ABSTRACT
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an epidemic viral disease caused by a novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Despite the excessive number of neurological articles that have investigated the effect of COVID-19 on the brain from the neurological point of view, very few studies have investigated the impact of COVID-19 on the cerebral microstructure and function of the brain. The aim of this study was to summarize the results of the existing studies on cerebral microstructural changes in COVID-19 patients, specifically the use of quantitative volumetric analysis, blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD), and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). We searched PubMed/MEDLINE, ScienceDirect, Semantic Scholar, and Google Scholar from December 2020 to April 2022. A well-constructed search strategy was used to identify the articles for review. Seven research articles have met this study's inclusion and exclusion criteria, which have applied neuroimaging tools such as quantitative volumetric analysis, BOLD, and DTI to investigate cerebral microstructure changes in COVID-19 patients. A significant effect of COVID-19 was found in the brain such as hypoperfusion of cerebral blood flow, increased gray matter (GM) volume, and reduced cortical thickness. The insula and thalamic radiation were the most frequent GM region and white matter tract, respectively, that are involved in SARS-CoV-2. COVID-19 was found to be associated with changes in cerebral microstructures. These abnormalities in brain areas might lead to be associated with behaviors, mental and neurological alterations that need to be considered carefully in future studies.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT162b2) and the Oxford-AstraZeneca (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19) COVID-19 vaccines have shown promising safety and acceptability. However, COVID-19 vaccine side effects play an essential role in public vaccine confidence. We aimed to study the side effects of these COVID-19 vaccines. METHODS: A randomized, cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted between March and May of 2021. In total, 330 participants among the King Khalid University community in the Aseer region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia reported their side effects following the COVID-19 vaccine. A questionnaire was designed and validated to collect the participants' demographic data and COVID-19-related symptoms after COVID-19 vaccine injection. RESULTS: Symptoms associated with COVID-19 were reported by 226 participants (68.5%). The most common side effects reported by the participants were fever (n = 136, 41.2%), fatigue (n = 119, 36.1%), headache (n = 86, 24.2%), malaise (n = 121, 36.7%), myalgia (n = 121, 36.7%), and muscle and joint pain (n = 76, 23%). Of the participants, 5.1% became infected with COVID-19 after vaccination. Symptoms were significantly more common in males than in females (p = 0.006). CONCLUSION: The incidence of COVID-19 vaccination side effects in the Aseer region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, was consistent with the manufacturers' data. The most common post-vaccination symptoms reported by the participants were fever, myalgia, malaise, fatigue, muscle and joint pain, and headache. The results of this study showed significant variation in adverse events between Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines. Healthcare providers and recipients of vaccines can be more confident about the safety of Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has exerted great efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This research aims to scrutinize the outlook, awareness, and customs of Saudi undergraduate students regarding COVID-19. METHODS: The current cross-sectional study comprises 178 undergraduate students in the Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences. The data were collected from online Google form questionnaires. The differences were picked out of the questionnaires, and the mean scores of the differences were duly assessed. The variables associated with knowledge, attitude, and practice toward COVID-19 were evaluated; moreover, a comparative study was conducted on these variables in different faculty departments. ANOVA, Student's t-test, and binary logistic regression analysis were used to assess the data on knowledge, attitude, and practice. RESULTS: Most of the undergraduate students were well acquainted with COVID-19. We obtained the mean knowledge score for COVID-19 to be 3.08 ± .82 (range: 1-5), indicating good knowledge. The attitude means the score was 3.02 ± .61 (range: 0-4), implying good positive attitudes. On assessing the mean score of practices, it was found 5 ± .47 (range: 0-7), pointing towards perfect practices. There were no significant differences between males and females regarding knowledge, attitudes, and practice toward COVID-19 (p-value < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Students of Applied Medical Sciences are knowledgeable about COVID-19. Health education programs should be focused on protection and safety from COVID-19 for Applied Medical Sciences students, especially Medical Rehabilitation Sciences and Radiology. Hand hygiene awareness programs must be conducted for undergraduate students. Infection control should be part of the undergraduate applied for medical sciences curriculum program.
ABSTRACT
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly infectious disease caused by the novel "severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2" (SARS-CoV-2) and is rapidly spreading worldwide. This review is designed to highlight the most common clinical features and computed tomography (CT) signs of patients with COVID-19 and to elaborate the most significant signs indicative of COVID-19 diagnosis. This review involved five original articles with both clinical and radiological features of COVID-19 published during Jan and Mar 2020. In this review, the most frequent symptoms of COVID-19 were fever and cough. Myalgia, fatigue, sore throat, headache, diarrhea, and dyspnea were less common manifestations. Nausea and vomiting were rare. Ground-glass opacity (GGO) was the most common radiological finding on CT, and mixed GGO with consolidation was reported in some cases. In addition, elevated C-reactive protein and lymphopenia are the pertinent laboratory findings of COVID-19. CT is an effective and important imaging tool for both diagnosis and follow-up COVID-19 patients with varied features, duration, and course of the disease. Bilateral GGOs, especially in the periphery of the lungs with or without consolidation, are the hallmark of COVID-19.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Early diagnosis of COVID-19 is important for disease treatment and management. Computed Tomography (CT) is a fast and easy modality for diagnosis and management plan of patients with COVID-19. In the literature, several studies were done to assess the sensitivity of CT for diagnosis of COVID-19 infection in comparison to Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). Some studies stated that CT was more sensitive diagnostic modality for COVID-19 than RT-PCR. However, the sensitivity of CT for COVID-19 varies in these studies. Aim: This literature review and meta-analysis was designed to determine the CT features of COVID-19 pneumonia, to verify the pooled sensitivity of CT for the diagnosis of COVID-19 and to review the different reasons (e.g., the disease stage or severity and the negative or positive RT-PCR results) for the variations in CT sensitivity. Materials and Methods: This review analysed 31 articles selected from the Europe BMC, PubMed, Science Direct, and Scopus databases. Participant gender mean and median age, CT features of COVID-19 pneumonia were sought for and reviewed. The data was analysed using Microsoft excel version 10 and OpenMeta (Analyst) software (http://www.cebm. brown.edu/ openmeta/) to verify the pooled sensitivity of CT in detection and diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia using meta-analyses forest plot, Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve, cumulative meta-analyses forest plot and leave one forest plot. Results: The most common CT findings of COVID-19 pneumonia were bilateral lung involvement, Ground Glass Opacity (GGO), and consolidation, and Crazy-paving pattern. The CT finding is more prominent in symptomatic and severe cases than in a symptomatic and mild cases specifically the presence of consolidation and peripherals lesion distribution. The pooled sensitivity of CT is 90% in diagnosis and detection of COVID- 19 pneumonia (ranged 60-100%). Conclusion: Combination of CT chest and laboratory tests along with clinical manifestation and epidemiological features should be considered to confirm the final diagnosis of COVID- 19 pneumonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Clinical & Diagnostic Research is the property of JCDR Research & Publications Private Limited and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)