Long COVID: diagnosis and treatment of respiratory syndrome in post COVID-19 conditions

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to another medical burden that came from the symptoms experienced by patients after acute infection with SARS-CoV-2, a condition often called as Long COVID. As the number of COVID-19 cases remain rising, various studies and scientific researches are being conducted to understand more about Long COVID, and findings have consistently shown increased burden due to Long COVID that needs more attention from the clinical world. This article review collects various sources regarding the diagnosis and management of respiratory syndrome in post-COVID-19 conditions. Long COVID, currently referred to as a post-COVID-19 condition, consists of symptom(s) that occurs in individuals with a history of probable or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, with symptoms lasting at least two months and cannot be explained by any alternative diagnosis. Symptoms that occur are very diverse from various organ systems, including the respiratory system. Knowledge regarding the possible symptoms as well as a thorough evaluation is needed to identify and diagnose post-COVID-19 conditions, and multidisciplinary management through a tiered system may help reach more cases of post-COVID-19 conditions. The treatment for post-COVID-19 conditions needs to be adjusted to the patient's condition, and the administration of pharmacological therapy such as steroids, bronchodilators, and mucolytics/antioxidants has to be based on clinical symptoms and radiological abnormalities.

Expert Review of Global Real-World Data on COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Effectiveness & Safety During the Omicron-dominant Phase of the Pandemic (preprint)

Introduction COVID-19 vaccines have been highly effective in reducing morbidity and mortality during the pandemic. However, the emergence of the Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant and subvariants as the globally dominant strains have raised doubts about the effectiveness of currently-available vaccines and prompted debate about potential future vaccination strategies.Areas covered Using the publicly available IVAC VIEW-hub platform, we reviewed 52 studies on vaccine effectiveness (VE) after booster vaccinations. VE data were reported for SARS-CoV-2 symptomatic infection, severe disease and death and stratified by vaccine schedule and age. In addition, a non-systematic literature review of safety was performed to identify single or multi-country studies investigating adverse event rates for at least two of the currently-available COVID-19 vaccines.Expert opinion Booster shots of the current COVID-19 vaccines provide consistently high protection against Omicron-related severe disease and death. Additionally, this protection appears to be conserved for at least 3 months, with a small but significant waning after that time. The positive risk-benefit ratio of these vaccines is well established, thus increasing confidence in administering additional doses as required. Future vaccination strategies will likely include a combination of schedules based on a person’s risk profile, as overly frequent boosting may be neither beneficial nor sustainable for the general population.

Expert Review of Global Real-World Vaccine Effectiveness Against SARS-CoV-2 (preprint)

IntroductionCOVID-19 vaccines have been highly effective in reducing morbidity and mortality during the pandemic. While primary series vaccination rates are generally high in Southeast Asian (SEA) countries, various factors have limited the rollout and impact of booster doses.Areas coveredWe reviewed 79 studies in the publicly available International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC) VIEW-hub platform on vaccine effectiveness (VE) after primary immunizations with two-dose schedules. VE data were reported for SARS-CoV-2 infection, COVID-19-related hospitalizations and deaths, and stratified across variants of concern (VOC), age, study design and prior SARS-CoV-2 infection for mRNA vaccines (BNT162b2, mRNA-1273 and combinations of both), vector vaccines (AstraZeneca, AZD1222 “Vaxzevria”) and inactivated virus vaccines (CoronaVac).Expert opinionThe most-studied COVID-19 vaccines provide consistently high (>90%) protection against serious clinical outcomes like hospitalizations and deaths, regardless of variant. Additionally, this protection appears equivalent for mRNA vaccines and vector vaccines like AZD1222, as supported by our analysis of local Asian and relevant international data, and by insights from SEA experts. Given the continued impact of COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths on healthcare systems worldwide, encouraging vaccination strategies that can reduce this burden is more relevant than attempting to prevent broader but milder infections with specific variants, including Omicron.Article highlights - VE was high and comparable for both AZD1222 and mRNA vaccine types (91%-93%) in protecting against hospitalization and death from COVID-19, regardless of age.- VE against symptomatic infections trended higher (though not significantly) for mRNA-based vaccines compared to AZD1222.- Waning of VE since time of vaccination was observed for symptomatic infections but was limited for serious COVID-19 outcomes. A sub-analysis of studies with comparative arms evaluating the VE of different vaccines in the same settings also confirmed these observations for all VOC assessed, with all vaccines conferring a high level of protection against serious outcomes.- For Omicron, there is limited comparative data within the IVAC dataset, however, expert review of emerging data suggests that VE against all outcomes is lower for all COVID-19 vaccines, than for the Delta variant.- Data from the UK indicate that VE improves with a booster dose and that VE continues to be very similar, irrespective of the type of vaccine used.- Importantly, all COVID-19 vaccines evaluated here have favorable benefit/risk profiles.- Although many SEA countries have high rates of primary vaccination, there are still challenges to achieving high booster dose coverage. The results of this analysis suggest that the most effective way to achieve vaccine booster targets, particularly in resource-limited settings, would simply be to consider any vaccines which have good safety and comparable effectiveness profiles, particularly against severe outcomes, and that are accessible and optimal for the local situation.- This review reinforces the value of real-world evidence to support efforts advocating for the completion of primary series and booster vaccinations where appropriate, especially to restore VE against emerging VOC such as Omicron. However, data gaps still persist, given the lag between the emergence of new variants, updated vaccine schedules and VE data to inform their impact. 

Coronavirus Yang Meresahkan Dunia

Di penghujung tahun 2019, laporan pemerintah China membuat publik ibuat penasaran dan tim ahli sibuk meneliti. Tepat tanggal 31 Desember 2019, China melaporkan kejadian luar biasa, kasus pneumonia misterius yang belum diketahui penyebabnya, tepatnya di Kota Wuhan, Provinsi Hubei.1 Berdasarkan penelitian terhadap 41 pasien pertama kasus diduga terkait atau terpapar dengan satu pasar hewan di Wuhan, China.

Clinical characteristics and mortality associated with COVID-19 in Jakarta, Indonesia: a hospital-based retrospective cohort study (preprint)

BackgroundData on COVID-19-related mortality and associated factors from low-resource settings are scarce. This study examined clinical characteristics and factors associated with in-hospital mortality of COVID-19 patients in Jakarta, Indonesia, from March 2 to July 31, 2020. MethodsThis retrospective cohort included all hospitalised patients with PCR-confirmed COVID-19 in 55 hospitals. We extracted demographic and clinical data, including hospital outcomes (discharge or death). We used Cox regression to examine factors associated with mortality. FindingsOf 4265 patients with a definitive outcome by July 31, 3768 (88%) were discharged and 497 (12%) died. The median age was 46 years (IQR 32-57), 5% were children, and 31% had at least one comorbidity. Age-specific mortalities were 11% (7/61) for <5 years; 4% (1/23) for 5-9; 2% (3/133) for 10-19; 2% (8/638) for 20-29; 3% (26/755) for 30-39; 7% (61/819) for 40-49; 17% (155/941) for 50-59; 22% (132/611) for 60-69; and 34% (96/284) for [≥]70. Risk of death was associated with higher age; pre-existing hypertension, cardiac disease, chronic kidney disease or liver disease; clinical diagnosis of pneumonia; multiple (>3) symptoms; and shorter time from symptom onset to admission. Patients <50 years with >1 comorbidity had a nearly six-fold higher risk of death than those without (adjusted hazard ratio 5{middle dot}50, 95% CI 2{middle dot}72-11{middle dot}13; 27% vs 3% mortality). InterpretationOverall mortality was lower than reported in high-income countries, probably due to younger age distribution and fewer comorbidities. However, deaths occurred across all ages, with >10% mortality among children <5 years and adults >50 years.

The emergence of COVID-19 in Indonesia: analysis of predictors of infection and mortality using independent and clustered data approaches (preprint)

Background: Analyses of correlates of SARS-CoV-2 infection or mortality have usually assessed individual predictors. This study aimed to determine if patterns of combined predictors may better identify risk of infection and mortality. Methods: For the period of March 2nd to 10th 2020, the first 9 days of the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia, we selected all 18 confirmed cases, of which 6 died, and all 60 suspected cases, of which 1 died; and 28 putatively negative patients with pneumonia and no travel history. We recorded data for travel, contact history, symptoms, haematology, comorbidities, and chest x-ray. Hierarchical cluster analyses (HCA) and principal component analyses (PCA) identified cluster and covariance patterns for symptoms or haematology which were analysed with other predictors of infection or mortality using logistic regression. Results: For univariate analyses, no significant association with infection was seen for fever, cough, dyspnoea, headache, runny nose, sore throat, gastrointestinal complaints (GIC), or haematology. A PCA symptom component for fever, cough, and GIC tended to increase risk of infection (OR 3.41; 95% CI 1.06 - 14; p=0.06), and a haematology component with elevated monocytes decreased risk (OR 0.26; 0.07 - 0.79; 0.027). Multivariate analysis revealed that an HCA cluster of 3-5 symptoms, typically fever, cough, headache, runny nose, sore throat but little dyspnoea and no GIC tended to reduce risk (aOR 0.048; <0.001 - 0.52; 0.056). In univariate analyses for death, an HCA cluster of cough, fever and dyspnoea had increased risk (OR 5.75; 1.06 - 31.3, 0.043), but no other individual predictor, cluster or component was associated. Other significant predictors of infection were age >= 45, international travel, contact with COVID-19 patient, and pneumonia. Diabetes and history of contact were associated with higher mortality. Conclusions: Cluster groups and co-variance patterns may be stronger correlates of SARS-CoV-2 infection than individual predictors. Comorbidities may warrant careful attention as would COVID-19 exposure levels.