Coagulopathy and Covid-19: A quantitative review on the influence of coronavirus on the human blood coagulation parameters

Covid 19 is an illness caused by the recently discovered Coronavirus. The virus causes an unparalleled range of coagulopathy related disorders in affected patients. In this paper, we aim to understand the linkage between abnormal clot formation and the Coronavirus. The clotting parameters of Covid infected patients were studied to elucidate a better understanding of the coagulation disorder. A comparative analysis of the diagnostic reports collected from five different labs across the world aids us comprehend the elevated levels of coagulation parameters observed in these Covid infected patients. Initial coagulopathy of COVID 19 has been characterized as increased levels of prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, and platelet counts followed by elevated concentrations of D dimer and fibrin degradation products. Coagulation assays used to determine these clotting factors were through invasive methods. Conventional coagulation assays being invasive had their drawbacks taken care of with the advent of non-invasive methods. With the current scenario of this pandemic, the necessity for technological improvements in non-invasive and point of care testing methods are substantial. © 2023 Author(s).

Awareness About Post Covid Complications In The Oral Cavity Among Dental Students

Introduction: Coronavirus is a large group of RNA viruses that causes chronic respiratory problems in humans. Severe COVID- 19 acute infection, along with associated therapeutic measures, could potentially contribute to various opportunistic fungal infection, xerostomia linked to decreased salivary flow, ulcerations and gingivitis as a result of impared immune system and susceptible oral mucosa. Aim(s): The aim of the study is to create awareness about post COVID complications in the oral cavity among dental students. Material(s) and Method(s): The sample size of the study was about 100 participants of undergraduate dental students. A set of questionnaires was created by the use of google form software, the data collection software score and represent the participants answer in a pie chart. Result(s): It is clear that 59 % of people were aware about the post COVID complications in the oral cavity.Among the males 38% of people were aware that gingivitis is a post COVID complication. Whereas, among females 19% of people were aware that gingivitis is a post COVID complication. Collectively among males and females, males were more aware about the post COVID complication in the oral cavity. Conclusion(s): The study had concluded that students were moderately aware about the post covid complications in the oral cavity. Copyright © 2022 Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications. All rights reserved.

Silver and Silver Nanoparticles for the Potential Treatment of COVID-19: A Review

COVID-19 is an epizootic and life-threatening outbreak affecting millions of people globally. Coronavirus variants have emerged in different locations since their origin. Silver and its compounds, including silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), have been used in the medical field for a long period, especially in surgical treatments. The anti-microbial and anti-viral properties of silver are well documented. These properties depend on the size of the particles, concentration, precursor, method of preparation, and the presence of other benefiting compounds. Several experiments were conducted by researchers worldwide to prove the anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties of silver (Ag) and AgNPs, emphasizing that silver can be introduced to multiple organs in the human body and exhibit the expected antiviral characteristics. In this review article, use of silver nanoparticles to fight the COVID-19 pandemic according with the current information is discussed. The mechanisms involving antiviral activity and toxicity are discussed in detail. This article concludes that strong binding of AgNPs with SARS-CoV-2 virus prevents binding with the host cell, leading to the death of the virus. However, increased cytotoxic effect of the silver compounds at higher concentrations is a matter of concern.

Awareness of health care workers regarding COVID-19 vaccine in a tertiary care hospital-a knowledge, attitude, and practice study

Inactivated COVID Vaccine;COVID 19;Healthcare Worker;Vaccination;Knowledge;Attitude and Practices INTRODUCTION Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus-2novel coronavirus termed as COVID 19 is a major outbreak which was deleterious globally created a fast spreading respiratory infectious disease that caused the SARS. MATERIALS AND METHODS Study Site and Design This is a hospital-based, Observational cross-sectional study done in Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences, Teaching hospital, Hassan, Karnataka. [...]knowing the acceptability and willingness to take the vaccines becomes an important factor for the better usage of vaccines. [2] mentioned that developing a vaccine quickly requires a new pandemic protocol, with a prompt start and many steps executed in parallel before confirming a result of another step, hence might elevate financial risk. Since China confirmed the outbreak of disease in Wuhan the vaccine procurement was necessary and needed a fast production.

Clinicoepidemiological Features and Mortality Analysis of Deceased Patients with COVID-19 in a Tertiary Care Center.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: A large number of studies describing the clinicoepidemiological features of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) patients are available but very few studies have documented similar features of the deceased. This study was aimed to describe the clinicoepidemiological features and the causes of mortality of COVID-19 deceased patients admitted in a dedicated COVID center in India. METHODOLOGY: This was a retrospective study done in adult deceased patients admitted in COVID ICU from April 4 to July 24, 2020. The clinical features, comorbidities, complications, and causes of mortality in these patients were analyzed. Pediatric deceased were analyzed separately. RESULTS: A total of 654 adult patients were admitted in the ICU during the study period and ICU mortality was 37.7% (247/654). Among the adult deceased, 65.9% were males with a median age of 56 years [interquartile range (IQR), 41.5-65] and 94.74% had one or more comorbidities, most common being hypertension (43.3%), diabetes mellitus (34.8%), and chronic kidney disease (20.6%). The most common presenting features in these deceased were fever (75.7%), cough (68.8%), and shortness of breath (67.6%). The mean initial sequential organ failure assessment score was 9.3 ± 4.7 and 24.2% were already intubated at the time of admission. The median duration of hospital stay was 6 days (IQR, 3-11). The most common cause of death was sepsis with multi-organ failure (55.1%) followed by severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) (25.5%). All pediatric deceased had comorbid conditions and the most common cause of death in this group was severe ARDS. CONCLUSION: In this cohort of adult deceased, most were young males with age less than 65 years with one or more comorbidities, hypertension being the most common. Only 5% of the deceased had no comorbidities. Sepsis with multi-organ dysfunction syndrome was the most common cause of death. HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE: Aggarwal R, Bhatia R, Kulshrestha K, Soni KD, Viswanath R, Singh AK, et al. Clinicoepidemiological Features and Mortality Analysis of Deceased Patients with COVID-19 in a Tertiary Care Center. Indian J Crit Care Med 2021; 25(6):622-628.

EARLY TREATMENT WITH PREDNISOLONE AND ACYCLOVIR IN SARS-COV-2 COMPLICATED BELL'S PALSY: A CASE REPORT

Bell's palsy is an idiopathic, unilateral, acute weakness of the face in a pattern consistent with peripheral facial nerve dysfunction and may be partial or complete, occurring with equal frequency on either side of the face. The incidence is about 20 in 100,000 people a year, with about 1 in 60-lifetime risks. Bell's palsy has a peak incidence between the ages of 15 and 40 years. Viral infections are commonly associated with facial nerve pathology, which leads to peripheral facial paralysis. A potential cause of peripheral facial paralysis might be COVID-19 and neurological symptoms could be the first and only manifestation of the disease. Possible mechanisms related to nerve damage in idiopathic facial nerve paralysis include ischemia of vasa nervorum and demyelination induced by an inflammatory process. Direct viral damage or an autoimmune reaction toward the nerve-producing inflammation would be alternative or contributing mechanisms to dysfunction. Acyclovir (aciclovir) is a nucleoside analogue antiviral drug active against some of the herpes virus groups of DNA viruses and RNA viruses. The mechanism of prednisolone may involve modulation of the immune response to the causative agent or direct reduction of edema around the facial nerve within the facial canal. Prednisolone and acyclovir are commonly prescribed separately and in combination, although evidence of their effectiveness is weak. We report a case diagnosed with COVID-19 after presenting with isolated peripheral facial palsy.

Self distancing tracker to prevent COVID - 19 by facial recognition using OpenCV

This research paper gives the precise detail about an important way of detection and recognition of human faces using python and importing OpenCV as a main library in the python language. A brief idea of the report contains the ways where in a proposed system to keep on tracking the face of people right from the starting of the execution and continuously detect via the camera which is accessed by an OpenCV package and measure the distance using an algorithm And once if the distance gets decreases or comes less than the proposed limit, an alert message with a sound producing an alarm using the play sound library is given as the output. The practical working of this concept takes place between multiple faces and output will be produced based on the distance among faces, which will be wise enough for the people to get maintained social distancing through facial recognition for the better prevention of COVID-19 in impromptu in real time. This method could be an useful or an advisable one compared to the other several ways of facial recognition for the social distancing. And hence this execution can be utilized or brought out in various new strategies in machineries, smartphones, and also in several software applications. © 2021 IEEE.

Antiviral properties of copper and its alloys to inactivate covid-19 virus: a review.

Copper (Cu) and its alloys are prospective materials in fighting covid-19 virus and several microbial pandemics, due to its excellent antiviral as well as antimicrobial properties. Even though many studies have proved that copper and its alloys exhibit antiviral properties, this research arena requires further research attention. Several studies conducted on copper and its alloys have proven that copper-based alloys possess excellent potential in controlling the spread of infectious diseases. Moreover, recent studies indicate that these alloys can effectively inactivate the covid-19 virus. In view of this, the present article reviews the importance of copper and its alloys in reducing the spread and infection of covid-19, which is a global pandemic. The electronic databases such as ScienceDirect, Web of Science and PubMed were searched for identifying relevant studies in the present review article. The review starts with a brief description on the history of copper usage in medicine followed by the effect of copper content in human body and antiviral mechanisms of copper against covid-19. The subsequent sections describe the distinctive copper based material systems such as alloys, nanomaterials and coating technologies in combating the spread of covid-19. Overall, copper based materials can be propitiously used as part of preventive and therapeutic strategies in the fight against covid-19 virus.

Covid-19 vaccine candidates-current status

Introduction: Coronavirus belongs to the RNA group of viruses. Coronaviruses, first discovered in domestic poultry in the 1930s, is known to infect mostly the birds and mammals. A few strains can cause mild infection in the upper respiratory tract, like the common cold, but also more serious lower respiratory tract infections including pneumonia primarily in infants, older people, and the immunocompromised. This caused an impact on the current issue of the outbreak of COVID-19. COVID-19 vaccine is a theoretical vaccine against coronavirus 2019. Scientists are seriously working to produce effective vaccines that are under clinical trial. The outbreak of novel coronavirus caused by the SARS-CoV-2 has spread rapidly around the globe. Considering the potential threat of a pandemic, scientists, and physicians have been trying to develop a vaccine to eradicate the virus. Aim: The main aim of the review is to establish the current scenario on the development of the COVID-19 vaccine. Materials and Method: Around 50 articles from PubMed, Google Scholar, etc. were collected using keywords, analyzed, and review has been written. Conclusion: There is an increasing urge in the production of a vaccine for COVID infection. Many countries like the US, Rus-sia, Australia, India, and other countries have successfully completed Phase-I and Phase-II trials and entered the human trail. In India, the vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India the “Covi shield” and the one produced Bharat Biotech Ltd., the “Covaxin” have successfully entered the human trail. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said that it was up to the vaccine developers to make the application for emergency use authorization, and if the application was found to be “appropriate”, it may consider granting approval. © IJCRR.

COVID-19 spread through petting-a review

Aim and Objective: The main aim of this study is to analyse whether COVID 19 can spread through pet animals to humans. Background and Discussion: Coronavirus belongs to the RNA group of family viruses. Coronaviruses can cause cold-like illness in people and some might cause illnesses in certain animals. Certain viruses like canine and feline coronavirus affect or infect only animals and do not infect humans. Certain coronavirus which infects animals can sometimes spread to humans. This caused an impact on the current issue of the outbreak of COVID-19. COVID 19 spreads primarily from person to person but also there’s a chance that it might spread from people to animals or vice versa. Certain studies show that people who are infected but don’t have symptoms most likely play a role in the spread of coronavirus. The risk of animals spreading COVID-19 to people is considered to be low severe acute respiratory syndrome and Middle East respiratory syndrome are some examples of disease caused by a coronavirus. Conclusion: This review discussed the nature of COVID-19 viral spread through domestic pet animals and there is no evidence to suggest that any animals including pets or livestock can spread COVID infection to people. © IJCRR.