Evaluation of chest computed tomography features in COVID-19: a single-center retrospective study

Background: Even though Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) is a gold standard for confirming COVID-19, it continues to be plagued by a lack of RT-PCR kits and the potential of false-negative results. Hence, during the second wave of COVID-19 in India, Computed Tomography (CT) scan is an emerging diagnostic tool in evaluating the severity of illness in COVID-19 pneumonia. The present study endeavored to assess chest CT features of COVID-19 pneumonia in Indian population. Methods: This was a single-center, retrospective, observational study conducted in 300 consecutive adults RT-PCR confirmed COVID-19 patients from 1, Jan 2021 to 31, March 2021 at a private radio diagnostic center. Data regarding baseline demographics, clinical and laboratory characteristics, extent, pattern, and type of abnormal CT findings were noted. Results: The study population (204 males and 108 females) had mean age of 43.18 ± 8.27 years. Our study's most common clinical presentation was cough (48.1%) and fever (47.1%), respectively. Lung parenchymal abnormalities were found in 294 (94.2%) patients. Abnormal CT findings revealed the involvement of bilateral (45.6%) and multilobar (42.9%) with a predominant peripheral (92.3%) and posterior (80.8%) distribution. According to the type of opacity, Ground Glass Opacity (GGO) was the dominant abnormality found in 270 (91.8%) patients, in which pure GGO (36.7%), GGO with crazy paving pattern (39.8%), and GGO mixed with consolidation (52.0 %) were noted. Peri-lesional or intralesional segmental or subsegmental pulmonary vessel enlargement was found in 192 (65.3 %) patients. Conclusion: During the second wave of COVID-19, a chest CT scan is a modality of choice in diagnosing COVID-19 pneumonia and related lung parenchymal changes.

Underreporting of treatment outcomes in hospitalized COVID-19 infected diabetes patients: A systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-regression

Background: Prolonged inpatient care requirements and time constraints of research and researchers lead to the non-reporting of the treatment outcome of certain COVID-19 infected diabetes patients in published manuscripts. This study aims to quantify its global burden. Methods: A search for citations addressing the above outcome ensued chiefly in the PubMed, Embase, and Scopus databases, irrespective of the publication date and geographical region. Recruited studies were critically appraised with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's tool. Using the random-effects meta-analysis with an exact binomial method and Freeman-Tukey double arcsine transformation, the overall and subgroup-wise weighted pooled prevalence of the missing treatment outcome data was determined. The heterogeneity and publication bias assessment utilized I2 and Chi2 statistics, and funnel plot, and Egger's test, respectively. Results: Ten publications (primarily case series; 70.0%) included in this review sourced data from 6687 COVID-19 infected inpatient diabetes patients from Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America. The global pooled prevalence of missing treatment outcome data among these patients was 33.0% (95% CI: 15.0-53.0%; I2: 99.53%; P of Chi2: <0.001). It was highest in Europe (63%; 95% CI: 61.0-66.0%). Publication bias assessment was not suggestive of any small study effect. Conclusion: A considerable proportion of crucial prognosis information of hospitalized COVID-19 patients with diabetes goes underreported. It increases the risk of biasing the contemporary COVID-19-diabetes literature. The reporting of these data in the post-publication era or postponing the primary publication until the availability of all patients' treatment outcome data, when feasible, is recommended to address this enigma.

Preventive behavior of Opisthorchiasis among people in Ubon Ratchathani province, Thailand

Background: Although we are in the era of the 21st-century, some people's lifestyles are still unchanged. People are still eating crude or undercooked fish, which puts them at risk for opisthorchiasis infection. This study aimed to measure knowledge and prevention behavior regarding opisthorchiasis among people resident in Ubon Ratchathani, the northeastern region of Thailand. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from 2nd October 2018 to 26th December 2018. The data was collected via a self-administered household survey using a systematic random sampling technique. Univariate and bivariate analyses such as the chi-square test were performed. SPSS version 16 was used to analyze the data, and the significance of less than 0.05 was considered. Results: Four hundred and fifteen households have completed the questionnaire. Most of the participants were female (50.1%), aged 15-59 years old (75.3%), married (64.8%), had completed elementary school (46.3%), worked in agriculture (31.6%), and had a monthly salary of on average of 6,525 baht. Most of the respondents reported excellent behavior (94.2%) and good knowledge (80.5%) to prevent opisthorchiasis, respectively. However, there was no significant association between participants' characteristics and the related behavior to prevent opisthorchiasis (p>0.05). Conclusion: Despite efforts to educate the community, some people lack preventive knowledge and exhibit behavior associated with a higher risk of opisthorchiasis.

Association between CHA2DS2-VASc score and in-hospital death in ICU patients with COVID-19

Background: CHA2DS2-VASc score is a scientifically proven risk assessment score for patients with atrial fibrillation. It may be a good predictor of in-hospital death in COVID-19 patients. The present study aimed to evaluate the association between CHA2DS2-VASc score and in-hospital mortality in the prognosis of intensive care unit (ICU) patients with COVID-19. Methods: Eighty-four COVID-19 patients who were hospitalized in the ICU were retrospectively analyzed in a tertiary health care center, and the CHA2DS2-VASc score was determined. All analyses were performed using SPSS statistical software (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA, 20.0). A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The median age of patients was 60.0 years, and most were males (75.0%). Findings of the study showed that the CHA2DS2-VASc score was considerably higher among the hospitalized patients than discharged patients (3.08 ± 1.72 vs. 1.38 ± 1.16; p<0.001), and patients who required mechanical ventilation compared to those who did not require mechanical ventilation (3.03 ± 1.68 vs. 1.15 ± 0.97; P <0.001), respectively. Patients with CHA2DS2-VASc score of ≥3 had substantially higher age [67(45-87) vs. 58(19-75); P ˂0.001], computed tomography involvement score [67.5(20-90) vs. 35(15-90); P ˂0.001] and need for mechanical ventilation [29(90.6%) vs. 22(42.3%); P ˂0.001]. A significant difference was found in oxygen saturation on admission (P =0.001) between the two groups. In-hospital death was significantly higher among patients with a CHA2DS2-VASc score of ≥3 (P <0.001). The CHA2DS2-VASc score was positively correlated with white blood cells count (r=0.257, P =0.018) and negatively correlated with the number of days spent in the hospital (r=-0.184, P=0.130) due to higher in-hospital death in ICU patients with COVID-19. Conclusion: CHA2DS2-VASc score may be an effective tool to estimate in-hospital death in COVID-19 patients who were hospitalized in the ICU.

ACE2 enzymatic role in the SARS-CoV-2 activation: a perspective through the evolutionary promiscuity and substrate diversity of enzymes

The SARS-CoV-2 is an RNA B type β-coronavirus that distinguishes itself from previous coronaviruses by its high infectivity and mortality rates. The mechanism of viral entry into the host cell via ACE2 is currently under research. Several proteases have been nominated to activate the virus but identifying the exact enzyme/enzymes is missing. Moreover, recent work suggests that TMPRSS2 cannot be the enzyme to cleave the SARS-CoV-2 spike or that multiple proteases contribute to SARS-CoV-2 activation. The multitude of proteases that have been nominated to activate the virus suggests that the consensual identification of the precise, key enzyme is still missing. In this context, we synthesize the current controversies regarding the putative enzymes involved in SARS-CoV-2 infectivity and analyze whether ACE2 could have unexpected enzymatic roles in this process, besides its acknowledged receptor role. We hypothesize that ACE2 plays an enzymatic role as well in SARS-CoV-2 activation. Understanding the exact roles of ACE2 in COVID-19 is capital for the future design of specific, efficient therapies and deserves dedicated research. Our conviction is therefore not "if", “but” "when" will the researchers start to wonder about what is hidden behind the apparent only role of ACE2 as a receptor for SARS-CoV-2.

Resilience, fear of COVID-19 and their relationship with cognitive functioning and mood: a study on the administrative staff of the University of Western Macedonia, Greece

Background: The present study examines the relationship between resilience, mood, fear for Covid-19, and cognitive functioning during pandemic Covid-19. Methods: A cross-sectional web-based study was conducted from December 2020 to January 2021 among the administrative staff of the University of Western Macedonia, Greece. Data was collected using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), Depression, Anxiety, and Stress (DASS 21), fear of Covid-19 scales (FCV-19S), and Cognitive functioning self-assessment scale (CFSS). Univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analysis was performed using an independent Sample T-Test, Chi-Square Test, One-way ANOVA, Mann-Whitney U Test, Kruskal-Wallis H Test, Spearman's Rank-Order Correlations, Pearson product-moment correlations, and Simple Linear Regression. SPSS version 22 was used for data analysis and the statistical significance was considered at less than 0.05. Results: Data of 88 university's administrative staff has undergone final analysis. Most of the respondents were females (78.4%), married (61.3%), middle-aged group (64.8%), held a post-graduate degree (56.8%) and 94.3% stated that they had not been sick with Covid-19. Our findings showed that the middle-aged group has statistically significantly higher fear on Covid-19 (P = 0.046), and more care of personal hygiene, stress (P = 0.040), than the young age group respectively. Women had a statistically significantly higher restriction to physical contact compared to men (P = 0.042), however, men had statistically significantly more trusted the results of clinical trials of Covid-19 vaccines than women (P = 0.039), respectively. There was statistically significant and negative correlation between Resilience (CD) and cognitive functioning (r = -0.412, n = 87, P < 0.001). Furthermore, the result of a simple linear regression showed that an increase of one in CD corresponded to a 0.287 decrease in cognitive functioning. Conclusion: It is vital to continue monitoring the psychological and cognitive effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Assessment of COVID-19 pandemic stress among health sciences students in a private university in South-West Nigeria

Background: COVID-19 pandemic has been reported to have psychological effects on various aspects of human life and segments of society. The study aimed to assess COVID-19 pandemic stress during and after lockdown among health sciences students at a private university in South-West, Nigeria. Method: A descriptive, cross-sectional web-based research was conducted in a private teaching hospital of a private university using a simple random sampling technique. The study instrument was a self-structured questionnaire containing sociodemographic details and questions adapted from the validated Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) by Sheldon Cohen regarding lectures during and after COVID-19 lockdown. Data were analyzed with the aid of SPSS version 26 software. Results: A total of 220 respondents were included in the study, with a mean age of 22.08±2.996. Most of the respondents were females (157, 71.4%) in their 4th-year level (37%). The participants had a high level of stress during (46.8%) COVID-19 lockdown than after the lockdown (29.1%), and statistical significance was observed between the perceived stress level during and after the COVID-19 lockdown (McNemar-Bowker’s value = 29.322, P =<0.001) at P<0.05. The female gender (B = 2.432, P = 0.03) and the respondents in 3rd year (B = -4.178, P = 0.035) had moderate stress during COVID-19 lockdown at P < 0.05. After the COVID-19 lockdown, the respondents in their 5th year had both moderate (B = -1.73, P = 0.022) and high (B = -2.08, P = 0.026) stress at p<0.05 respectively. The respondents of age groups 17-20 years (B = 3.28, P = 0.04) and 21-24 years (B = 2.93, P = 0.046) also had high stress at P <0.05 after the lockdown. Most respondents suggested reducing online lecture loads and lockdown in school as ways the university can help students cope with stress in case of repeat pandemic outbreaks in the future. Conclusion: This study concludes that the health science students experienced a high level of stress during the COVID-19 lockdown and moderate stress level after the lockdown was eased.

Children’s online learning during COVID-19 pandemic: experiences and satisfaction encountered by Indian parents

Background: Online learning by children is pressure for children as well as parents. The Covid-19 lockdown was ended up putting much stress on parents in India. The current study aimed to assess the parental experience and satisfaction on online learning for their children during Covid -19 pandemic lockdown. Methods: A cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted among 300 parents of children who attended online learning during the COVID -19 pandemic lockdown. The data was collected using the snowball sampling technique. The survey tool consists of a sociodemographic questionnaire, self-report scales on parent's satisfaction and experiences. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, including mean, frequency, percentage, and inferential statistics such as the Chi-square test. Results: Out of 300 parents surveyed, 72% were mothers, 65.6% of children who attended online classes were from primary class, through zoom platform (52.2%) using an android mobile phone (71.1%) for a mean duration of 180±30 minutes. 80.4% of parents preferred the traditional learning method comparing to online classes for their children. More than half (52.2%) of parents reported that they were partially satisfied with children's online learning, whereas 26% were not satisfied. More than half of the parents (61.1%) experienced a great challenge and burden of online learning. Conclusion: Parents were worried that prolonged exposure to screen devices in online learning might affect child health's visual, physical, and psychological aspects.

IVF laboratory management in COVID-19 pandemic

Background: Since the first report of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), widely known as COVID-19, in late December 2019, it has spread worldwide. The eventual return of new normal has started to happen in most countries where the COVID-19 curve has flattened, and Assisted reproduction technology (ART) services are eventually resuming. Well-organized ART (embryology/andrology) laboratories safeguard the wellbeing of all staff, patients, and their gametes/embryos. Main body: A well-organized pandemic management plan must be implemented in anticipation of possible subsequent COVID-19 waves. Apart from local and national guidelines, some mandatory changes need to be taken into considerations that will allow us to overcome the fear of this deadly pandemic, work smoothly and stop any possible transmission without comprising the quality control for successful treatment. These mandatory changes include conserving different supplies, reducing manpower needs, and various protective measures for non-clinical and clinical staff, patients, and gametes/embryos. Conclusion: The current pandemic of COVID-19 suggests a well-organized action-oriented emergency plan to assure the wellbeing of all stakeholders.

Social media and the spread of COVID-19 conspiracy theories in Nigeria

Background: Amidst the recent outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, there seems to be an avalanche of conspiracy theories that abound on social media platforms, and this subject attracted a lot of research interest. This study aimed to examine the "social media and the spread Covid-19 conspiracy theories in Nigeria" in light of the above. Methods: The study adopted a qualitative design in order to explore the subject matter thoroughly. Thirty-five participants were conveniently sampled, and interviews were conducted to retrieved data from the participants. Results: Findings of this study revealed that there is a prevalence of conspiracy theories that have saturated social media ever since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. It was also found that ignorance, religious fanaticism, lack of censorship, and insufficient counter information on social media platforms are some of the possible factors that aided the spread of Covid-19 conspiracy theories among Nigerian social media users. Conclusion: This study recommends, among other things, that there is a swift need to curtail the spread of conspiracy theories through consistent dissemination of counter-information by both individuals and agencies like the National Orientation Agency (NOA) and the Nigerian Centre for Disease and Control (NCDC).