Clinical characteristics and outcomes of measles outbreak in adults: A multicenter retrospective observational study of 93 hospitalized adults in Greece

AbstractBackgroundFavipiravir is a promising drug for COVID-19, but evidence from a robust clinical trial is limited.ObjectiveTo describe the demographics, clinical characteristics, and various antiviral treatment regimens (with and without favipiravir) of patients with severe and nonsevere COVID-19.MethodWe conducted a retrospective observational study in all COVID-19 patients admitted at Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute (BIDI) from January 8 to March 30, 2020. We compared the demographics, clinical characteristics, and various antiviral treatment regimens of 12 severe and 29 nonsevere COVID-19 patients in Thailand.ResultsAdjunctive favipiravir was given to only severe cases. The median length of hospitalization of patients either receiving favipiravir or not receiving favipiravir was not significantly different (P = 0.8549), but those who received adjunctive favipiravir became reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction negative 2 days sooner than the other group (median: 6 days vs. 8 days; P = 0.1125).ConclusionThe findings suggested that adjunctive favipiravir might not be effective for patients with severe COVID-19, but further studies with larger sample sizes are needed.

Download Full-text

Comparative outcomes of lopinavir/ritonavir and hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of COVID-19 with mild-to-moderate severity: A retrospective observational study

Antiviral Therapy ◽

10.1177/13596535211039394 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 135965352110393

Author(s):

Jeong Eun Lee ◽

Soon Ok Lee ◽

Jeonghun Heo ◽

Dong Wan Kim ◽

Mi Ran Park ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Observational Study ◽

Clinical Characteristics ◽

Severe Disease ◽

Relative Effectiveness ◽

Initial Therapy ◽

Retrospective Observational Study ◽

Clinical Failure ◽

Moderate Severity ◽

Moderate Disease ◽

Study Results

Background Lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) are both being used to treat coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but their relative effectiveness is unknown. The purpose of this study was to compare the clinical outcomes of patients treated for COVID-19 with LPV/r or HCQ. Methods A retrospective observational study was conducted at 2 hospitals in Busan, South Korea, where approximately 90% of COVID-19 patients were hospitalised during February/March 2020. All patients aged ≥15 years that were hospitalised with mild or moderately severe COVID-19 received LPV/r or HCQ as their initial treatment and were included in the analysis. Results Among the 72 patients with mild-to-moderate disease severity on admission, 45 received LPV/r and 27 received HCQ as their initial therapy. A higher proportion of the LPV/r group had pneumonia on admission (LPV/r, 49% vs HCQ, 15%), but there were no other significant differences in the demographic or clinical characteristics between groups. Switching therapy due to clinical failure was significantly more common in the HCQ group than in the LPV/r group (41% [11/27] and 2% [1/45], respectively, P = .001). Disease progression was also significantly more common in the HCQ group than in the LPV/r group (44% [12/27] and 18% [8/45], respectively, P = .030). Conclusion Based on our study results, HCQ shows no apparent advantage compared to LPV/r for preventing progression to severe disease in patients with COVID-19.

Download Full-text

Electroencephalography: Experience at Abakaliki Nigeria

Global Journal of Health Science ◽

10.5539/gjhs.v13n9p71 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (9) ◽

pp. 71

Author(s):

Chukwuemeka O Eze ◽

Olaronke F Afolabi ◽

Emeka O Onwe ◽

Richard L Ewah ◽

Ugochukwu U Nnadozie ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Observational Study ◽

Neurological Disorders ◽

Clinical Characteristics ◽

Patient Characteristics ◽

Tertiary Hospital ◽

Seizure Disorder ◽

Retrospective Observational Study ◽

Eeg Pattern ◽

Extract Information

BACKGROUND: Electroencephalography (EEG) remains the most important investigative modality in the evaluation of individuals with epilepsy and other neurological disorders. The pattern of EEG done in a tertiary hospital at Abakaliki Nigeria is not known. It is against this background that we embarked on this retrospective observational study on the EEG pattern and patient characteristics in Neurophysiology laboratory at Abakaliki Nigeria. METHOD: This is a retrospective observational hospital based study where the attendance register of the Neurophysiology laboratory was used to extract information on the demography, clinical characteristics and EEG reports of patients seen at the Laboratory from November 2018 to April 2021. RESULTS: A total of 125 (Male- 69, Female- 56) persons did EEG over the study period, and 75.2% had epileptiform waves (generalized- 16.8%, focal- 57.6%).  CONCLUSION: EEG services are been utilized at Abakaliki in evaluation of seizure disorder and other paroxysmal neurological events with more prevalent focal epileptiform waves.

Download Full-text