Сoronavirus infection COVID-19 and features of its treatment in a patient with cardiovascular pathology. Clinical case

Patients with cardiovascular disease represent a particularly vulnerable population in a pandemic of the coronavirus infection COVID-19. They are more at risk of infection, a severe course of the disease, as well as a higher mortality rate compared to a healthy population. Currently, there are no randomized clinical trials to determine the most effective approaches to treatment in this category of patients. The presented clinical example demonstrates the possibilities of using various groups of drugs recommended for the treatment of COVID-19, and the high efficiency of treatment with an interleukin-6 receptor inhibitor (IL-6) in a patient with severe new coronavirus infection and the presence of concomitant cardiovascular pathology. © 2020, Media Sphera Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

Rehabilitation after COVID-19. Resolution of the International Expert Council of the Eurasian Association of Therapists and the Russian Society of Cardiology

By the middle of 2021, the official global number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients was close to 230 million, but the number accounting for asymptomatic patients was much higher. Consequences and rehabilitation after COVID-19 are of particular interest and raise many controversial and unresolved issues. On May 18, 2021, the Eurasian Association of Therapists organized an international panel of experts to analyze challenges associated with the post-COVID-19 period. This panel aimed to develop approaches to identify gaps in the discussed issues. This interdisciplinary team of leading experts reviewed the current literature and presented their data to formulate practical guidance on management of patients after COVID-19. The panel of experts also presented recommendations on how to implement the gained knowledge into health care practices. Copyright © 2021, Silicea-Poligraf. All rights reserved.

Atorvastatin: old friend in the light of novel coronavirus infection’s pandemia

The COVID-19 (COronaVIrus Disease 2019) pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoronaVirus 2) continues to be a global threat to people and health systems. As of March 21, 2022, there are more than 460 million cases and more than 6 million deaths worldwide, and more than 17 million and 360,000 respectively in the Russian Federation. Due to the rapid spread of the new coronavirus infection, since the beginning of the pandemic, tremendous efforts have been made to create new pharmacological agents to reduce morbidity and mortality, and tactics have been used to repurpose existing medications in treatment regimens for patients with COVID-19, particularly statins. Statins represent one of the most widely used and prescribed classes of drugs in the world. The hypolipidemic properties of statins are actively used to treat hyperlipidemia and primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular diseases and their complications. Statins have a known safety profile, are inexpensive and accessible. In addition to their hypolipidemic effects, statins have a wide range of pleiotropic anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and antithrombotic effects potentially useful in the treatment of COVID-19. Presumably, the use of statins can reduce SARS-CoV-2-induced organ and tissue damage and improve lung function. The use of statins, particularly atorvastatin, as one of the most effective, widely prescribed and studied drugs in this class, as a safe, affordable and relatively inexpensive therapy may be a promising therapeutic approach in the fight against a new coronavirus infection. © 2022, Remedium Group Ltd. All rights reserved.

Clinical Characteristics and Factors Associated with Poor Outcomes in Hospitalized Patients with Novel Coronavirus Infection COVID-19.

Aim      To evaluate the clinical picture and factors associated with unfavorable outcomes in admitted patients with COVID-19.Material and methods This study included all patients admitted to the COVID Center of the National Research Center of Cardiology of the Russian Ministry of Health Care from May 1 through May 31, 2020. Clinical demographic, laboratory, and instrumental indexes and associated factors were studied with one-way and multivariate logistic regression analysis.Results This study included 402 patients aged 18 to 95 years (mean age, 62.9±14.6 years); 43.0 % of them were older than 65 years. COVID-19 was frequently associated with chronic comorbidities, including arterial hypertension (74.4 %), obesity (41.6 %), history of ischemic heart disease (12.9 %), atrial fibrillation (18.9 %), type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) (13.0 %), and oncological diseases (9.2 %). 13.0 % of patients were smokers; less than 10% had chronic lung diseases. 3.9% of patients had a combination of COVID-19 and acute coronary pathology, including acute myocardial infarction (MI) in 3.2 % (13) and unstable angina in 0.7 % (3). The most frequent clinical manifestation of COVID-19 were four symptoms: cough (81.1 %), weakness (80.3 %), shortness of breath (71.6 %), and fever (62.7 %). 46.5% of patients had shortage of breath and chest pain/compression, 40.3% had headache, 31.1% had myalgia, 28.8% had anosmia, and 25.5% had ageusia. Arterial oxygen saturation was <93.0 % in 55.7 % of cases. According to laboratory blood tests the patients had anemia (58.2 %), lymphopenia (34.8 %), neutropenia (19.2 %), thrombocytopenia (11.9 %), and increased levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP, 87.3 %), interleukin-6 (89.3 %), ferritin (62.1 %), and D-dimer (49.2 %). 56.2% of patients required various regimens of oxygen support. 83 (20.6%) patients were admitted to intensive care and resuscitation units; invasive artificial ventilation was performed only for 34 (8.5 %) patients. In-hospital mortality was 7.7 % (31 / 402). One-way regression analysis identified major factors associated with death during the stay in the hospital: age >55 years, NEWS scale score >4.0, oxygen saturation <92.0 %, blood glucose >5.4 mmol/l, hs-CRP >25.7 mg/l, and creatinine clearance <72.0 ml/min. Furthermore, the risk increased with increasing degree of changes in each factor. According to results of the multivariate regression analysis, three most significant predictors of the hard endpoint, all-cause death during the stay in the hospital, were more than 5-fold increases in aspartate aminotransferase and/or alanine aminotransferase compared to normal levels (relative risk (RR) 16.8 at 95 % confidence interval (CI) 5.0-56.3, р<0.001), pronounced changes in the lungs consistent with a CT-4 picture as shown by computed tomography (CT) (RR 13.4; 95 % CI 3.9-45.5, р<0.001), and MI/unstable angina during the stay in the hospital (RR 11.3; 95 % CI 1.4-90.6, р=0.023). The probability of death was also considerably increased by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, impaired kidney function (creatinine clearance estimated by Cockcroft-Gault <60.0 ml/min), type 2 DM, oncological diseases, and dementia.Conclusion      This study established factors associated with unfavorable outcomes in admitted patients with COVID-19. This will allow identifying in advance patients with a high risk of complications that require increased attention to take more active diagnostic and therapeutic measures at prehospital and hospital stages.

Features of the course and approaches to the treatment of coronavirus infection COVID- 19 patients with cardiovascular diseases

Patients with cardiovascular disease represent a particularly vulnerable population in a pandemic of the coronavirus infection COVID -19. They are more at risk of infection, a severe course of the disease, as well as a higher mortality rate compared to a healthy population. Currently, there are no randomized clinical trials to determine the most effective approaches to treatment in this category of patients. The presented clinical example demonstrates the possibilities of using various groups of drugs recommended for the treatment of COVID-19, and the high efficiency of treatment with an interleukin-6 receptor inhibitor (IL-6) in a patient with severe new coronavirus infection and the presence of concomitant cardiovascular pathology. Пациенты с наличием сердечно-сосудистых заболеваний (ССЗ) представляют особую уязвимую группу населения в условиях пандемии коронавирусной инфекции COVID -19. Они наиболее подвержены риску заражения, тяжелому течению заболевания, а также более высокой летальности по сравнению со здоровой популяцией. В настоящее время отсутствуют рандомизированные клинические исследования, позволяющие определить наиболее эффективные подходы к лечению у данной категории больных. Представленный клинический пример демонстрирует возможности применения различных групп препаратов, рекомендованных для лечения COVID-19 и высокую эффективность терапии ингибитором рецептора интерлейкина - 6 (ИЛ-6) у пациента с тяжелым течением новой коронавирусной инфекции и наличием сопутствующей сердечно-сосудистой патологии.

DYNAMICS OF MSCT-PATTERNS OF LUNG DAMAGE IN SEVERE VIRAL COVID19-PNEUMONIA ON THE BACKGROUND OF INTENSIVE THERAPY

P urpose. To demonstrate the value of chest computed tomography (CT) in patient with severe COVID-19 viral pneumonia in choosing the optimal treatment strategy. Materials and methods. Chest CT dynamic studies of a patient with severe bilateral polysegmental viral COVID-19 pneumonia were performed. The analysis of CT scans images series is provided. Results. The presented clinical case demonstrates the influence of the lung CT results in choosing the optimal therapy, including the cytokine storm prevention using the interleukin-6 (IL6) receptor inhibitors. The dynamic observation of the lungs in monitoring of the intensive therapy results was performed. The changes of CT patterns depending on the disease stage and results of treatment was studied. Conclusion. The paper shows that CT diagnostics for coronavirus COVID-19 infection helps not only in making an accurate diagnosis, but also is necessary in dynamics for monitoring the course of the disease, including helping to determine treatment tactics to prevent the development of a cytokine storm. Ц ель исследования. Продемонстрировать возможности компьютерной томографии (КТ) легких в диагностике и динамическом наблюдении для выбора оптимальной тактики лечения тяжелого течения вирусной COVID-19 пневмонии. Материалы и методы. Предоставляется клинический опыт динамического наблюдения пациента с двусторонней полисегментарной вирусной COVID-19 пневмонией тяжелого течения, с помощью КТ легких. Проведен анализ серии компьютерных томограмм органов грудной клетки в динамике. Результаты. В представленном клиническом примере продемонстрированы возможности мониторинга показателей КТ легких для решения вопроса о выборе терапии, в том числе о применении ингибиторов рецептора интерлейкина-6 (ИЛ6) для предотвращения развития «цитокинового шторма», а также дальнейшего наблюдения за результатами интенсивной терапии. Изучена динамика КТ-паттернов в зависимости от стадии течения и результатов лечения вирусной пневмонии. Заключение. В работе показано, что КТ-диагностика при коронавирусной инфекции помогает не только в постановке точного диагноза, но и необходима в динамике для мониторирования течения болезни, в том числе помогает определиться с тактикой лечения для предотвращения развития «цитокинового шторма».