Articles: sars-cov-2.
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Frontiers in immunology · Jan 2020
Elevated Exhaustion Levels of NK and CD8+ T Cells as Indicators for Progression and Prognosis of COVID-19 Disease.
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) induced Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has posed a global threat to public health. The immune system is crucial in defending and eliminating the virus and infected cells. However, immune dysregulation may result in the rapid progression of COVID-19. Here, we evaluated the subsets, phenotypic and functional characteristics of natural killer (NK) and T cells in patients with COVID-19 and their associations with disease severity. ⋯ The functional exhaustion and other subset alteration of NK and T cells may contribute to the progression and improve the prognosis of COVID-19. Surveillance of lymphocyte subsets may in the future enable early screening for signs of critical illness and understanding the pathogenesis of this disease.
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With social distancing being a key preventative measure of COVID-19, proper provision of healthcare services becomes a challenge as healthcare professionals are concerned about the risk of potential infection. Telemedicine, a practice that uses telecommunication networks for the delivery of healthcare services and medical education, has been adopted by several countries and has shown to provide positive outcomes. This concept is poorly practiced in African Countries compared to other countries of the world. This paper reiterates the need for the expansion of telemedical systems in Africa for the dual goals of COVID-19 prevention and provision of quality healthcare services to people.
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Front Public Health · Jan 2020
Leucocyte Subsets Effectively Predict the Clinical Outcome of Patients With COVID-19 Pneumonia: A Retrospective Case-Control Study.
Background: The clinical characteristics of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been well-studied, while effective predictors for clinical outcome and research on underlying mechanisms are scarce. Methods: Hospitalized COVID-19 pneumonia patients with definitive clinical outcome (cured or died) were retrospectively studied. The diagnostic performance of the leucocyte subsets and other parameters were compared using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). ⋯ Serum IL6 levels were positively correlated with leucocyte count, neutrophil count, and eosinophil count and negatively correlated with lymphocyte count. Conclusion: These results indicate that leucocyte subsets predict the clinical outcome of patients with COVID-19 pneumonia with high efficiency. Non-self-limiting inflammatory response is involved in the development of fatal pneumonia.
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Protecting healthcare workers (HCWs) from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a priority to maintain a safe and functioning healthcare system. Our objective was to describe and compare the epidemiology, clinical characteristics, and lethality of SARS-CoV-2 infections among HCWs compared to non-HCWs. ⋯ HCWs represent a disproportionate number of diagnosed SARS-CoV-2 infections in Ontario, however this discrepancy is at least partially explained by limitations in testing earlier in the pandemic for non-HCWs. We observed a low risk of death in HCWs which could not be completely explained by other factors.
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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID 19) is an emerging infectious disease caused by a novel coronavirus SARS-CoV2 that was first identified in Wuhan, China 2019 and that led to a worldwide pandemia. In addition to typical respiratory signs (dry cough, shortness of breathing), some patients may develop gastrointestinal and hepatological complications including diarrhea or acute hepatitis, respectively. Due to the close contact to the patient's secretion, the gastroenterologists are at increased risk of getting the infection. ⋯ Endoscopy personnel should reduce exposure hazards by keeping a distance from the patient and using gloves, face masks, face shields and gowns. Taking into the consideration the fact that the virus proliferates in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, special attention should be given to handling with stool specimens. In patients obtaining FMT for recurrent C. difficile infection, recommended screening measures include donor's medical history and testing for SARS-CoV-2 presence in pharyngeal and stool specimens.