ABSTRACT
The second wave of SARS-CoV-2 infection came as a hypoxic emergency and situation became worse in rural India, where undiagnosed COVID-19 patients died without any diagnosis or intervention. The primary aim of this innovative model was the early diagnosis of suspected SARS-CoV-2 cases, providing empirical treatment and timely referral to appropriate COVID care facilities. Fever was measured with infrared thermometer and oxygen saturation level with pulse oximeter. A total of 8203 people were screened, of which 274 persons were febrile and 69 (25%) were hypoxic too. Sixty-four out of 69 (93%) patients turned COVID-19 positive on reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. At the end of 3 weeks, 48/64 (75%) patients were successfully discharged. This model can be easily implemented in resource-limited regions to identify and prioritize the patients not only in this pandemic but also in outbreak of other communicable diseases.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , SARS-CoV-2 , COVID-19/diagnosis , Fever , Humans , India/epidemiology , Oxygen , PandemicsABSTRACT
Introduction: Many medical and social challenges have been noticed during lockdowns and restrictions in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. These restrictions had a profound impact on people’s lifestyle and caused psychological distress. In the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus, lifestyle modifications, such as nutritional intervention and proper physical activity, are important aspects. Aims/objective:To study the effect of lockdown or self-imposed restrictions due to pandemic on glycaemic control in diabetes mellitus patients and the possible determinants, including diet, sleep, physical activity, psychological status and adherence to treatment. Materials and methods:A comparative analysis of the glycaemic status and metabolic parameters (such as random blood glucose, glycated haemoglobin, weight, hypoglycaemia and lipid profile), lifestyle and psychological changes and treatment adherence was done in 103 patients. Retrospective pre-lockdown data was collected from the clinical records and interviews (offline, online or by telephone). Prospective lockdown/restrictions data was questionnaire based. Chi-square test was used to analyse categorical data and ANOVA for continuous data. Results:The majority of patients were in the age group of 40-60 years. Most of them reported disturbance in their adherence to proper diet, physical activity, sleep and medication schedule. These differences of opinion were statistically significant (p <0.00001). There were more patients who reported stress and anxiety and this difference was statistically significant. Deterioration of glycaemic control and lipid profile was highly significant (p <0.00001). Mean body weight was increased by 6.67% at the end of the study and the difference was statistically significant. Conclusion:In patients with diabetes, pandemic-related restrictions had a profound impact on the glycaemic control, metabolic status, adherence to medication and quality of life. This highlights the need for a multidisciplinary approach in managing patients with diabetes, focusing on various issues, including prevalence of poor diet control, physical inactivity and psychological stress, via various awareness and counselling programs, preferably through online mode.
ABSTRACT
An outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was first reported in Wuhan City, China, in December 2019. Since then, the outbreak has grown into a global pandemic, and neither a vaccine nor a treatment for the disease, termed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is currently available. The slow translational progress in the field of research suggests that a large number of studies are urgently required. In this context, this review explores the impact of bacteriophages on SARS-CoV-2, especially concerning phage therapy (PT). Bacteriophages are viruses that infect and kill bacterial cells. Several studies have confirmed that in addition to their antibacterial abilities, bacteriophages also show antiviral and antifungal properties. It has also been shown that PT is effective for building immunity against viral pathogens by reducing the activation of NF kappa B; additionally, phages produce the antiviral protein phagicin. The Ganges river in India, which originates from the Himalayan range, is known to harbor a large number of bacteriophages, which are released into the river gradually by the melting permafrost. Water from this river has traditionally been considered a therapeutic agent for several diseases. In this review, we hypothesize that the Ganges river may play a therapeutic role in the treatment of COVID-19.