Articles: coronavirus.
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As the world faces the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, extensive efforts have been applied to identify effective therapeutic agents. Convalescent plasma collected from recovered patients has been a therapeutic modality employed for over a hundred years for various infectious pathogens. Specifically, it has been used in the treatment of many viral infections with varying degrees of clinical efficacy. ⋯ Accordingly, the aim of this review is to examine in detail studies of convalescent plasma used during previous viral outbreaks and pandemics with particular focus on hemorrhagic fevers, influenza, and other coronaviruses. The concluding sections of this review address the potential use of convalescent plasma during the present-day SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, not only insofar as its clinical benefit but also the steps required to make convalescent plasma treatments readily available for an exponentially growing patient population. By the end, the authors hope to address the extent to which convalescent plasma represents a realistic therapeutic approach, or a distraction from other potentially useful treatments.
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Int Forum Allergy Rhinol · Jul 2020
Use of Google Trends to investigate loss-of-smell-related searches during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Initial reports describing coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) were dominated by the presence of cough, breathlessness, and fever; anecdotal reports suggested anosmia may also be a manifestation. We used Google Trends (GT) to investigate whether there was a surge in individuals searching for information related to smell loss during the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, France, Iran, and The Netherlands. ⋯ There is a strong correlation between the frequency of searches for smell-related information and the onset of COVID-19 infection in Italy, Spain, UK, USA, Germany, France, Iran, and The Netherlands. We hypothesize this may relate to a previously underrecognized symptom.
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Journal of autoimmunity · Jul 2020
ReviewThe anti-viral facet of anti-rheumatic drugs: Lessons from COVID-19.
The outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has posed the world at a pandemic risk. Coronavirus-19 disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, which causes pneumonia, requires intensive care unit hospitalization in about 10% of cases and can lead to a fatal outcome. Several efforts are currently made to find a treatment for COVID-19 patients. ⋯ This provided rationale for the use of anti-rheumatic drugs as potential treatments for this severe viral infection. Other agents, such as hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine might have a direct anti-viral effect. The anti-viral aspect of immunosuppressants towards a variety of viruses has been known since long time and it is herein discussed in the view of searching for a potential treatment for SARS-CoV-2 infection.
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Diabetes Metab Syndr · Jul 2020
Meta AnalysisIs diabetes mellitus associated with mortality and severity of COVID-19? A meta-analysis.
Many studies on COVID-19 have reported diabetes to be associated with severe disease and mortality, however, the data is conflicting. The objectives of this meta-analysis were to explore the relationship between diabetes and COVID-19 mortality and severity, and to determine the prevalence of diabetes in patients with COVID-19. ⋯ Diabetes in patients with COVID-19 is associated with a two-fold increase in mortality as well as severity of COVID-19, as compared to non-diabetics. Further studies on the pathogenic mechanisms and therapeutic implications need to be done.
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Multicenter Study
The role of extracorporeal life support for patients with COVID-19: Preliminary results from a statewide experience.
There is a paucity of clinical data on critically ill patients with COVID-19 requiring extracorporeal life support. ⋯ These preliminary multi-institutional data from a statewide collaborative offer insight into the clinical characteristics of the first 10 patients requiring ECMO for COVID-19 and their initial clinical course. Greater morbidity and mortality is likely to be seen in these critically ill patients with longer follow-up.