Articles: sars-cov-2.
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Review
Role of Interleukin-6 in Lung Complications in Patients With COVID-19: Therapeutic Implications.
COVID-19 is viral respiratory infection with frequently fatal lung complications in the elderly or in people with serious comorbidities. Lung destruction appears to be associated with a cytokine storm related to an increased level of interleukin-6 (IL6). Therapeutic targeting of the interleukin-6 signaling pathway can attenuate such a cytokine storm and can be beneficial for patients with COVID-19 in danger of pulmonary failure. This article demonstrates the importance of IL6 in progression of disease and the possibility of inhibition of IL6 signaling in COVID-19 therapy.
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COVID-19, the disease associated in December 2019 with the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, was observed for the first time in China and then spread worldwide becoming pandemic. Currently, there is still no licensed specific antiviral treatment for the human coronavirus disease and a vaccine will not be ready soon. ⋯ Clinical trials for future therapies are still ongoing. In the meantime, prevention, control, active communication and investment in research are the only ways to overcome this challenge.
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An outbreak of COVID-19 in Iran has spread throughout the country. Identifying the epidemiological characteristics of this disease will help to make appropriate decisions and thus control the epidemic. The aim of this study was characterization of the epidemiological features of COVID-19 in Iran. ⋯ The results of this study showed that Male gender, older age and having comorbidities were significantly associated with the risk of death among COVID-19 patients. It is important to pay special attention to male elderly patients with underlying diseases.
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Int. J. Antimicrob. Agents · Jun 2020
Can post-exposure prophylaxis for COVID-19 be considered as an outbreak response strategy in long-term care hospitals?
In the context of the ongoing global outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), management of exposure events is a concern. Long-term care hospitals (LTCHs) are particularly vulnerable to cluster outbreaks because facilities for patient isolation and healthcare personnel to care for these patients in isolation are difficult to arrange in a large outbreak situation. Although several drugs have been proposed as treatment options, there are no data on the effectiveness and safety of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for COVID-19. ⋯ PEP was completed in 184 (97.4%) patients and 21 (95.5%) careworkers without serious adverse events. At the end of 14 days of quarantine, all follow-up PCR tests were negative. Based on our experience, further clinical studies are recommended for COVID-19 PEP.