Articles: covid-19.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
A Houttuynia Cordata-based Chinese herbal formula improved symptoms of allergic rhinitis during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) such as hyposmia, rhinorrhea, nasal obstruction, and cough are similar to those of chronic allergic rhinitis (AR). Such symptoms can easily lead AR patients to unnecessary anxiety, misdiagnosis, and invasive diagnostic tests in the COVID-19 pandemic. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is an important mediator for chronic AR and plays a crucial role in the inflammation of COVID-19. Houttuynia cordata (HC) has been shown to reduce nasal congestion and swelling by suppressing the activation of IL-6 and is used to fight COVID-19. A novel HC-based Chinese herbal formula, Zheng-Yi-Fang (ZYF), was developed to test effects on nasal symptoms of patients with AR in the COVID-19 pandemic. ⋯ ZYF has potential effects to relieve nasal symptoms for AR during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Jun 2022
Randomized Controlled TrialAnti-GM-CSF Monoclonal Antibody Gimsilumab for COVID-19 Pneumonia: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.
Rationale: GM-CSF (granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor) has emerged as a promising target against the hyperactive host immune response associated with coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Objectives: We sought to investigate the efficacy and safety of gimsilumab, an anti-GM-CSF monoclonal antibody, for the treatment of hospitalized patients with elevated inflammatory markers and hypoxemia secondary to COVID-19. Methods: We conducted a 24-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, BREATHE (Better Respiratory Education and Treatment Help Empower), at 21 locations in the United States. ⋯ Conclusions: Gimsilumab did not improve mortality or other key clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia and evidence of systemic inflammation. The utility of anti-GM-CSF therapy for COVID-19 remains unclear. Clinical trial registered with www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT04351243).
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The first wave of COVID-19 and concurrent social restrictions were not associated with a negative impact on mental health and psychiatric well-being.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and efforts to contain it have substantially affected the daily lives of most of the world's population. ⋯ Social restrictions were sufficient to contain the pandemic but did not negatively impact validated measures of mental illness or psychiatric well-being. However, responses to individual questions showed signs of fear and stress. This may represent a normal, rather than pathological, population response to a stressful situation.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Pragmatic Clinical Trial
Effects of a WHO-guided digital health intervention for depression in Syrian refugees in Lebanon: A randomized controlled trial.
Most displaced people with mental disorders in low- and middle-income countries do not receive effective care, and their access to care has deteriorated during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Digital mental health interventions are scalable when digital access is adequate, and they can be safely delivered during the COVID-19 pandemic. We examined whether a new WHO-guided digital mental health intervention, Step-by-Step, in which participants were supported by a nonspecialist helper, was effective in reducing depression among displaced people in Lebanon. ⋯ In this study, we found that a guided, digital intervention was effective in reducing depression in displaced people in Lebanon. The guided WHO Step-by-Step intervention we examined should be made available to communities of displaced people that have digital access.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Limitations of randomized, controlled, double-blinded studies in determining safety and effectiveness of treatments.
Randomized, controlled, double-blinded studies, in which treated subjects are randomly selected from the same pool as controlled (untreated) ones and neither the caregiver nor the patient knows which is which, are widely accepted as the gold standard of experimental medicine. There are well-documented advantages of such studies. ⋯ Some limitations of them are widely known and taught, such as inadequate sample size, failure of proper randomization, et cetera; others are less well-known. We shall focus on the latter.