ABSTRACT
Background. Pregnancy is one of the risk factor associated with the severity of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). The perinatal complications also known to be increased when pregnant women become infected with COVID-19. However, there were not enough studies involving pregnant women with severe COVID-19, especially in Korea. The purpose of this study was to analyze the cases of pregnant women with COVID-19 infection with various severities, and to compare and describe the clinical course and the effects on pregnancy and perinatal prognosis according to severity. Methods. We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of adults 18 years of age or older who were PCR-confirmed COVID-19 and proved pregnancy, from February 1, 2020 to January 31, 2022. Through the epidemiological investigation report, the patient's medical history, obstetric history, date of diagnosis and variants of COVID-19, and vaccination history were collected. Clinical symptoms, oxygen demand, chest imagings, treatment, perinatal complications, fetal conditions, delivery results, and complications were collected through medical records. Results. A total of 104 pregnant women with PCR-confirmed COVID-19 were hospitalized. The age at the time of diagnosis was 33 +/-4.24 (Mean +/- SD) years, and 4 patients (3.8%) were vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine. During hospital stay, the most common complaints were cough (99 patients, 95.2%) and fever (85 patients, 81.7%). Oxygen was applied in 40 patients (38.5%), and in 19 patients (18.3%) in severe cases. Thirty-seven patients (35.6%) delivered during isolation treatment. Critical COVID-19 patients group has statisticaly significant higher rate of preterm delivery compared with mild COVID-19 patient group (31.6 % versus 6.3 %, p=0.009). One patient died from septic shock caused by multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii during treatment. A total of 39 babies were born, of which 4 received postnatal oxygen therapy. Conclusion. Pregnant women with COVID-19 had higher mortality rates, aggravation rates, and premature birth rates compared to non-pregnant patients of the same age. In a situation where effective and safe COVID-19 treatments for pregnant women are limited, it is necessary to increase the vaccination rate to prevent undesired outcomes in both mother and child.
ABSTRACT
Bipolar junction transistors (BJTs), the basic building blocks of integrated circuits, are deployed to control switching applications and logic operations. However, as the thickness of a conventional BJT device approaches a few atoms, its performance decreases substantially. The stacking of atomically thin 2D semiconductor materials is advantageous for manufacturing atomically thin BJT devices owing to the high carrier density of electrons and holes. Here, an atomically thin n-p-n BJT device composed of heavily doped molybdenum ditelluride (n-MoTe2) and germanium selenide (p-GeSe) sheets stacked over each other by van der Waals interactions is reported. In a common-emitter configuration, MoTe2/GeSe/MoTe2 BJT devices exhibit a considerably high current gain (beta = I-c /I-b = 29.3) at V-be = 2.5 V. The MoTe2/GeSe/MoTe2 BJT device is employed to detect streptavidin biomolecules as analytes within m. Such vdW BJT devices can trigger the development of state-of-the-art electronic devices that can be used as biosensors to detect the various kinds of target DNA and proteins like spike protein of Covid-19.
ABSTRACT
Background. Regdanvimab is a monoclonal antibody with activity against SARSCoV-2. A Phase 2/3 study with two parts is currently ongoing and data up to Day 28 of Part 1 is available while the data from 1315 patients enrolled in Part 2 are expected in June 2021. Methods. This phase 2/3, randomized, parallel-group, placebo-controlled, double-blind study with 2 parts is aimed to assess the therapeutic efficacy of regdanvimab in outpatients with mild to moderate COVID-19, not requiring supplemental oxygen therapy. Patients aged >18 with the onset of symptoms within 7 days were eligible to be enrolled. Results. In Part 1, 307 patients (101, 103, and 103 patients in the regdanvimab 40 mg/kg, regdanvimab 80 mg/kg, and placebo groups, respectively) were confirmed to have COIVD-19 by RT-qPCR at Day 1 (or Day 2). Regdanvimab significantly reduced the proportion of patients who required hospitalization or supplemental oxygen therapy compared to placebo (8.7% in the placebo vs. 4.0% in the regdanvimab 40 mg/kg). The difference in events rate was even larger in patients who met the high-risk criteria and confirmed a 66.1% reduction in patients receiving regdanvimab 40 mg/kg (Table 1). The median time to clinical recovery was shortened by 2.9 days (7.18 days for regdanvimab 40 mg/kg and 10.03 days for placebo;high-risk). Also, greater reductions from baseline viral load were shown in regdanvimab groups (Figure 1). The safety results confirmed that the regdanvimab was safe and well-tolerated. Occurrence of adverse events (Table 2) and results of other safety assessments were generally comparable among the 3 groups. The overall rate of infusion-related reaction was low and no serious adverse events or deaths were reported. The anti-drug antibody positive rate was low in the regdanvimab groups (1.4% in regdanvimab vs. 4.5% in placebo), and no antibody-dependent enhancement was reported. Conclusion. Results from the first part of the study indicate that regdanvimab may lower the rate of hospitalisation or requirement of oxygen supplementation, with the greatest benefit noted in patients at high-risk of progressing to severe COVID-19. The second part of the study remains ongoing and blinded. Therefore, results for the primary endpoint are forthcoming and will be presented at IDWeek.
ABSTRACT
Background: In 2015, an outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection occurred in South Korea involving 186 patients, 39 of whom were healthcare workers (HCWs) exposed to the infection. An effective post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) strategy may limit the spread of infection;however, there is no consensus regarding PEP for MERS-CoV infection. In this study, we assessed (1) the efficacy of oral ribavirin and lopinavir/ritonavir as PEP for HCWs exposed to patients with severe MERS-CoV pre-isolation pneumonia, and (2) safety of the PEP regimen. Methods: We retrospectively enrolled 43 HCWs with high-risk exposure to MERS-CoV from 5 hospitals affected during this outbreak in South Korea. The rate of MERS-CoV infection was compared between 22 workers at 1 hospital who received PEP consisting of oral ribavirin and lopinavir/ritonavir after exposure to patients with severe MERS-CoV pre-isolation pneumonia and 21 workers at other hospitals who did not receive PEP. Results: Six workers (14%) developed MERS-CoV infection;all of these subjects belonged to the non-PEP group. The attack rate was lower in the PEP group compared with the non-PEP group (0% vs. 28.6%;Odds ratio = 0.405, 95% confidence interval = 0.274–0.599;P = 0.009). The most commonly reported side effects of PEP therapy were nausea and diarrhea, but there were no severe adverse effects associated with PEP therapy. Conclusion: PEP with a combination of oral ribavirin and lopinavir/ritonavir appears to be effective and generally safe for preventing MERS-CoV infection after high-risk exposure in healthcare workers. Disclosures: All authors: No reported disclosures. FAU - Park, So Yeon