Omicron and other variants of SARS-CoV-2 roles of vaccines and herd immunity in protecting from the emerging strains

Interferon Point Alteration in Hospitalized Patients with and Without COVID-19

Introduction

Integrating traditional Chinese medicine with Western medicine has been extensively studied in managing respiratory disease. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to examine interferon point alteration (IPA) and its association with disease severity in patients with COVID-19.

Methods

This cross-sectional study was conducted on patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 with lung involvement. The control group consisted of patients hospitalized with a diagnosis other than COVID-19. The prevalence of IPA was compared between patients with and without COVID-19. Clinical and laboratory findings were compared in patients with and without IPA.

Results

A total of 126 participants, with a mean (SD) age of 57.2 (16.4) years, were included in this study. 54.8% of participants were men. There was a significant difference between patients with and without COVID-19 regarding the frequency of IPA (p = 0.045). No significant differences were observed between variables in patients with and without IPA (p ≥ 0.05). The only variable that could significantly predict the IPA in COVID-19 patients was the severity score of lung involvement in HRCT (OR: 5.32, 95% CI: 1.08-26.05, p = 0.039). IPA showed a sensitivity and specificity of 80.9% and 34.9% in identifying COVID-19 patients, respectively.

Conclusion

Our study found a significant association between IPAs and the severity of lung involvement in hospitalized COVID-19 patients and a significant association of COVID-19 with IPAs.

Post Chikungunya Fever and Post COVID-19 Bilateral Pedal Edema: A Case Report

An 86-year-old male presented with fever and joint pain for seven days. Clinical features were suggestive of chikungunya fever, but reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was negative. After ruling out the differentials, the patient was clinically diagnosed with chikungunya fever. Chikungunya IgG antibody was positive two months after the onset of symptoms. He had a history of asymptomatic coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infection two months ago. About 20 days after his first symptom, he developed bipedal edema, refractory to diuretics. All other causes of pedal edema, including heart failure, renal failure, and liver failure, were ruled out. The bipedal edema was managed conservatively with compression bandages. Only a few case reports and studies on limb edema as a symptom post chikungunya fever have been published up to this point. Furthermore, it is difficult to say whether his COVID-19 infection is linked to the edema.