Allergy
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Hypersensitivity pneumonitis is an immune-mediated interstitial lung disease caused by an aberrant response to an inhaled exposure, which results in mostly T cell-mediated inflammation, granuloma formation, and fibrosis in some cases. HP is diagnosed by exposure identification, HRCT findings of ground-glass opacities, centrilobular nodules, and mosaic attenuation, with traction bronchiectasis and honeycombing in fibrotic cases. ⋯ Treatment for HP includes avoidance of the implicated exposure, immunosuppression, and anti-fibrotic therapy in select cases. This narrative review presents the recent literature in the understanding of the immunopathological mechanisms, diagnosis, and treatment of HP.
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The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has evolved into a pandemic infectious disease transmitted by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). Allergists and other healthcare providers (HCPs) in the field of allergies and associated airway diseases are on the front line, taking care of patients potentially infected with SARS-CoV-2. Hence, strategies and practices to minimize risks of infection for both HCPs and treated patients have to be developed and followed by allergy clinics. ⋯ This international Position Paper provides recommendations on operational plans and procedures to maintain high standards in the daily clinical care of allergic patients while ensuring the necessary safety measures in the current COVID-19 pandemic.
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The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a global pandemic, with 10%-20% of severe cases and over 508 000 deaths worldwide. ⋯ Survived severe and nonsurvived COVID-19 patients had distinct clinical and laboratory characteristics, which were separated by principle component analysis. Elder age, increased number of affected lobes, higher levels of serum CRP, chest tightness/dyspnea, and smoking history were risk factors for mortality of severe COVID-19 patients. Longitudinal changes of laboratory findings may be helpful in predicting disease progression and clinical outcome of severe patients.
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The missing asymptomatic COVID-19 infections have been overlooked because of the imperfect sensitivity of the nucleic acid testing (NAT). Globally understanding the humoral immunity in asymptomatic carriers will provide scientific knowledge for developing serological tests, improving early identification, and implementing more rational control strategies against the pandemic. ⋯ Our findings might have important implications for the definition of asymptomatic COVID-19 infections, diagnosis, serological survey, public health, and immunization strategies.
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The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has made widespread impact recently. We aim to investigate the clinical characteristics of COVID-19 children with different severities and allergic status. ⋯ Pediatric COVID-19 patients tended to have a mild clinical course. Patients with pneumonia had higher proportion of fever and cough and increased inflammatory biomarkers than those without pneumonia. There was no difference between allergic and nonallergic COVID-19 children in disease incidence, clinical features, and laboratory and immunological findings. Allergy was not a risk factor for developing and severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection and hardly influenced the disease course of COVID-19 in children.