International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases
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Int. J. Infect. Dis. · Jan 2021
Different pattern of the second outbreak of COVID-19 in Marseille, France.
To describe the characteristics of COVID-19 patients seen in March-April and June-August 2020 in Marseille, France with the aim to investigate possible changes in the disease between these two time periods. ⋯ Patients in the two periods did not present marked age and sex differences, but markers of severity were undoubtedly less prevalent in the summer period, associating with a 10 times decrease in the lethality rate.
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Tocilizumab (TCZ) is an interleukin-6 receptor antagonist, which has been used for the treatment of severe SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia (SSP), which aims to ameliorate the cytokine release syndrome (CRS) induced acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). However, there are no consistent data about who might benefit most from it. ⋯ TCZ is well tolerated in patients with SSP, but it has a limited effect on the evolution of cases with high oxygen support needs.
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Int. J. Infect. Dis. · Jan 2021
Randomized Controlled TrialRandomized controlled open label trial on the use of favipiravir combined with inhaled interferon beta-1b in hospitalized patients with moderate to severe COVID-19 pneumonia.
To evaluate the therapeutic effectiveness of favipiravir combined with inhaled interferon beta-1b in adult patients hospitalized with moderate to severe COVID-19 pneumonia. ⋯ No differences in clinical outcomes were found between favipiravir plus inhaled interferon beta-1b and hydroxychloroquine in adults hospitalized with moderate to severe COVID-19 pneumonia.
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Int. J. Infect. Dis. · Jan 2021
Therapeutic plasma exchange followed by convalescent plasma transfusion in critical COVID-19-An exploratory study.
The pathophysiology of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is primarily a host immune interplay to virus invasion. The therapeutic options have been explored either against hyperinflammation from dysregulated adaptive immunity or direct virus neutralization using antibodies from convalescent plasma (CP) of a recovered patient. The therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) for removal of excessive inflammatory cytokines has been tried with success in COVID-19. ⋯ The median duration ICU and hospital LOS were 12 (5-42) days and 18 (12-47) days respectively. No patient developed transfusion-associated complications, but three patients developed secondary bacterial sepsis within 14 days of therapy, and one died. This case series demonstrated the sequential use of TPE followed by CP transfusion as a therapeutic option in critical COVID-19.
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Int. J. Infect. Dis. · Jan 2021
Observational StudyCharacteristics of healthcare workers infected with COVID-19: A cross-sectional observational study.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a new emerging infectious disease, first identified in China in December 2019, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This study describes the characteristics of healthcare workers (HCWs) who tested positive for COVID-19 in a tertiary care hospital in Oman. ⋯ HCWs are at an increased risk of COVID-19 in the workplace. The strengthening of infection control measures to prevent exposures from infected patients and colleagues and to reduce the spread of COVID-19 is a necessity.