ABSTRACT
Background: It's already well known that older age, obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease are risk factors for poor COVID-19 outcomes, but the role of asthma in prognosis for patients with COVID-19 remains unclear. Since the first months of the pandemic, experts have noted that asthma patients should continue to take inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) regularly, which caused a number of difficulties even without the pandemic, but today there are additional reasons to motivate patients to regularly take exactly ICS, and MD to look for an alternative to systemic corticosteroids (CS) in asthma treatment. The purpose of the study was a comparative analysis of the impact of different asthma regimens on the course of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients. Method(s): 40 hospitalized asthma patients with COVID-19 infection consented to the study, were included into 2 groups: 1st (n = 20) received before and during hospitalization period ICS, 2nd (n = 20) -the combination of ICS with systemic CS. Patients were > 50 y.o., had SpO2 < 94 %. SpO2 and C reactive protein (CRP) determinations were checked in the 1st and 10th days after hospitalization. Statistical analysis was performed within the SPSS-21 program. The study was approved by the Local Ethics Committee of Sumy State University. Result(s): We found a significant difference in the duration of hospitalization patients from 1st and 2nd groups (8.5 +/- 0.31 vs 12.5 +/- 0.48, chi2 = 25.0, p < 0.001);of the SpO2 level on the 1st and 10th days between patients from 1st (89.9 +/- 0.25 vs 94.95 +/- 0.36) and 2nd groups (81.85 +/- 1.54 vs 88.70 +/- 1.026). The level of CRP on 1st day didn't have a difference (chi2 = 178.0, p = 0.55) but on the 10th day, patients of the 1st group had significantly lower CRP (14.55 +/- 1.73 mg/L) compared to 2nd group patients (20.45 +/- 2.13 mg/L, chi2 = 124.0, p = 0.040). A positive correlation was found between the severity of asthma and the duration of hospitalization (r = 0.436, p = 0.005), negative correlations -between the severity of asthma and SpO2 on the 1st (r = -0.327, p < 0.001) day of hospitalization. Conclusion(s): Based on the results, the treatment regime with ICS is optimal, as it decreases the duration of hospitalization and improves SpO2. During the COVID-19 pandemic asthma, patients need to minimize the use of systemic CS.
ABSTRACT
A large number of studies show conflicting results and point to multiple factors that may influence the course of COVID-19 in patients with asthma: severity asthma, phenotypes, genetic characteristics, underlying asthma therapy, and comorbidities. The aim of the study was to determine the course of Covid-19 in patients with asthma depending on the Gln27Glu polymorphism of the ADRB2 gene in the Ukrainian population. Material(s) and Method(s): 553 patients with asthma were preliminarily examined and the distribution of ADRB2 genotypes was determined. Among these patients, 116 patients aged 18 to 70 suffered from mild, moderate and severe Covid-19. The diagnosis of asthma was established based on the GINA recommendations. The severity of Covid-19 is set according on the World Health Organization. Results of the study. Depending on the severity of Covid-19, patients with asthma were divided into 3 groups. Group I included 66 patients with a mild severity of Covid-19, group II - 33 patients with a moderate severity, and group III - 23 patients with a severe. After statistical processing of the data, the following frequencies of ADRB2 genotypes were obtained: in group I Gln27Gln-genotype - 93.9%, Gln27Glu-genotype - 6.1%, Glu27Glu-genotype - 0;in group II - 6.1%, 66.7%, 27.2%, respectively;and in group III - 5.9%, 11.8%, 82.3%, respectively. The obtained results indicate that the Gln27Gln- genotype was significantly more common in asthma patients with mild severity Covid-19, while the Glu27Glu-genotype was significantly more common in patients with severe Covid-19 (chi2 121.5;p < 0.001). Conclusion(s): A more severe course of Covid-19 in asthma patients is associated with the ADRB2 Glu27Glugenotype.
ABSTRACT
The article considers the impact of transformation processes on business in the context of digitalization. Equally important is the study of the impact of these processes on the training of professionals whose work has had a direct impact on these transformations - accountants, business analysts and auditors. These specialists are faced with the task of analyzing the impact of the facts and determining the change in business development strategy in the context of global digitalization. The field of audit both in the world was able to adapt extremely flexibly to the new realities of functioning in the digitalized world. In this article, the authors reveal the main trends of digitalization of audit in the conditions of economic transformation and limited business practices caused by this global pandemic of 2019-2020. At the same time, the processes of digital transformation are the driving forces of the economy. Computer technology is becoming increasingly involved in reforming the audit institution and changing the trajectory of the auditor's role in such a society.
ABSTRACT
Solving the problems of regional development belongs to the category of strategic and most important of each country. The COVID-19 pandemic has become the biggest challenge for the world economic system, causing a significant impact on the reduction of key macroeconomic indicators, changes in business conditions, which has raised the issue of assessing the social and economic development of regions. The paper considers the application of composite index assessment technology for the consequences of COVID-19 on the development indicators of Ukraine's regions. The comparison was conducted according to the data of the first two quarters of 2019 and 2020. For the study, eight indicators were selected, which by content feature were divided into a subset of economic indicators and a subset of social indicators. A partial composite development index was designed for each subset. The principal components method was used to calculate the weights of the components. The results of the analysis showed that the COVID-19 pandemic had a greater impact on economic development: for each region, there is a decrease in the value of the indicator. While for a partial composite index of social development such a decrease is less noticeable. The reflection of the regions in the space of these composite indices showed that their structure remained virtually unchanged. The analysis of the common composite index of regional development, designed by the convolution of partial composite indices indicators, also showed a decrease in its values in 2020. The paper analyses the measures taken by the Government of Ukraine to neutralize the effects of the pandemic. © 2021 European Center of Sustainable Development.