Sudden loss of smell and taste: clinical predictors of coronavirus disease 2019 infection.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed: to evaluate the association between coronavirus disease 2019 infection and olfactory and taste dysfunction in patients presenting to the out-patient department with influenza-like illness, who underwent reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction testing for coronavirus; and to determine the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of olfactory and taste dysfunction and other symptoms in these patients. METHODS: Patients presenting with influenza-like illness to the study centre in September 2020 were included in the study. The symptoms of patients who tested positive for coronavirus on reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction testing were compared to those with negative test results. RESULTS: During the study period, 909 patients, aged 12-70 years, presented with influenza-like illness; of these, 316 (34.8 per cent) tested positive for coronavirus. Only the symptoms of olfactory and taste dysfunction were statistically more significant in patients testing positive for coronavirus than those testing negative. CONCLUSION: During the pandemic, patients presenting to the out-patient department with sudden loss of sense of smell or taste may be considered as positive for coronavirus disease 2019, until proven otherwise.

Impact of reverse transcriptase real-time polymerase chain reaction-cycle threshold values on SARS-CoV-2-positive cancer patients undergoing treatment

Introduction: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, being a novel viral infection, has resulted in disruption of health services, including cancer patient's care and treatment. Hence, there was a need for testing and lateral integration of services for cancer patients with COVID-19. Materials and Methods: A total of 1178 samples were collected from cancer patients for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) testing before undergoing treatment in a tertiary care cancer center. The realtime reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR) was done using the E gene for screening, and for the confirmation, any of the three reactions using RdRp, ORF1bnsp14 and RNasePas were run as internal control. Results: Out of the 1178 samples tested, 211 (17.91%) were positive, and of these patients, 863 (73.25%) were men and 342 (29%) were women. Among the 863 men with cancer, 133 (15.41%) were real-time reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) positive. Of the 342 women with cancer, 78 (22.80%) were positive. Of the 144 SARS-CoV-2-positive cancer patients with cycle threshold (Ct) <25, 112 (84.2%) were asymptomatic and 32 (41.0%) were symptomatic. Sixty-seven patients showed positive results with a Ct >25. Out of them, 21 (31.3%) were asymptomatic and 46 (68.65%) were symptomatic cancer patients (P < 0.001). Of 144 patients with Ct <25, only 4 (2.8%) patients tested negative within 7-9 days, whereas the rest of the 140 (97.22%) became negative in >9 and up to 28 days. In the 67 cancer patients with Ct >25, within 7-9 days, 50 (74.6%) became RT-PCR negative and the remaining 17 patients mostly >60 years age group became RT-PCR negative in >9-28 days. Conclusions: Ct value of qualitative SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcriptase RT-PCR should be an important tool for an oncologist in designing and implementing patient management guidelines for SARS-CoV-2-positive cancer patients without or with symptoms for COVID-19.

Effect of COVID-19 on Energy Sector in India

The COVID-19 pandemic was greatest crisis humankind has witnessed in recent past. This crisis has forced the government across the world to in force lockdown. The Indian government followed the same step and took hardest decision of lockdown in whole India. All economic activities was stopped.In this work, the effect of lockdown on the usages of energy and its pattern is analyzed for Indian. This potential shift in energy usage and supply has generated different scenarios, which can be effectively utilized and can provides a key input to policymakers and stakeholders to cope up further on pollution is also analyzed for the same period. © 2021 IEEE.

Ayurvedic paradigm for COVID-19 prophylaxis and management strategies

The prophylactic and therapeutic potential of traditional systems of medicine like Ayurveda has not being explored to its maximum in the search for effective solutions to the COVID-19 crisis. The present work is an attempt to strategize the strength of Ayurveda in the prophylaxis and management of COVID-19 as a standalone system or integrated with conventional medicine. The restorative protocols for COVID-19 may be planned on the line of management principles described for infectious diseases, epidemics, fever, and respiratory ailments in Ayurveda with single herb and formulations having proven immunomodulatory and anti-viral properties. The way forward is to adopt an integrative approach by taking leads from Ayurveda and incorporating it into the action strategy to fight this pandemic.

Anosmia: A Clinical Indicator of COVID-19 Reinfection.

COVID-19, an ongoing world pandemic, is caused by SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2). Many organizations have recognized that COVID-19 patients may have sudden loss of smell or taste and have included these symptoms in their diagnostic guidelines. However, the occurrence of anosmia and dysgeusia in COVID-19 reinfection is yet to be ascertained.