Articles: sars-cov-2.
-
Patients with COVID-19 frequently exhibit a hypercoagulable state with high thrombotic risk, particularly those admitted to intensive care units (ICU). Thromboprophylaxis is mandatory in these patients; nevertheless, thrombosis still occurs in many cases. Thus, the problem of assessing an adequate level of anticoagulation in ICU patients becomes evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to evaluate the heparin resistance and the efficacy of heparin monitoring using an anti-Xa activity assay. ⋯ SARS-COV2 pneumonia patients in ICU have frequently heparin resistance. Anti-Xa seems a more reliable method to monitor heparin treatment than APTT in acute patients, also because the assay is insensitive to the increased levels of fibrinogen, FVIII, and LAC that are common during the COVID-19 inflammatory state.
-
SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) continues to be a global challenge due to the lack of definitive treatment strategies. We sought to determine the efficacy of early administration of anti-interleukin 6 therapy in reducing hospital mortality and progression to mechanical ventilation. ⋯ Early use of anti-interleukin 6 therapy may be associated with improved hospital mortality and reduction in progression to more severe coronavirus disease 2019.
-
Int. J. Clin. Pract. · Dec 2021
COVID-Q: validation of the first COVID-19 questionnaire based on patient-rated symptom gravity.
The aim of the present study was to develop and validate the CoronaVirus-Disease-2019 (COVID-19) Questionnaire (COVID-Q), a novel symptom questionnaire specific for COVID-19 patients, to provide a comprehensive evaluation that may be helpful for physicians, and evaluate the questionnaire's performance in identifying subjects at higher risk of testing positive. ⋯ COVID-Q could be validated since the evaluated aspects were overall significantly related to infection. The application of the questionnaire to clinical practice may help to identify subjects who are likely to be affected by COVID-19 and address them to a nasopharyngeal swab in order to achieve an early diagnosis.
-
Eur. J. Clin. Invest. · Dec 2021
IFN-γ+ cell response and IFN-γ release concordance after in vitro SARS-CoV-2 stimulation.
Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at increased risk since they are directly exposed to SARS-CoV-2-infected patients, and nevertheless, some remain without the development of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies or related symptoms, suggesting less susceptibility to the infection. ⋯ The good concordance between the proportion of individuals with IFN-γ release after SARS-COV-2 stimulation with the proportion of individuals with specific IFN-γ+ CD8/CD4 T cells found in this study drives IFN-γ release assays to be a simple and easy way to determine the protective immunity to SARS-CoV-2 in a wide population.
-
To explore the potential of SARS-CoV-2 spread during air travel and the risk of in-flight transmission. ⋯ We found that the universal use of face masks on the flight, together with the plane's ventilation system, significantly decreased the infectivity of COVID-19.KEY MESSAGESThe COVID-19 pandemic is changing the lifestyle in the world, especially air travel which has the potential to spread SARS-CoV-2.The universal use of face masks on the flight, together with the plane's ventilation system, significantly decreased the infectivity of COVID-19 on an aircraft.Our findings suggest that the risk of infection in aircraft was negligible.