Articles: sars-cov-2.
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Multicenter Study
Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on sleep center operations and sleep apnea treatment in Korea: A multicenter survey.
The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has not only changed the lives of people around the world but also affected all areas of the healthcare system, including sleep medicine. However, no studies in Korea have investigated the status of domestic sleep centers and their challenges during the pandemic. An online survey was performed from December 2020 to January 2021. ⋯ Compared to countries where the COVID-19 pandemic was severe, Korea had less impact of COVID-19 on the sleep center operations and sleep apnea treatment. Infection and quality control in the sleep study room are important and inevitable issues, and regulation within each institution is necessary. Further research and discussion are needed regarding telemedicine and home sleep apnea test in Korea.
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Despite the advance in the management of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the global pandemic is still ongoing with a massive health crisis. COVID-19 manifestations may range from mild symptoms to severe life threatening ones. The hallmark of the disease severity is related to the overproduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines manifested as a cytokine storm. ⋯ This is in addition to three hydrophobic interactions with His172, Glu166, and Arg188. A good alignment with the reference compound, Boceprevir, indicated high probability of binding to the protease enzyme of SARS-CoV-2. In conclusion, colchicine can ameliorate the destructive effect of the COVID-19 cytokine storm with a strong evidence of antiviral activity by inhibiting the protease enzyme of SARS-CoV-2.
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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a viral respiratory disease that spreads rapidly, reaching pandemic status, causing the collapse of numerous health systems, and a strong economic and social impact. The treatment so far has not been well established and there are several clinical trials testing known drugs that have antiviral activity, due to the urgency that the global situation imposes. Drugs with specific mechanisms of action can take years to be discovered, while vaccines may also take a long time to be widely distributed while new virus variants emerge. Thus, drug repositioning has been shown to be a good strategy for defining new therapeutic approaches. Studies of the effect of enriched heparin in the replication of severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in vitro assays justify the advance for clinical tests. ⋯ A phase I/II triple-blind parallel clinical trial will be conducted. Fifty participants with radiological diagnosis of grade IIA pneumonia will be selected, which will be allocated in 2 arms. Participants allocated in Group 1 (placebo) will receive nebulized 0.9% saline. Participants allocated in Group 2 (intervention) will receive nebulized enriched heparin (2.5 mg/mL 0.9% saline). Both groups will receive the respective solutions on a 4/4 hour basis, for 7 days. The main outcomes of interest will be safety (absence of serious adverse events) and efficacy (measured by the viral load).Protocols will be filled on a daily basis, ranging from day 0 (diagnosis) until day 8.
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Observational Study
Prediction of renal function improvement in azotemic patients using glomerular filtration rate from 99mTc-DTPA renal scan: An observational study.
This study aimed to evaluate the ratio of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) from 99mTc-diethylenetriamine-pentaacetic acid dynamic renal scan (GFRSCAN) to estimated GFR (eGFR) as a predictor of renal function improvement in patients with azotemia. A retrospective review of medical records was conducted to identify consecutive patients with newly discovered or aggravated azotemia who underwent 99mTc-diethylenetriamine-pentaacetic acid renal scan. Significant renal function improvement was defined as ≥100% and ≥10 mL/min improvement of eGFR at 12 weeks compared to eGFR on the day of renal scan (eGFR0). ⋯ The addition of the GFRSCAN/eGFR0 ratio to the best clinical prediction model raised the area under the ROC curve from 0.726 to 0.794, and this increment was statistically significant (P = .02). The GFRSCAN/eGFR ratio can predict renal function improvement in patients with azotemia. Future prospective studies are necessary to validate its potential clinical utilities.