ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 makes patients more susceptible to superinfection of fungal disease as a consequence of immunological system impairment. Mucormycosis is a fungal infection that is rare but has a high mortality rate and mostly affects patients with poorly controlled diabetes mellitus or those receiving corticosteroids. CASE PRESENTATION: Here, we present a case of post-coronavirus disease 2019 mucormycosis in a 37-year-old Persian male presenting with multiple periodontal abscess with purulent discharge and necrosis of maxillary bone (without oroantral communication). Surgical debridement following antifungal therapy was the treatment of choice. CONCLUSION: Early diagnosis and immediate referral are the cornerstone of comprehensive treatment.
Subject(s)
Mucormycosis , Periodontal Abscess , Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome , Adult , Humans , Male , Mucormycosis/diagnosis , Mucormycosis/etiology , Mucormycosis/therapy , Periodontal Abscess/diagnosis , Periodontal Abscess/etiology , Periodontal Abscess/therapy , Maxilla/microbiology , Maxilla/surgery , Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome/complications , Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome/diagnosis , Debridement , Necrosis , Antifungal Agents/therapeutic useABSTRACT
While vaccination against COVID-19 has significantly improved the morbidity and mortality of the disease, with the increase in the administration of COVID-19 vaccines, it is more likely to observe their rare side effects in the clinical settings. Herein, we report a case of an 82-year-old man with history of coronary artery disease, prostate cancer in remission, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and hypothyroidism, who presented with acute pancreatitis few hours after receiving the third dose of Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, without other identified etiology. His symptoms were mild and he was discharged in a stable condition after improvement in his condition with supportive care.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: We aimed to assess the gastrointestinal (GI) manifestations of patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection and determine factors predicting disease prognosis and severity among patients with GI symptoms. METHODS: In this retrospective study, we evaluated laboratory confirmed (by real-time polymerase chain reaction) inpatient cases of coronavirus-associated disease 2019 (COVID-19), referred to Sina hospital, a tertiary educational hospital of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, from March 10 to May 20, 2020. Demographic and clinical characteristics, laboratory data, outcomes and treatment data were extracted and analyzed using SPSS version 20. RESULTS: A total of 611 patients (234 women and 377 men) were included with 155 patients having GI symptoms. The most prevalent reported GI symptom was nausea/vomiting in 115 (18.8%) of patients. A total of 20 patients (3.2%) only had GI symptoms (without respiratory symptoms). There was no statistically significant difference in the clinical outcomes, disease severity, intensive care unit (ICU) admission and mortality between patients with and without GI symptoms. Aspartate Aminotransferase level was associated with 446% increased risk of disease severity (adjusted odds ratio: 5.46, 95% CI: 2.01 to 14.81) (P=0.040) among patients with GI symptoms. Additionally, we found that treatment with antibiotics in addition to mechanical ventilation was associated with increased survival among patients with GI symptoms (Pearson Chi square: 6.22; P value: 0.013). CONCLUSION: More attention should be paid to patients with only GI symptoms for early patient detection and isolation. Moreover, patients with GI manifestations are not exposed to higher rates of disease severity or mortality.
Subject(s)
COVID-19/epidemiology , Gastrointestinal Diseases/epidemiology , Hospitalization/statistics & numerical data , Intensive Care Units/statistics & numerical data , Pandemics , SARS-CoV-2 , Female , Gastrointestinal Diseases/diagnosis , Humans , Iran/epidemiology , Male , Middle Aged , Retrospective Studies , Severity of Illness IndexABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: COVID-19, as a newly-emerged viral infection has now spread all over the world after originating in Wuhan, China. Pneumonia is the hallmark of the disease, with dyspnea in half of the patients and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in up to one -third of the cases. Pulmonary edema, neutrophilic infiltration, and inflammatory cytokine release are the pathologic signs of this disease. The anti-inflammatory effect of the photobiomodulation (PBM) has been confirmed in many previous studies. Therefore, this review study was conducted to evaluate the direct effect of PBM on the acute lung inflammation or ARDS and also accelerating the regeneration of the damaged tissues. The indirect effects of PBM on modulation of the immune system, increasing the blood flow and oxygenation in other tissues were also considered. METHODOLOGY: The databases of PubMed, Cochrane library, and Google Scholar were searched to find the relevant studies. Keywords included the PBM and related terms, lung inflammation, and COVID-19 -related signs. Studies were categorized with respect to the target tissue, laser parameters, and their results. RESULTS: Seventeen related papers were included in this review. All of them were in animal models. They showed that the PBM could significantly decrease the pulmonary edema, neutrophil influx, and generation of pro-inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin 1 beta (IL-1ß), interleukin 6 (IL-6), intracellular adhesion molecule (ICAM), reactive oxygen species (ROS), isoform of nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and macrophage inflammatory protein 2 (MIP-2)). CONCLUSION: Our findings revealed that the PBM could be helpful in reducing the lung inflammation and promoting the regeneration of the damaged tissue. PBM can increase the oxygenation indirectly in order to rehabilitate the affected organs. Thus, the infra-red lasers or light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are recommended in this regard.