Using Ozone Therapy as an Option for Treatment of COVID-19 Patients: A Scoping Review

Causal effect of air pollution and meteorology on the COVID-19 pandemic: A convergent cross mapping approach

Environmental factors have been suspected to influence the propagation and lethality of COVID-19 in the global population. However, most of the studies have been limited to correlation analyses and did not use specific methods to address the dynamic of the causal relationship between the virus and its external drivers. This work focuses on inferring and understanding the causal effect of critical air pollutants and meteorological parameters on COVID-19 by using an Empirical Dynamic Modeling approach called Convergent Cross Mapping. This technique allowed us to identify the time-delayed causation and the sign of interactions. Considering its remarkable urban environment and mortality rate during the pandemic, Quito, Ecuador, was chosen as a case study. Our results show that both urban air pollution and meteorology have a causal impact on COVID-19. Even if the strength and the sign of the causality vary over time, a general trend can be drawn. NO2, SO2, CO and PM2.5 have a positive causation for COVID-19 infections (ρ > 0.35 and ∂ > 9.1). Contrary to current knowledge, this study shows a rapid effect of pollution on COVID-19 cases (1 < lag days <24) and a negative impact of O3 on COVID-19-related deaths (ρ = 0.53 and ∂ = -0.3). Regarding the meteorology, temperature (ρ = 0.24 and ∂ = -0.4) and wind speed (ρ = 0.34 and ∂ = -3.9) tend to mitigate the epidemiological consequences of SARS-CoV-2, whereas relative humidity seems to increase the excess deaths (ρ = 0.4 and ∂ = 0.05). A causal network is proposed to synthesize the interactions between the studied variables and to provide a simple model to support the management of coronavirus outbreaks.

The role of ozone treatment as integrative medicine. An evidence and gap map

Introduction

The Brazil has one of the largest public health systems in the world and in the 1980's, Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine were introduced. In 2018, the treatment with ozone became a complementary integrative practice showing several benefits. However, its effectiveness needs to be researched. The objective of this evidence gap map is to describe contributions of Integrative Medicines-Ozone treatment in different clinical conditions, to promote evidence-based practice.

Methods

We applied the methodology developed by Latin American and Caribbean Center on Health Sciences Information based on the 3iE evidence gap map. The EMBASE, PubMed and Virtual Health Library databases, using the MeSH and DeCS terms for the treatment with Ozone were used.

Results

26 systematic reviews were characterized, distributed in a matrix containing 6 interventions (parenteral oxygen/ozone gas mixture; parenteral ozonated water; systemic routes; topical application ozonated water; topical oxygen/ozone gas mixture; and topical ozonated oil) and 55 outcomes (cancer, infection, inflammation, pain, quality of life, wound healing and adverse effects). 334 associations between intervention and outcome were observed, emphasizing the parenteral oxygen/ozone gas mixture intervention (192 associations, 57%).

Conclusions

The evidence gap map presents an overview of contributions of Ozone treatment in controlling pain, infections, inflammation and wound healing, as well as increasing the quality of life, and it is directed to researchers and health professionals specialized in Ozone treatment. No serious adverse effects were related. Therefore, this treatment may be even more widely known as an integrative treatment, considering its low cost, efficiency and safety. Future studies should adopt economic impact assessments and the organization of health services.

Combining Ozonated Autohemotherapy with Pharmacological Therapy for Comorbid Insomnia and Myofascial Pain Syndrome: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Study

Objective

To examine the efficacy and safety of ozonated autohemotherapy (O3-AHT) combined with pharmacological therapy for comorbid insomnia and myofascial pain syndrome (MPS).

Materials and Methods

One hundred and eighteen patients were randomly divided into two groups: the control group (N = 50) and the O3-AHT group (N = 53). Patients in both groups were given the same pharmacological management for three weeks. Patients in the O3-AHT group were treated with ozonated autohemotherapy (the concentration of ozone was 20 µg/ml in the first week, 30 µg/ml in the second week, and 40 µg/ml in the third week) combined with pharmacological therapy. Primary (the insomnia severity index (ISI) and visual analogue scale (VAS)) and secondary outcomes (the Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS), polysomnography data, the anxiety and preoccupation about sleep questionnaire (APSQ), the beck depression index (BDI), and the multidimensional fatigue inventory (MFI)) were examined at pretreatment, posttreatment, 1 month, and 6 months.

Results

Fifty patients in the control group and fifty-three patients in the O3-AHT group completed the study. In both groups, insomnia and pain symptoms were relieved significantly compared with pretreatment. Compared with the control group, the O3-AHT group had significantly improved sleep quality, pain, and negative mood at different time points. No adverse complications were observed in either group.

Conclusion

Compared with pharmacological therapy alone, ozonated autohemotherapy combined with pharmacological therapy can ameliorate insomnia, reduce pain intensity, improve negative mood, and alleviate fatigue more effectively without serious adverse complications.

Potent Activity of a High Concentration of Chemical Ozone against Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria

BACKGROUND

Health care-associated infections (HAIs) are a significant public health problem worldwide, favoring multidrug-resistant (MDR) microorganisms. The SARS-CoV-2 infection was negatively associated with the increase in antimicrobial resistance, and the ESKAPE group had the most significant impact on HAIs. The study evaluated the bactericidal effect of a high concentration of O3 gas on some reference and ESKAPE bacteria.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Four standard strains and four clinical or environmental MDR strains were exposed to elevated ozone doses at different concentrations and times. Bacterial inactivation (growth and cultivability) was investigated using colony counts and resazurin as metabolic indicators. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was performed.

RESULTS

The culture exposure to a high level of O3 inhibited the growth of all bacterial strains tested with a statistically significant reduction in colony count compared to the control group. The cell viability of S. aureus (MRSA) (99.6%) and P. aeruginosa (XDR) (29.2%) was reduced considerably, and SEM showed damage to bacteria after O3 treatment Conclusion: The impact of HAIs can be easily dampened by the widespread use of ozone in ICUs. This product usually degrades into molecular oxygen and has a low toxicity compared to other sanitization products. However, high doses of ozone were able to interfere with the growth of all strains studied, evidencing that ozone-based decontamination approaches may represent the future of hospital cleaning methods.