COVID-19 and lung pathologies

Adverse events associated with SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing monoclonal antibodies using the FDA adverse event reporting system database

The purpose of this study was to analyze the important medical events (IMEs) of anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) monoclonal antibodies using the reports from the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) adverse event reporting system (FAERS) and to detect safety signals. In this study, data from the FAERS from January 2020 to December 2022 were used to investigate signals associated with five monoclonal antibody products (bamlanivimab, bamlanivimab/etesevimab, bebtelovimab, casirivimab/imdevimab, sotrovimab) in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients and one monoclonal antibody product (tixagevimab/cilgavimab) in patients wherein COVID-19 vaccination was not recommended. Disproportionality analyses were conducted using the reporting odds ratio, and an information component to identify safety signals. There were 17,937,860 drug AE reports associated with all drugs in the FAERS documented during research period. Among them, 42,642 were AE reports associated with anti-SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibodies. The SOCs including respiratory, thoracic and mediastinal, and vascular disorders were frequently reported for all the six products. The three most commonly detected IMEs were hypoxia, COVID-19 pneumonia, and anaphylactic reaction due to SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies. Even though the purposes of use were different, the types of signals between drugs were similar. Careful monitoring of these AEs should be considered for certain COVID-19 patients, at risk, when they are treated with monoclonal antibody products.

COVID-19 acts like a stress test, uncovering the vulnerable part of the human body: a retrospective study of 1640 cases in China

BACKGROUND

Since the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection exhibits multi-organ damage with diverse complications, the correlation between age, gender, medical history and clinical manifestations of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients was investigated.

METHODS

1640 patients who were infected with SARS-CoV-2 and hospitalized at the First Affiliated Hospital of Ningbo University from 22 December 2022 to 1 March 2023 were categorized and analysed. Normal distribution test and variance homogeneity test were performed. Based on the test results, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson's chi-squared test and logistic regression analysis were conducted in the study.

RESULTS

According to the ANOVA, there was a significant difference in the age distribution (P = .001) between different clinical presentations, while gender did not (P = .06). And regression analysis showed that age, hypertension, atherosclerosis and cancer were significant hazard factors for the development of predominant clinical manifestations in patients hospitalized with novel COVID-19. Additionally, infection with SARS-CoV-2 has the potential to exacerbate the burden on specific diseased or related organs.

CONCLUSION

The elderly who are infected with SARS-CoV-2 ought to be treated with emphasis not only on antiviral therapy but also on individualized treatment that takes their medical history and comorbidities into account.

Rapid assays of SARS-CoV-2 virus and noble biosensors by nanomaterials

The COVID-19 outbreak caused by SARS-CoV-2 in late 2019 has spread rapidly across the world to form a global epidemic of respiratory infectious diseases. Increased investigations on diagnostic tools are currently implemented to assist rapid identification of the virus because mass and rapid diagnosis might be the best way to prevent the outbreak of the virus. This critical review discusses the detection principles, fabrication techniques, and applications on the rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2 with three categories: rapid nuclear acid augmentation test, rapid immunoassay test and biosensors. Special efforts were put on enhancement of nanomaterials on biosensors for rapid, sensitive, and low-cost diagnostics of SARS-CoV-2 virus. Future developments are suggested regarding potential candidates in hospitals, clinics and laboratories for control and prevention of large-scale epidemic.

Coronavirus disease 2019 and lung cancer: where are we?

Oncology patients are more susceptible to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection due to hospital contact and an immunological system that can be compromised by antineoplastic therapy and supportive treatments. Certain similarities have been described in the physiopathology of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and lung cancer (LC) that may explain the higher probability of these patients of developing a more serious disease with more frequent hospitalizations and even death, especially with the addition of smoking, cardiovascular and respiratory comorbidities, old age and corticosteroids use. Pre-existing lesions and cancer therapies change the normal architecture of the lungs, so diagnostic scales such as COVID-19 Reporting and Data System (CO-RADS) are of vital importance for a correct diagnosis and patient homogenization, with a high inter-observer correlation. Moreover, anticancer treatments have required an adaptation to reduce the number of visits to the hospital [hypofractionated radiotherapy (RT), larger intervals between chemotherapy cycles, delay in follow-up tests, among others]. In a way, this has also caused a delay in the diagnosis of new cancers. On the other hand, vaccination has had a positive impact on the mortality of these patients, who maintain a similar seroprevalence to the rest of the population, with a similar impact in mortality.

Three-Dimensional Cell Cultures: The Bridge between In Vitro and In Vivo Models

Although historically, the traditional bidimensional in vitro cell system has been widely used in research, providing much fundamental information regarding cellular functions and signaling pathways as well as nuclear activities, the simplicity of this system does not fully reflect the heterogeneity and complexity of the in vivo systems. From this arises the need to use animals for experimental research and in vivo testing. Nevertheless, animal use in experimentation presents various aspects of complexity, such as ethical issues, which led Russell and Burch in 1959 to formulate the 3R (Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement) principle, underlying the urgent need to introduce non-animal-based methods in research. Considering this, three-dimensional (3D) models emerged in the scientific community as a bridge between in vitro and in vivo models, allowing for the achievement of cell differentiation and complexity while avoiding the use of animals in experimental research. The purpose of this review is to provide a general overview of the most common methods to establish 3D cell culture and to discuss their promising applications. Three-dimensional cell cultures have been employed as models to study both organ physiology and diseases; moreover, they represent a valuable tool for studying many aspects of cancer. Finally, the possibility of using 3D models for drug screening and regenerative medicine paves the way for the development of new therapeutic opportunities for many diseases.

Clinical Utility of Circulating Pentraxin 3 as a Prognostic Biomarker in Coronavirus Disease 2019: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION

Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) is involved in inflammation regulation and has a certain association with infectious diseases. However, its specific correlation with infectious diseases remains controversial. This study aimed to analyze the association between them and explore the possible role of PTX3 in the prognosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

METHODS

Five databases (PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, Clinicaltrials.gov, and gray literature) were searched. Outcomes were expressed as a standardized mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) was used to evaluate the quality of included articles. Stata 12 and Meta-DiSc were applied to analyze the pooled data. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were conducted to determine the prognostic value of PTX3 for mortality.

RESULTS

Six articles met the inclusion criteria. Circulating PTX3 levels had a nonsignificant difference between intensive care unit (ICU) and non-ICU patients with COVID-19 [SMD 1.37 (-0.08, 2.81); I² = 93.9%, P < 0.01], while the PTX3 levels in nonsurvival COVID-19 patients was significantly lower than those in survival patients [SMD -1.41 (-1.92, -0.91); I² = 66.4%, P = 0.051]. Circulating PTX3 had good mortality prediction ability (area under ROC curve, AUC = 0.829) in COVID-19. Funnel plots and Egger's tests showed low probabilities of publication bias. Through sensitivity analysis, the results of this study were robust.

CONCLUSION

This study found that PTX3 was differentially expressed between survival and nonsurvival patients with COVID-19, while there was no significant difference between ICU and non-ICU patients. Meanwhile, circulating PTX3 may be a good biomarker for monitoring the prognosis of COVID-19, which may provide new ideas and directions for clinical and scientific research.

A retrospective study on the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on dental treatments in adults

Background

The aim was to analyze the prevalence of dental treatments that were not performed in a dental care university referral center in the capital of Spain during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

This was a retrospective observational study based on the registry of medical records. Sex, age, nationality, and the type of treatment that was not performed in the service of the Integrated Adult Dental Clinic subject of the Dentistry degree at the Rey Juan Carlos University of Madrid were analyzed.

Results

A total of 392 medical records were analyzed. The prevalence of the treatments that were not performed was 58.67% (95% CI 53.74–63.44) of conservative treatments, 47.45% (95% CI 42.55–52.39) of periodontal treatments, 27.30% (95% CI 23.12–31.91) and 13.52% (95% CI 10.49–17.26) of clinical activities. The patients most affected by the absence of dental treatment ranged in age from 35 to 74 years. Age, sex, and nationality were not influential in not performing dental treatments.

Conclusions

The COVID-19 pandemic could have negatively influenced treatments, such as conservative and periodontal treatments, that increasing the risk of tooth loss in adults.

Turning any bed into an intensive care unit with the Internet of things and artificial intelligence technology. Presenting the enhanced mechanical ventilator

The recent Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic displayed weaknesses in the healthcare infrastructures worldwide and exposed a lack of specialized personnel to cover the demands of a massive calamity. We have developed a portable ventilator that uses real-time vitals read from the patient to estimate -- through artificial intelligence -- the optimal operation point. The ventilator has redundant telecommunication capabilities; therefore, the remote assistance model can protect specialists and relatives from highly contagious agents. Additionally, we have designed a system that automatically publishes information in a proprietary cloud centralizer to keep physicians and relatives informed. The system was tested in a residential last-mile connection, and transaction times below the second were registered. The timing scheme allows us to operate up to 200 devices concurrently on these lowest-specification transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP) services, promptly transmitting data for online processing and reporting. The ventilator is a proof of concept of automation that has behavioral and cognitive inputs to cheaply, yet reliably, extend the installed capacity of the healthcare systems and multiply the response of the skilled medical personnel to cover high-demanding scenarios and improve service quality.