scholarly journals A clinical view on the possibility and feasibility of using decamethoxin during the COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-38
Author(s):  
Oleksandr Halushko

Background. Due to the significant spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the available contact route of transmission, there is a growing interest in the possibility of using antiseptics to prevent contagion of this viral disease. However, the list of antiseptic drugs for local application is limited. The aim: to investigate the possibility and feasibility of clinical use of decamethoxine as an antiseptic during the infectious COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and methods. Researches and systematic reviews published between 2001 and 2020 were studied using PubMed and Google Scholar searches. Results. It is shown that decamethoxine is an active antiseptic drug, the clinical effectiveness of which has been proven in patients with various pathologies (including bronchial and pulmonary diseases). Decamethoxine can be used in various ways, that provides a variety of routes to deliver the drug to the patient, and it has a strong antiviral activity against different groups of viruses. Conclusions. The analysis demonstrates the feasibility of using decamethoxine solutions to prevent the occurrence and spread of COVID-19 infection.

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liubov Biliavska ◽  
Yulia Pankivska ◽  
Olga Povnitsa ◽  
Svitlana Zagorodnya ◽  
Ganna Gudz ◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
Vol 135 (4) ◽  
pp. 401-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
André Tito Pereira Bueno ◽  
Vladimir Lisboa Capelasso ◽  
Rafael Leite Pacheco ◽  
Carolina de Oliveira Cruz Latorraca ◽  
Tiago Biachi de Castria ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: The purpose of screening tests for cancer is to detect it at an early stage in order to increase the chances of treatment. However, their unrestrained use may lead to unnecessary examinations, overdiagnosis and higher costs. It is thus necessary to evaluate their clinical effects in terms of benefits and harm. DESIGN AND SETTING: Review of Cochrane systematic reviews, carried out in the Discipline of Evidence-Based Medicine, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo. METHODS: Cochrane reviews on the clinical effectiveness of cancer screening procedures were included. Study titles and abstracts were independently assessed by two authors. Conflicts were resolved by another two authors. Findings were summarized and discussed. RESULTS: Seventeen reviews were selected: fifteen on screening for specific cancers (bladder, breast, colorectal, hepatic, lung, nasopharyngeal, esophageal, oral, prostate, testicular and uterine) and two others on cancer in general. The quality of evidence of the findings varied among the reviews. Only two reviews resulted in high-quality evidence: screening using low-dose computed tomography scans for high-risk individuals seems to reduce lung cancer mortality; and screening using flexible sigmoidoscopy and fecal occult blood tests seems to reduce colorectal cancer mortality. CONCLUSION: The evidence found through Cochrane reviews did not support most of the commonly used screening tests for cancer. It is recommended that patients should be informed of the possibilities of false positives and false negatives before they undergo the tests. Further studies to fully assess the effectiveness of cancer screening tests and adverse outcomes are required.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessie Pannu ◽  
Susan Ciotti ◽  
Shyamala Ganesan ◽  
George Arida ◽  
Chad Costley ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective: The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of aerosolized droplets inhaled into the nose in the transmission of respiratory viral disease. Inactivating pathogenic viruses at the nasal port of entry may reduce viral loads, thereby reducing infection, transmission and spread. In this communication, we demonstrate safe and broad anti-viral activity of oil-in-water nanoemulsion (nanodroplet) formulation containing the potent antiseptic 0.13% Benzalkonium Chloride (NE-BZK). Results: We have demonstrated that NE-BZK exhibits broad-spectrum, long-lasting antiviral activity with >99.9% in vitro killing of enveloped viruses including SARS-CoV-2, human coronavirus, RSV, and influenza B. In vitro and ex-vivo studies demonstrated continued killing of >99.99% of human coronavirus with diluted NE-BZK and persistent for 8 hours post application, respectively. The repeated application of NE-BZK, twice daily for 2 weeks into rabbit nostrils demonstrated its safety with no nasal irritation. These findings demonstrate that formulating BZK into the proprietary nanodroplets offers a safe and effective antiviral and a significant addition to strategies to combat the spread of respiratory viral infectious diseases.


2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nigel Fleeman ◽  
Rachel Houten ◽  
Adrian Bagust ◽  
Marty Richardson ◽  
Sophie Beale ◽  
...  

Background Thyroid cancer is a rare cancer, accounting for only 1% of all malignancies in England and Wales. Differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) accounts for ≈94% of all thyroid cancers. Patients with DTC often require treatment with radioactive iodine. Treatment for DTC that is refractory to radioactive iodine [radioactive iodine-refractory DTC (RR-DTC)] is often limited to best supportive care (BSC). Objectives We aimed to assess the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of lenvatinib (Lenvima®; Eisai Ltd, Hertfordshire, UK) and sorafenib (Nexar®; Bayer HealthCare, Leverkusen, Germany) for the treatment of patients with RR-DTC. Data sources EMBASE, MEDLINE, PubMed, The Cochrane Library and EconLit were searched (date range 1999 to 10 January 2017; searched on 10 January 2017). The bibliographies of retrieved citations were also examined. Review methods We searched for randomised controlled trials (RCTs), systematic reviews, prospective observational studies and economic evaluations of lenvatinib or sorafenib. In the absence of relevant economic evaluations, we constructed a de novo economic model to compare the cost-effectiveness of lenvatinib and sorafenib with that of BSC. Results Two RCTs were identified: SELECT (Study of [E7080] LEnvatinib in 131I-refractory differentiated Cancer of the Thyroid) and DECISION (StuDy of sorafEnib in loCally advanced or metastatIc patientS with radioactive Iodine-refractory thyrOid caNcer). Lenvatinib and sorafenib were both reported to improve median progression-free survival (PFS) compared with placebo: 18.3 months (lenvatinib) vs. 3.6 months (placebo) and 10.8 months (sorafenib) vs. 5.8 months (placebo). Patient crossover was high (≥ 75%) in both trials, confounding estimates of overall survival (OS). Using OS data adjusted for crossover, trial authors reported a statistically significant improvement in OS for patients treated with lenvatinib compared with those given placebo (SELECT) but not for patients treated with sorafenib compared with those given placebo (DECISION). Both lenvatinib and sorafenib increased the incidence of adverse events (AEs), and dose reductions were required (for > 60% of patients). The results from nine prospective observational studies and 13 systematic reviews of lenvatinib or sorafenib were broadly comparable to those from the RCTs. Health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) data were collected only in DECISION. We considered the feasibility of comparing lenvatinib with sorafenib via an indirect comparison but concluded that this would not be appropriate because of differences in trial and participant characteristics, risk profiles of the participants in the placebo arms and because the proportional hazard assumption was violated for five of the six survival outcomes available from the trials. In the base-case economic analysis, using list prices only, the cost-effectiveness comparison of lenvatinib versus BSC yields an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained of £65,872, and the comparison of sorafenib versus BSC yields an ICER of £85,644 per QALY gained. The deterministic sensitivity analyses show that none of the variations lowered the base-case ICERs to < £50,000 per QALY gained. Limitations We consider that it is not possible to compare the clinical effectiveness or cost-effectiveness of lenvatinib and sorafenib. Conclusions Compared with placebo/BSC, treatment with lenvatinib or sorafenib results in an improvement in PFS, objective tumour response rate and possibly OS, but dose modifications were required to treat AEs. Both treatments exhibit estimated ICERs of > £50,000 per QALY gained. Further research should include examination of the effects of lenvatinib, sorafenib and BSC (including HRQoL) for both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients, and the positioning of treatments in the treatment pathway. Study registration This study is registered as PROSPERO CRD42017055516. Funding The National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programme.


2019 ◽  
Vol 160 (10) ◽  
pp. 363-369 ◽  
Author(s):  
János Sinkó

Abstract: Although cytomegalovirus is one of the most prevalent viral pathogens on the globe, in immunocompetent individuals infected with cytomegalovirus usually no specific antiviral therapy is required. In the case of impaired T-cell mediated immunity, however, latent infection can reactivate and occasionally a viral disease with organ involvement develops. The number of actually available anti-cytomegalovirus drugs is low, for prophylaxis or treatment ganciclovir, valganciclovir, foscarnet or cidofovir can be administered. The clinical use of these drugs is primarily hampered by their toxicity. In search for new treatment options, only letermovir, a terminase complex inhibitor compound showed appropriate activity and tolerability. In a placebo-controlled clinical trial on prophylactic letermovir in stem cell transplant patients, administration of the active compound resulted in a significant decrease in human cytomegalovirus reactivations as well as in prolonged survival. No toxicity affecting clinical use has been observed. For management of patients being at high risk for cytomegalovirus reactivation, appropriate antiviral strategy should be followed. Antiviral prophylaxis or diagnostics-guided pre-emptive therapy seem to be the most suitable options. Orv Hetil. 2019; 160(10): 363–369.


Marine Drugs ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Falco ◽  
Regla Medina-Gali ◽  
José Poveda ◽  
Melissa Bello-Perez ◽  
Beatriz Novoa ◽  
...  

Global health is under attack by increasingly-frequent pandemics of viral origin. Antimicrobial peptides are a valuable tool to combat pathogenic microorganisms. Previous studies from our group have shown that the membrane-lytic region of turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) NK-lysine short peptide (Nkl71–100) exerts an anti-protozoal activity, probably due to membrane rupture. In addition, NK-lysine protein is highly expressed in zebrafish in response to viral infections. In this work several biophysical methods, such as vesicle aggregation, leakage and fluorescence anisotropy, are employed to investigate the interaction of Nkl71–100 with different glycerophospholipid vesicles. At acidic pH, Nkl71–100 preferably interacts with phosphatidylserine (PS), disrupts PS membranes, and allows the content leakage from vesicles. Furthermore, Nkl71–100 exerts strong antiviral activity against spring viremia of carp virus (SVCV) by inhibiting not only the binding of viral particles to host cells, but also the fusion of virus and cell membranes, which requires a low pH context. Such antiviral activity seems to be related to the important role that PS plays in these steps of the replication cycle of SVCV, a feature that is shared by other families of virus-comprising members with health and veterinary relevance. Consequently, Nkl71–100 is shown as a promising broad-spectrum antiviral candidate.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. S436-S437
Author(s):  
Keita Morikane ◽  
Shoko Suzuki ◽  
Jun Yoshioka ◽  
Jun Yakuwa ◽  
Masaki Nakane

Abstract Background Contact precautions do not necessarily control transmission of MDROs as other route of transmission such as patient environment may be significant. No-touch environmental disinfection has been highlighted in the past several years to control transmission of MDROs. The effectiveness of portable Pulsed Xenon Ultraviolet (PX-UV) device has been examined and demonstrated in US healthcare settings. However, its effectiveness outside the US healthcare setting is seldom reported. Methods This study was conducted in the intensive care unit (ICU) of Yamagata University Hospital, a 637-bed tertiary referral hospital. The ICU has six rooms and beds. In the baseline period (August 2016 to January 2018), all rooms were manually cleaned after every patient transfer/discharge. In the intervention period (February 2018 to February 2019), PX-UV disinfection was added after the manual cleaning. In both periods, all patients were screened for MRSA and two drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (2DRA) to detect acquisition of those pathogens in the ICU. For microbiological evaluation, surfaces were selected for sampling by contact plates before/after manual cleaning and after PX-UV. After overnight incubation, colonies on the plates were counted. Results The incidence of newly acquired MRSA declined over time (1.40 per 1,000 patient-days in the baseline period to 0.95 in the intervention period, relative risk (RR): 0.68, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.12–3.70). The incidence of newly acquired 2DRA further declined (4.91 to 1.90, RR: 0.39, 95% CI: 0.13–1.18). Notably, no new acquisition of 2DRA was observed since August 2018 for more than 7 months, not only in the ICU but also throughout the hospital. The total count of colonies in the sampling of 140 sites after 17 patient discharges were 3,540 (before manual cleaning), 669 (after manual cleaning, before PX-UV) and 261 (after PX-UV). The percent reduction of microbiological burden by manual cleaning was 81%, but a further 61% reduction was achieved by PX-UV. Conclusion PX-UV is effective in further reducing the microbial burden even after through manual cleaning, which presumably led to termination of transmission of 2DRA in our hospital. The effectiveness of PX-UV in controlling MDROs in the non-US healthcare settings is suggested. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.


2010 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 824-831 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugenia Urra Medina ◽  
René Mauricio Barría Pailaquilén

Systematic reviews (SR) have gained relevance in the world and Latin America because of their credibility in the search, compilation, arranging and analysis of the information obtained from research about health interventions, during a period of time. Consequently, evidence-based practice uses SR as a way to capture the best evidence of clinical effectiveness. This article reviews SR methodology, process, and its usefulness in health professions like nursing and medicine.


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