ABSTRACT
Objective: Epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 outbreak in Yangzhou city caused by the highly contagious Delta variant strain of SARS-CoV-2 virus were investigated in this retrospective descriptive study to provide prevention and control guidelines for outbreaks in the future. Methods: All the epidemiological data used in this study were collected manually from the official website of the Yangzhou Municipal Health Committee from 28 July to 26 August 2021, and then were analyzed systematically and statistically in this study. Results: A total of 570 COVID-19 cases were reported during the short-term outbreak in Yangzhou City. The ages of infected individuals ranged from 1 to 90 years with the average age at 49.47 ± 22.69 years. As for gender distributions, the ratio of male- to-female patients was 1:1.36 (242:328). Geographic analysis showed that 377 patients (66.1%) were in Hanjiang District while 188 patients (33.0%) were in Guangling District. Clinical diagnosis showed that 175 people (30.7%) had mild symptoms, 385 people were in moderate conditions (67.5%), and 10 people were in severe situations (1.8%). Significant age differences were found among the three groups (P < 0.001). However, no significant difference was identified in terms of gender ratio (P > 0.05). Based on the transmission chain formed by 6 generations of infected persons with a clear transmission relationship, the age showed a gradually decreasing trend, while the median time of diagnosis in 2 adjacent generations was 3 days. In addition, the estimated basic reproduction number R 0 of the Delta variant was 3.3651 by the classical Susceptible, Infectious, and/or Recovered (SIR) model. Conclusion: The Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 was highly infectious and has obvious clustering characteristics during the Yangzhou outbreak in China.
ABSTRACT
The findings of previous research on the association between proton pump inhibitor (PPI) use and the treatment and prevention of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are inconsistent. Therefore, this meta-analysis was conducted to clarify the outcomes of patients taking PPIs. This analysis included 14 articles with more than 268,683 subjects. PPI use was not associated with increased or decreased risk of COVID-19 infection (odds ratio [OR] 1.64, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.54-5.00, P = 0.39) or mortality (OR = 1.91, 95% CI = 0.86-4.24, P = 0.11). However, PPI use increased the risks of severe disease (OR 1.67, 95% CI = 1.37-2.02, P < 0.00001) and secondary infection (OR 4.62, 95% CI = 2.55-8.39, P < 0.00001). In summary, PPI use was not associated with an increased risk of infection and mortality in COVID-19 but appeared to be associated with an increased risk of progression to severe disease and secondary infection. However, more original studies are urgently needed to further clarify the relationship between PPI use and COVID-19.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Proton Pump Inhibitors , Humans , Proton Pump Inhibitors/adverse effects , SARS-CoV-2ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Famotidine was reported to potentially provide benefits to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. However, it remains controversial whether it is effective in treating COVID-19. AIMS: This study aimed to explore whether famotidine use is associated with reduced risk of the severity, death, and intubation for COVID-19 patients. METHODS: This study was registered on International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) (ID: CRD42020213536). A comprehensive search was performed to identify relevant studies up to October 2020. I-squared statistic and Q-test were utilized to assess the heterogeneity. Pooled risk ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated through the random effects or fixed effects model according to the heterogeneity. Subgroup analyses, sensitivity analysis, and publication bias assessment were also conducted. RESULTS: Five studies including 36,635 subjects were included. We found that famotidine use was associated with a statistically non-significant reduced risk of progression to severe disease, death, and intubation for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients (pooled RR was 0.82, 95% CI = 0.52-1.30, P = 0.40). CONCLUSION: Famotidine has no significant protective effect in reducing the risk of developing serious illness, death, and intubation for COVID-19 patients. More original studies are needed to further clarify whether it is associated with reduced risk of the severity, death, and intubation for COVID-19 patients.