Articles: covid-19.
-
Multicenter Study
Statin Therapy, Inflammation, and Outcomes in Patients Hospitalized for Covid-19: A Prospective Multicenter Cohort Study.
Statins are lipid-lowering agents with anti-inflammatory effects. Data surrounding the benefits of statins in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are conflicting. We sought to better understand the impact of statins in the context of COVID-19-related inflammation. ⋯ Prior-statin use is associated with improved outcomes and lower inflammation as measured by suPAR levels in patients hospitalized for COVID-19.
-
Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory non-communicable disease (NCD) characterised by the destruction of the tooth-supporting apparatus (periodontium), including alveolar bone, the presence of periodontal pockets, and bleeding on probing. ⋯ Closer collaboration between OHPs and family doctors is important in the early case detection and management of NCDs like cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, and respiratory diseases. Strategies for early case detection/prevention of NCDs, including periodontitis, should be developed for family doctors, other health professionals (OHPs), and healthcare funders. Evidence-based information on the reported associations between periodontitis and other NCDs should be made available to family doctors, OHPs, healthcare funders, patients, and the general population.
-
Visitation has a positive effect on patients and families, yet, it can disrupt intensive care unit (ICU) care and increase the risk of patient infections, which previously favoured face-to-face visits. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has raised the importance of virtual visits and led to their widespread adoption globally, there are still many implementation barriers that need to be improved. Therefore, this review aimed to explore the use of ICU virtual visit technology during the COVID-19 pandemic and the barriers and facilitators of virtual visits to improve virtual visits in ICUs. ⋯ This review identified key facilitating factors and barriers to ICU virtual visits, which can foster the development of infrastructure, virtual visiting workflows, guidelines, policies and visiting systems to improve ICU virtual visiting services. Further studies are necessary to identify potential solutions to the identified barriers.
-
Multicenter Study
Trends in characteristics, interventions, and outcomes of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in Canada: a multicentre prospective cohort study.
Our objective was to investigate the temporal trends in baseline characteristics, interventions, and clinical outcomes in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Canada over five pandemic waves. ⋯ Among patients hospitalized in Canada with COVID-19, several clinical factors including prior vaccination were associated with lower mortality, but pandemic wave was not.
-
There is growing concern that the severe respiratory disease in birds (avian influenza or 'bird flu') caused by the H5N1 influenza virus, might potentially spread more widely to humans and cause a pandemic. Here we discuss clinical issues related to human infections by the highly pathogenic H5N1 subtype of the avian influenza A virus and make a clinical comparison with recent information obtained from studies of SARS-CoV-2 infection. ⋯ Like SARS-CoV-2 infection, H5N1 infection may result in endothelial dysfunction and the associated procoagulant and prothrombotic state, and via this mechanism, the infection can potentially increase cardiovascular morbidity, especially in vulnerable individuals with pre-existing cardiovascular disease. Secondly, we discuss the potential beneficial role of statin use, both in the prophylaxis and the treatment of individuals with influenza A(H5N1), as was found favorable for the treatment of COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection.