
Association between eosinophil counts and outcomes of severe coronavirus disease 2019 in elderly asthma patients: a prospective cohort study.
BACKGROUND: Given effects of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection on the respiratory system and epidemiological burden of asthma worldwide, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in asthma patients caused reasonable concern to be a "dangerous" combination in early pandemic. This is especially pertinent to elderly patients with asthma since older age, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and hypertension, is associated with more serious complications of COVID-19 and higher mortality. Blood eosinopenia occurs as a part of the total cytopenia at the early stage of severe COVID-19 due to an effect of SARS-CoV-2 virus on the immunity and severe inflammation. Therefore, blood cell count monitoring could be useful for the diagnosis and outcome prediction in COVID-19. The aim of this study was to investigate a relationship between blood eosinophil count and outcomes of COVID-associated lung injury in elderly patients with asthma. METHODS: This was a prospective cohort study involving elderly patients with asthma (>60 years of age, n=131). All patients were admitted to a hospital for COVID-19 from October 1, 2020, to September 30, 2021. Those patients who completed their hospital treatment (were discharged or died) by December, 30, 2021, were enrolled in the study. All the patients were previously diagnosed with asthma according to Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) criteria. The diagnosis of COVID-19 was confirmed by positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, typical clinical symptoms, and radiological signs of multifocal pneumonia. Survived patients were followed up by weekly phone calls for 90 days after discharge. The complete blood count was measured in the whole blood samples obtained at admission. Hazard ratio was calculated using univariable and multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models. RESULTS: In total, 131 patients were enrolled in the study. Eighty-six patients survived, 30 patients died in the hospital, and 15 patients died post-discharge. Common independent predictors of death were the Charlson Comorbidity Index and eosinopenia. Survived patients had higher blood eosinophil count compared to patients who died in the hospital or post-discharge (P=0.001 and P=0.04, respectively). The cut-off eosinophil count was estimated as 100 cells/L; higher eosinophil count was seen in 24% of survivors and in none of non-survivors (P=0.002 and P=0.04, respectively). The absolute eosinophil count was a significant predictor of in-hospital death [odds ratio (OR), 0.64; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.49-0.84; P=0.002] and death post-discharge (OR, 0.78; 95% CI: 0.65-0.95; P=0.01). Median survival, in-hospital and post-discharge, was shorter in patients with eosinophil count ≤100 cells/L (P<0.001 and P=0.04, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Blood eosinophil count could be used as a prognostic marker of outcome in elderly patients with asthma and COVID-associated lung injury. Eosinophil level ≤100 cells/µL could be used as a threshold for predicting poor outcome, both in-hospital and 90-day post-discharge.
Avdeev SN, Gaynitdinova VV, Chikina SY, Merzhoeva ZM, Nuralieva GS, Gneusheva TY, Sokolova ES, Bogatyreva TU, Berikkhanov ZG, Ma Q, Journal of thoracic disease
Incidence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Neutralizing Antibodies in a Rural Community in Western Kenya during the First 24 Months of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic.
Seroreactivity to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antigens was commonly reported in African settings during the early stages of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) are not only correlated with functional protection from disease but also are highly specific responses to the virus. These responses were used to investigate the evolution of virus exposure in a community-based, longitudinal cohort of 504 individuals in rural Western Kenya. Eluates from dried blood spots collected every 3 months from January 2020 to September 2021 were tested for nAbs using a commercial kit. Only 10 individuals developed SARS-CoV-2 nAbs, all of which were clustered in December 2020 (wildtype virus) and September 2021 (delta variant). After seroconversion, all patients seroreverted within 2 months. Despite reports of widespread viral exposure in Western Kenya from 2020 to 2021, the paucity of nAbs highlights the limited natural immunity present when vaccines became available in late 2021 in Kenya.
Gaston DD, Markwalter CF, Grassia JT, Freedman B, Wang LF, Obala AA, O'Meara WP, Taylor SM, The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene
Greater fatigue is more strongly associated with reduced reward sensitivity in the long-term phase of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) than in the early phase.
Background: Fatigue and depressive mood is inherent to acute disease, but a substantial group of people report persisting disabling fatigue and depressive symptoms long after a COVID-19 infection. Infections have been shown to change decisions about engaging in effortful and rewarding activities, but it is currently unclear whether fatigue and depressive symptoms are similarly associated with decision making during early and persistent phases after a COVID-19 infection. Here, we investigated whether fatigue and depressive mood are associated with altered weighting of reward and effort in decision making at different timepoints after COVID-19 infection. Methods: We conducted an online cross-sectional study between March 2021 and March 2022, in which 242 participants (18-65 years) with COVID-19 < 4 weeks ago (n = 62), COVID-19 > 12 weeks ago (n = 81), or no prior COVID-19 (n = 90; self-reported) performed an effort-based decision-making task. In this task, participants accepted or rejected offers in which they could exert physical effort (ticking boxes on screen, 5 levels) to gain rewards (money to be gained in a voucher-lottery, 5 levels). State fatigue and depressive mood were measured with the Profile of Mood States (POMS) prior to the task. We used mixed binomial regression analysis to test whether fatigue and depressive mood were related to acceptance rates for reward and effort levels and whether this differed between the groups. Results: Compared with no COVID-19 and COVID-19 < 4 weeks groups, the COVID-19 > 12 weeks group reported higher state fatigue (mean ± SD: 20 ± 7 vs. 14 ± 7 and 12 ± 6 POMS-score, respectively; both p < 0.001) and was less sensitive to rewards (Reward∗Group: OR: 0.35 (95 %CI 0.20, 0.62), p < 0.001 and OR: 0.38 (95 %CI 0.20, 0.72), p = 0.003). In the COVID-19 > 12 weeks group, fatigue was more negatively associated with reward sensitivity compared to the COVID-19 < 4 weeks group (Reward∗Fatigue∗Group: OR 0.47 (95 %CI 0.25, 1.13), p = 0.022) and the no COVID-19 group (OR 0.48 (95 %CI 4.01, 0.92), p = 0.029). No group differences were observed for the relationship between fatigue and effort sensitivity. There were also no group differences for the relationship between depressive mood and effort or reward sensitivity. Higher age, lower BMI, unhealthy lifestyle, and worrying during the early phase of COVID-19 each predicted lower reward sensitivity in the > 12 weeks group (Age∗Reward: OR 0.30 (95 %CI 0.19, 0.48), p < 0.001; BMI∗Reward: OR 1.43 (95 %CI 1.01, 2.00), p = 0.047); Lifestyle∗Reward: OR 1.50 (95 %CI 1.06, 2.14), p = 0.022; Worrying∗Reward: OR 0.59 (95 %CI 0.38, 0.94), p = 0.025, respectively). Conclusion: The finding that fatigue is related to lower reward sensitivity > 12 weeks after COVID-19 suggests potential reward deficits in post-COVID-19 fatigue. Moreover, higher age, unhealthy lifestyle, and worrying during the early phase of COVID-19 are potential risk factors for developing lower reward sensitivity. These findings are in line with previous observations that long-term inflammation induces dysregulations in neural reward processing, which should be investigated in future studies.
GreenMedInfo, Brain, behavior, & immunity - health
