scholarly journals Development and validation of the Avoidance of Respiratory Viral Infection Scale (ARVIS)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toby Wise ◽  
Giorgia Michelini ◽  
Tomislav Damir Zbozinek ◽  
Cindy C. Hagan ◽  
dean mobbs

During respiratory viral epidemics and pandemics such as the COVD-19 pandemic, everyday behaviors such as leaving the house and touching frequently-used surfaces become the subject of fear and avoidance due to their potential for contagion. Despite the potential mental health related impact of this psychological phenomenon, there are currently no measures available that are designed to evaluate the extent to which individuals become fearful of these everyday situations during a respiratory viral pandemic. Here, we developed and assessed the psychometric properties of the Avoidance of Respiratory Viral Infection Scale (ARVIS) questionnaire across two samples recruited online (ns = 243, 341) recruited during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our results indicate that the ARVIS is best described by a single factor and shows a high reliability (Chronbach’s alpha > .88). It showed convergent associations with state anxiety and low discriminant associations with general trait anxiety and depression. Moreover, the ARVIS was highly associated with the extent to which subjects reported engaging in handwashing and social distancing, demonstrating criterion validity. This new scale provides a validated measure for assessing virus-related fear that can facilitate research into the psychological effects of respiratory virus pandemics.

Author(s):  
Konstantin Robertovich Gulyabin

There has been a recent obvious trend towards the increased prevalence of chronic rhinitis – 10-20% of the population experiences this disorder. Vasomotor rhinitis, sometimes also called idiopathic rhinitis, is the indisputable leader among various chronic rhinitis forms (allergic, infectious, atrophic, catarrhal and hypertrophic). The term of vasomotor rhinitis has been the subject of experts' repeated criticism because neurovisceral innervation disorders that underlie this condition are found in almost every form of chronic rhinitis. The main clinical manifestations of vasomotor rhinitis include a feeling of nasal congestion and nasal respiratory obstruction, regular abundant discharge of clear mucus and a feeling of its trickling down the posterior pharyngeal wall. A past respiratory viral infection treated by excessive quantities of vasoconstrictor drops triggers the vasomotor rhinitis onset in most cases.


2014 ◽  
Vol 307 (2) ◽  
pp. L186-L196 ◽  
Author(s):  
April Kalinowski ◽  
Iris Ueki ◽  
Gundula Min-Oo ◽  
Eric Ballon-Landa ◽  
David Knoff ◽  
...  

Airway epithelial cells are the primary cell type involved in respiratory viral infection. Upon infection, airway epithelium plays a critical role in host defense against viral infection by contributing to innate and adaptive immune responses. Influenza A virus, rhinovirus, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) represent a broad range of human viral pathogens that cause viral pneumonia and induce exacerbations of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. These respiratory viruses induce airway epithelial production of IL-8, which involves epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) activation. EGFR activation involves an integrated signaling pathway that includes NADPH oxidase activation of metalloproteinase, and EGFR proligand release that activates EGFR. Because respiratory viruses have been shown to activate EGFR via this signaling pathway in airway epithelium, we investigated the effect of virus-induced EGFR activation on airway epithelial antiviral responses. CXCL10, a chemokine produced by airway epithelial cells in response to respiratory viral infection, contributes to the recruitment of lymphocytes to target and kill virus-infected cells. While respiratory viruses activate EGFR, the interaction between CXCL10 and EGFR signaling pathways is unclear, and the potential for EGFR signaling to suppress CXCL10 has not been explored. Here, we report that respiratory virus-induced EGFR activation suppresses CXCL10 production. We found that influenza virus-, rhinovirus-, and RSV-induced EGFR activation suppressed IFN regulatory factor (IRF) 1-dependent CXCL10 production. In addition, inhibition of EGFR during viral infection augmented IRF1 and CXCL10. These findings describe a novel mechanism that viruses use to suppress endogenous antiviral defenses, and provide potential targets for future therapies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fangyan Wang ◽  
Binhui Pan ◽  
Sheng Xu ◽  
Zhihua Xu ◽  
Tiaotiao Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract Experimental experience suggests that microbial agents including probiotics and prebiotics (representative microbial agents) play a critical role in defending against respiratory virus infection. We aim to systematically examine these agents’ effect on respiratory viral infection and encourage research into clinical applications. An electronic literature search was conducted from published data with a combination of a microbial agents search component containing synonyms for microbial agents-related terms and a customized search component for respiratory virus infection. Hazard ratio (HR), risk ratio (RR) and standard deviation (SD) were employed as effect estimates. In 45 preclinical studies, the mortality rates decreased in the respiratory viral infection models that included prebiotics or prebiotics as interventions (HR: 0.70; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.56–0.87; P=0.002). There was a significant decrease in viral load due to improved gut microbiota (SD: −1.22; 95% CI: −1.50 to −0.94; P<0.001). Concentrations of interferon (IFN)-α (SD: 1.05; 95% CI: 0.33–1.77; P=0.004), IFN-γ (SD: 0.83; 95% CI: 0.01–1.65; P=0.05) and interleukin (IL)-12 (SD: 2.42; 95% CI: 0.32–4.52; P=0.02), IL-1β (SD: 0.01; 95% CI: −0.37 to 0.40; P=0.94) increased, whereas those of TNF-α (SD: −0.58; 95% CI: −1.59 to 0.43; P=0.26) and IL-6 (SD: −0.59; 95% CI: −1.24 to 0.07; P=0.08) decreased. Six clinical studies had lower symptom scores (SD: −0.09; 95% CI: −0.44 to 0.26; P=0.61) and less incidence of infection (RR: 0.80; 95% CI: 0.64–1.01; P=0.06). Our research indicates that probiotics and prebiotics pose a defensive possibility on respiratory viral infection and may encourage the clinical application.


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