scholarly journals The Effectiveness of High-dose N-acetylcysteine in Severe COVID-19 Patients

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-34
Author(s):  
Puri Safitri Hanum ◽  
Qory’ Hanifa

The study's objective was to describe the effect of using high doses of N-acetylcysteine on severe COVID-19 patients. It was evaluated from the length of stay and by monitoring the drug use data, laboratory data, and clinical data at Bhayangkara H.S Samsoeri Mertojoso Hospital Surabaya. The data was collected retrospectively from patients' Health Medical Records who got high dose N-acetylcysteine in October 2020 – February 2021, with standard therapy: antivirus (Remdesivir), antibiotics, vitamins, symptomatic and comorbid therapy, anticoagulant, and corticosteroids (Dexamethasone) as inclusion criteria, then described descriptively. The observation result confirmed that the use of a high dose of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) [1 x 1200 – 5000 mg] po/iv had effective results as seen from the patients' length of stay, which was 12 days for patients without comorbid and 14 days for patients with comorbid like diabetes and/or hypertension. The use of high dose NAC showed improvement in the patients' clinical condition that is evaluated from improved oxygen saturation by 37%. In addition, the laboratory results are shown an improvement in thorax X-ray by 69% and inflammatory markers like CRP and d-dimer by 100%. Further research that uses a prospective method is needed to get a better result on the use of high-dose NAC in patients with severe COVID-19.

Author(s):  
Guozhi Xia ◽  
Di Fan ◽  
Chaoran Ma ◽  
Yanru He ◽  
Yaohu Zhu ◽  
...  

Background: Cardiac injury is common and associated with worse clinical outcomes in COVID-19. Data are lacking whether high-dose intravenous vitamin C (HIVC) could help to improve cardiac injury in the pandemic. Methods: The study included severe and critically ill COVID-19 with cardiac injury. Troponin I and inflammatory markers were collected at admission and 14 days after treatment with HIVC along with symptomatic supportive treatment from the electronic medical records. Results: The patients (n = 113) were categorized into the improved cardiac injury (ICI) group (n = 70) and the non-improved cardiac injury (NICI) group (n = 43). Overall, 51 (45.1%) patients were administrated with HIVC, the percentages of patients with HIVC were higher in the ICI group than those in the NICI group. Logistic regression analysis revealed that HIVC was independently associated with improved cardiac injury. Further analysis showed that inflammatory markers levels significantly decreased at 14 days after treatment with HIVC compared to those without HIVC. Meanwhile, similar results were also observed regarding changes in inflammatory markers levels from baseline to 14 days after treatment with HIVC. Conclusions: HIVC can improve cardiac injury through attenuating hyperinflammation in severe and critically ill patients with COVID-19.


Author(s):  
Aya Yassin ◽  
Maryam Ali Abdelkader ◽  
Rehab M. Mohammed ◽  
Ahmed M. Osman

Abstract Background Pulmonary embolism (PE) is one of the known sequels of COVID-19 infection. We aimed to assess the incidence of PE in patients with COVID-19 infection and to evaluate the relationship between the CT severity of the disease and the laboratory indicators. This was a retrospective study conducted on 96 patients with COVID-19 infection proved by positive PCR who underwent CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA) with a calculation of the CT severity of COVID-19 infection. Available patients’ complaint and laboratory data at the time of CTPA were correlated with PE presence and disease severity. Results Forty patients (41.7%) showed positive PE with the median time for the incidence of PE which was 12 days after onset of the disease. No significant correlation was found between the incidence of PE and the patients’ age, sex, laboratory results, and the CT severity of COVID-19. A statistically significant relation was found between the incidence of PE and the patients’ desaturation, hemoptysis, and chest pain. A highly significant correlation was found between the incidence of PE and the rising in the D-dimer level as well as the progressive CT findings when compared to the previous one. Conclusion CT progression and the rising in D-dimer level are considered the most important parameters suggesting underlying PE in patients with positive COVID-19 infection which is commonly seen during the second week of infection and alert the use of CT pulmonary angiography to exclude or confirm PE. This is may help in improving the management of COVID-19 infection.


e-CliniC ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Divertt Tamaweol ◽  
Ramli H. Ali ◽  
Martin L. Simanjuntak

Abstract: Chronic cough is defined as cough that lasts 8 weeks or more. Chronic cough itself is not a disease, but a symptom of other diseases. Chronic cough is the most common symptom that occurs among outpatients and is the main cause of morbidity which was reported by 3-40% population. Chronic cough can be caused by some diseases such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and lung fibrosis. Chronic cough is closely associated with smoking habit which is one of the predisposing factors. Chest x-ray is one of the seed examination for chronic cough because it is very helpful in diagnosing diseases especially pulmonary diseases and others that may cause chronic cough. Objective: To identify the chest x-ray imaging in chronic cough patients. Methods: This study using retrospective description data in November 2015.  Sample is obtained from all the medical records of patients with radiological diagnosis chronic cough who undertook a chest x-ray examination in the Radiology Department of the Medical Faculty of Sam Ratulangi University / Prof. Dr. R. D. Kandou Central General Hospital Manado during July – September 2015. Data was collected from chest x-ray request form and the results show 178 cases of chronic cough that fit the inclusion criteria. The results showed that there was 178 cases of chronic cough based on the radiological diagnosis. The most frequent cases were chronic cough caused by pulmonary tuberculosis (97 patients; 54.49%). Most patients were male (107 patients; 60.11%), and the most frequent age group was 20-49 years (60 patients; 33.71%). Keywords: chronic cough, chest x-ray  Abstrak: Batuk kronik adalah batuk yang berlangsung selama 8 minggu atau lebih. Batuk kronik sendiri bukanlah penyakit, tetapi merupakan suatu gejala dari penyakit-penyakit lain. Batuk kronik merupakan gejala yang paling umum terdapat pada orang dewasa yang melakukan pengobatan rawat jalan dan penyebab utama morbiditas yang dilaporkan oleh 3-40% populasi. Batuk kronik dapat disebabkan oleh beberapa penyakit seperti pneumonia, tuberculosis, asma, bronchitis kronik, emfisema, dan fibrosis paru. Batuk kronik erat hubungannya dengan kebiasaan merokok dimana merokok merupakan salah satu faktor predisposisi. Foto toraks adalah salah satu pemeriksaan pilihan untuk batuk kronik karena sangat bermanfaat dalam mendiagnosis penyakit terutama penyakit paru dan gangguan lain yang dapat menyebabkan batuk kronik. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui gambaran foto toraks pada penderita batuk kronik. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode deskriptif retropektif yang dilakukan pada bulan November 2015. Sampel diambil dari semua data catatan medik pasien dengan diagnosis radiologis batuk kronik yang melakukan foto toraks di Bagian/SMF Radiologi FK Unsrat/RSUP Prof. Dr. R. D. Kandou Manado periode Juli – September 2015. Data diperoleh melalui lembaran permintaan pemeriksaan foto toraks dan didapatkan sebanyak 178 kasus batuk kronik yang masuk dalam kriteria inklusi. Hasil penelitian memperlihatkan 178 kasus batuk kronik berdasarkan diagnosis radiologis. Kasus terbanyak ialah batuk kronik akibat tuberkulosis paru sebanyak 97 orang (54,49%), penderita terbanyak ialah laki-laki yaitu 107 orang (60,11%), dan golongan umur terbanyak ialah 20-49 tahun yaitu 60 penderita (33,71%). Kata kunci: batuk kronik, foto toraks


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmet Murt ◽  
Mevlut Tamer Dincer ◽  
Cebrail Karaca ◽  
Sinan Trabulus ◽  
Ridvan Karaali ◽  
...  

Abstract Aim Kidneys are among the affected organs in COVID-19 and there may be different etiologies resulting in acute kidney injury (AKI) in different stages of the disease. This study aimed to analyze AKI among hospitalized COVID-19 patients in relation to the time and etiologies of AKI. Methods 1056 patients who were hospitalized with COVID-19 diagnosis in our institution were retrospectively evaluated and 383 of them met the inclusion criteria. Eighty-nine patients who developed AKI were involved in the final analysis. Patients were classified into three groups, those who had AKI on admission, those who developed AKI in the first week and those who developed AKI starting from 7th day. Initial lymphocyte counts, creatinine levels, electrolytes, acid-base status and changes in the inflammatory markers were compared between the groups. A comparison between patients who survived and who died was also performed.Results AKI had 24% mortality in COVID-19 patients who had eGFRs of over 60 ml/min/1,73 m2. Patients who developed AKI later had higher peak CRP and D-dimer levels with lower nadir lymphocyte counts (p=0,000, 0,004 and 0,003 respectively). Mortality of patients who had AKI on hospital admission (13%) was similar to the overall COVID-19 mortality for inpatients, however it was 44% for those who developed AKI after 7th day. Early AKI was related to pre-renal causes and had a milder course. However, later AKIs were more related to immunologic response and had significantly higher mortality. Conclusions AKI in COVID-19 is not of one kind. When developed, AKI should be evaluated in conjunction with the disease stage and possible etiologies. AKI that develops later has a worse prognosis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua D Emery ◽  
Veronica M Samedi ◽  
William T Bingham

Abstract Narcotic bowel syndrome is defined as worsening abdominal bloating and cramping with chronic opiate use, leading to paralytic ileus. This syndrome is common yet underreported in adults. However, there is no current evidence of such conditions in the newborn after exposure in utero to high doses of opiates. Our patient was a female indigenous preterm infant born to a mother on a high dose of methadone. On admission at the age of 12 h, she was found to have significant gastric distension. Initial abdominal X-ray showed a large gastric bubble with little evidence of rectal gas. Malrotation was suspected and surgical intervention was discussed. However, repeat abdominal X-ray, ultrasound and upper Gastrointestinal series were found to be normal and without acute findings. Thus, surgery was avoided. The gastric distension resolved spontaneously. She never required opiate therapy for neonatal abstinence syndrome. Given the pattern of gas seen on the initial abdominal X-ray and its spontaneous resolution after removal of maternal methadone, we suspect this baby had neonatal narcotic bowel syndrome. This has never been reported in the literature and is a unique finding. Given the lack of current reports, further observations for this syndrome should be conducted.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. e0252057
Author(s):  
Miguel Alejandro Pinzón ◽  
Santiago Ortiz ◽  
Héctor Holguín ◽  
Juan Felipe Betancur ◽  
Doris Cardona Arango ◽  
...  

Background There is no effective therapy for the severe acute respiratory syndrome by coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) responsible for the Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). To date, dexamethasone has shown a decrease in mortality in patients who require oxygen, especially those with invasive mechanical ventilation. However, it is unknown if another corticosteroid can be used, the optimal dose and its duration, to achieve a better clinical outcome. The objective of the study was to compare the differences in clinical outcome and laboratory results in hospitalized patients with severe SARS-CoV2 Pneumonia treated with dexamethasone at 6 mg doses versus patients treated with high-dose methylprednisolone. Materials and methods Ambispective cohort study with survival analysis of 216 patients diagnosed with severe Covid-19 pneumonia confirmed by polymerase chain reaction for SARS-CoV2 by Berlin protocol, who were hospitalized in a high-complexity clinic in Medellín, Colombia. The patients should also have supplementary oxygen and radiological confirmation of Pneumonia by chest tomography. Sample size was not calculated since the total population that met the inclusion criteria was evaluated. 111 patients were treated with the institutional protocol with intravenous dexamethasone 6 mg QD for seven to 10 days if they required oxygen. Since September 15, 2020, the hospitalization protocol of the clinic was modified by the Infectious Diseases and Pulmonology service, recommending a high dose of methylprednisolone of 250 to 500 mg every day for three days with a subsequent change to oral prednisone 50 mg every day for 14 days. The protocol was not applied in the intensive care unit, where dexamethasone continued to be administered. The clinical outcome and differences in laboratory results of the patients who received dexamethasone vs. the prospective cohort that received methylprednisolone from September 15 to October 31, 2020, were evaluated. Follow-up was carried out by outpatient consultation one month after discharge or by telephone, inquiring about readmission or living-dead status. Results 216 patients had Covid-19 pneumonia documented by ground-glass imaging and alveolar pressure / inspired oxygen fraction (PaFi) less than 300. 111 patients received dexamethasone (DXM) and 105 received methylprednisolone (MTP). Patients in the DXM group evolved to severe ARDS in a higher proportion (26.1% vs 17.1% than the MTP group). Upon completion 4 days of treatment with parenteral corticosteroid, laboratory markers of severity decreased significantly in the group that received MTP, CRP 2.85 (2.3–3.8) vs 7.2 (5.4–9.8), (p-value < 0.0001), D-dimer 691 (612–847) vs 1083 (740–1565) (p-value = 0.04) and DHL 273 (244–289) vs 355 (270.6–422) (p-value = 0.01). After starting the corticosteroid, transfer to the intensive care unit (4.8% vs. 14.4%) and mortality (9,5% vs. 17.1%) was lower in the group that received MTP. Recovery time was shorter in patients treated with MTP, three days (3–4) vs. DXM 6 days (5–8) (p-value < 0.0001). At 30-day follow-up, 88 (92.6%) were alive in MTP vs 58 (63.1%) of those who received dexamethasone. Conclusions In this study, the treatment of severe Covid-19 Pneumonia with high-dose methylprednisolone for three days followed by oral prednisone for 14 days, compared with 6 mg dexamethasone for 7 to 10 days, statistically significantly decreased the recovery time, the need for transfer to intensive care and the severity markers C-reactive protein (CRP), D-dimer and LDH. Randomized controlled studies with methylprednisolone are required to corroborate its effect, and studies in a population hospitalized in intensive care wards.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. A277-A278
Author(s):  
Ganesh Jevalikar ◽  
Rutuja Sharma ◽  
Khalid J Farooqui ◽  
Anshu Singh ◽  
Sandeep Budhiraja ◽  
...  

Abstract Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) is thought to play a role in determining the outcomes of COVID-19. India has a high prevalence of VDD. We hypothesized that VDD as measured by serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) &lt;20 ng/mL is associated with severe COVID-19 infection. Outcomes were assessed by the WHO ordinal scale for clinical improvement (OSCI)1, the need for oxygen therapy, admission to an intensive care unit (ICU), and inflammatory markers. The diagnosis of COVID-19 was proven by RT-PCR on the nasopharyngeal swab for SARS-CoV2. Serum 25OHD and PTH were measured in addition to the standard protocol for COVID-19. Clinical and laboratory data were extracted from electronic medical records and analyzed using SPSS v22.0. Patients with OSCI score &lt; 5 were classified as mild and ≥5 as severe disease. The study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee. A total of 410 patients (127 females, 9 pediatric, 17 asymptomatic) were included with a median age of 54 years (6–92 years) with 272(66.3%) having at least one co-morbid condition, including diabetes (190, 46.3%) and hypertension (164,40%). Patients with VDD (197,48%) were significantly younger (46.7±17.1 vs. 57.8±14.7 years) and had lesser prevalence of diabetes and hypertension (39.1% vs 52.4%, 29.4% vs 49.5%). Proportion of severe cases (26,13.2% vs. 31,14.6%), mortality (4, 2% vs. 11, 5.2%), oxygen requirement (68,34.5% vs.92,43.4), ICU admission (29, 14.7% vs. 42, 19.8%), need for inotropes (7,3.6% vs.12,5.7%) was not significantly different between patients with VDD and those with normal 25OHD level. The proportion of severe cases was similar across all 25OHD categories. There was no significant correlation between 25OHD levels and outcome OSCI, inflammatory markers (CRP, IL-6, D-dimer, ferritin, LDH). PTH levels positively correlated with D-dimer (r 0.117, p- 0.019), ferritin (r 0.132, p-0.010) and LDH (r0.124, p-0.018). Amongst VDD patients, 128(64.9%) were treated with cholecalciferol with a median dose of 60000 IU. The proportion of severe cases, oxygen, or ICU admission was not significantly different in the treated vs. untreated group. In conclusion, baseline levels of 25OHD did not determine the severe clinical outcomes of COVID-19 or levels of inflammatory markers. Treatment with cholecalciferol did not make any difference to the clinical outcomes of those with VDD. Reference:1WHO R&D Blueprint, novel Coronavirus. Retrieved from: https://www.who.int/blueprint/priority-diseases/key-action/COVID-19_Treatment_Trial_Design_Master_Protocol_synopsis_Final_18022020.pdf


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmet Murt ◽  
Mevlut Tamer Dincer ◽  
Cebrail Karaca ◽  
Sinan Trabulus ◽  
Ridvan Karaali ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction Kidneys are among the affected organs in COVID-19 and there may be different etiologies resulting in acute kidney injury (AKI) in different stages of the disease. This study aimed to analyze AKI among hospitalized COVID-19 patients in relation to the time and etiologies of AKI.Materials & Methods 1056 patients who were hospitalized with COVID-19 diagnosis in our institution were retrospectively evaluated and 383 of them met the inclusion criteria. Eighty-nine patients who developed AKI were involved in the final analysis. As immunologic response is generally accepted to start with the second week of COVID-19 course, patients were classified into three groups, those who had AKI on admission, those who developed AKI in the first week and those who developed AKI starting from 7th day. Initial lymphocyte counts, creatinine levels and inflammatory markers as well as changes in these parameters were compared between the groups.Results AKI was seen in 23% of the patients and 23% of those who developed AKI died. Patients who developed AKI later had higher peak CRP and D-dimer levels with lower nadir lymphocyte counts (p=0,000, 0,004 and 0,003 respectively). Additionally, patients who died had higher initial inflammatory marker levels and lower lymphocyte counts than those who survived. Mortality of patients who had AKI on hospital admission (13%) was similar to the overall COVID-19 mortality for inpatients, however it was as high as 44% for those who developed AKI after 7th day.Conclusion Early AKI was more related to pre-renal causes and had a milder course. However, later AKIs were more related to immunologic response and had significantly higher mortality. Findings of this study suggest that AKI in COVID-19 is not of one kind. When developed, AKI should be evaluated in conjunction with the disease stage and possible etiologies.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Mei ◽  
Samuel E Weinberg ◽  
Lihui Zhao ◽  
Chao Qi ◽  
Adam Frink ◽  
...  

Background The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in December 2019 overlaps with the flu season. Methods We compared clinical and laboratory results from 719 influenza and 973 COVID-19 patients from January to April 2020. We compiled laboratory results from the first 14 days of the hospitalized patients using parameters that are most significantly different between COVID-19 and influenza and hierarchically clustered COVID-19 patients based on these data. The clinical outcomes were compared among different clusters. Results Temporal analyses of laboratory results revealed that compared to influenza, patients with COVID-19 exhibited a continued increase in the white blood cell count, rapid decline of hemoglobin, more rapid increase in blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and D-dimer, and higher level of alanine transaminase, C-reactive protein, ferritin, and fibrinogen. Using these results, we sub-classified the COVID-19 patients into 5 clusters through a hierarchical clustering analysis. We then reviewed the medical record of these patients and risk stratified them based on the clinical outcomes. The cluster with the highest risk showed 27.8% fatality, 94% ICU admission, 94% intubation, and 28% discharge rates compared to 0%, 38%, 22%, and 88% in the lowest risk cluster, respectively. Patients in the highest risk cluster had leukocytosis including neutrophilia and monocytosis, severe anemia, higher BUN, creatinine, D-dimer, alkaline phosphatase, bilirubin, and troponin. Conclusions There are significant differences in the clinical and laboratory courses between COVID-19 and influenza. Risk stratification in hospitalized COVID-19 patients using laboratory data could be useful to predict clinical outcomes and pathophysiology of these patients.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (7) ◽  
pp. 1640-1643
Author(s):  
Zahid Asgher ◽  
Saed Aftab Ahmad ◽  
Mahnoor Mohydin ◽  
Hira Babar ◽  
Wali Zaidi ◽  
...  

Aim: To determine the viral load in the patients admitted in Covid-19 isolation and its correlation with the inflammatory markers and the following clinical outcome. Methodology: A retrospective study was conducted in the Pathology Department of Doctors Hospital and Medical Centre in Lahore, Pakistan from November 2020 to January 2021. IRB approval was granted. A total of 86 patients met the inclusion criteria for the study. Data was analyzed using research tool SPSS 24. Results: Increased serum viral load in SARS-CoV-2 infection showed positive correlation with inflammatory markers IL-6 (P =0.04) and D-dimer (P =0.029). Inflammatory markers LDH, Ferritin, Procalcitonin, D-Dimers and viral load itself (CT) all correlated with higher mortality while IL-6 did not. Conclusion: Serum viral load in patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 correlates with higher mortality rates itself and also raises certain inflammatory markers (IL-6, D-Dimers), which are independently accountable for causing higher mortality as well. Hence, increased inflammatory markers resulted in poor prognosis regardless of high or low viral load. Their correlation with mortality can still serve as prognostic indicators. Keywords: viral load, inflammatory markers, Covid-19, mortality


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