Assessing Mental Health Status among COVID-19 Recovery Patients in Bangladesh-A Pilot Study

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to have long-lasting profound repercussions on the mental health of surviving patients from COVID-19. The main goal of this study is to assess the mental strength among post-COVID-19 recovery patients. A pilot survey study was conducted with 60 participants who willingly completed the questionnaire consisting of PCL-5, GAD-7, PHQ-9, and relevant questions. Univariate, bivariate analysis, and multivariate logistic regression were conducted to find the significant risk and protective factors associated with the mental health of recovery patients. The result found that 48.33% of the patients had PTSD symptoms, 30% identified to have severe anxiety, and 53.33% of them had gone through severe depression. The severity of illness, hospitalization, ignorance by family members, people staying away from them even after recovery were significant risk factors, and eating nutritious food, wearing masks were significant protective factors for PTSD, anxiety, and depression (p<0.05). This study's findings can guide policymakers as well as family members to take proper initiatives towards COVID-19 recovery patients, such as providing counseling, ensuring rehabilitation, reducing social stigma, which may bring consequential relief from psychological illness.

Assessment of COVID severity by measuring D-dimer and Serum Ferritin level in selected Tertiary Care Hospitals of Dhaka city

Aim: This study was aimed to evaluate the association between serumD-dimer, serum Ferritin with disease severity in patents havingCOVID-19.Methods:Total 80 confirmed COVID-19 patients were enrolled in this cross sectional study. Samples were assessed by positive SARSCoV-2 by RT-PCR testing and were collected from two tertiary Hospitals(IbnSina Medical College Hospital and Ibrahim Cardiac Hospital and Research Institute).We also performed CT findings of COVID patients with or without pulmonary involvement. COVIDpositive patients were divided into two groups (Group 1 and Group2) according to lungs involvement confirmed by CT-scan. In this analysis, several variables such as gender, age, D-dimer and serum ferritin were taken.Results: The Mean of D-dimer in Group-1 subjects was 4.26 +/- 3.60mg/L and in Group-2, this was 0.59 +/- 1.08mg/L. So D-dimer level was significantly raised in COVIDpneumonic patient (P value = <0.001). The mean of ferritin(554.65 +/- 515.841)ng/ml for pneumonic patient was also highly significant than the mean(133.70 +/- 109.22)ng/ml of COVID without pneumonia. Conclusion:D-dimer and S. ferritin were elevated in patients with COVID-19. These two reliable biomarkers are correlate with the disease severity and useful for better management of COVIDpositive patients.

Effect of multiple freeze-thaw cycles on the detection of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies.

Several studies have investigated the effect of repeated freeze-thaw (F/T) cycles on RNA detection for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). However, no data are available regarding the effect of repeated F/T cycles on SARS-CoV-2 antibody detection in serum. We investigated the effect of multiple F/T cycles on anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG detection using an ELISA test targeting the nucleocapsid antibodies. Ten positive and 1 negative SARS-CoV-2 IgG sera from 11 participants, in replicates of 5, were subjected to a total of 16 F/T cycles and stored at 4 °C until tested by ELISA. Statistical analysis was performed to test for F/T cycle effect. None of the 10 positive sera became negative after 16 F/T cycles. There was no significant difference in the OD average reading between the first and last F/T cycles, except for one serum with a minimal decline in the OD. The random effect linear regression of log (OD) on the number of cycles showed no significant trend, with a slope consistent with zero (B=-0.0001; 95 % CI -0.0008; 0.0006; P-value=0.781). These results suggest that multiple F/T cycles had no effect on the ability of the ELISA assay to detect SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies.

Repurpose but also (nano)-reformulate! The potential role of nanomedicine in the battle against SARS-CoV2.

The coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) has taken the world by surprise. To date, a worldwide approved treatment remains lacking and hence in the context of rapid viral spread and the growing need for rapid action, drug repurposing has emerged as one of the frontline strategies in the battle against SARS-CoV2. Repurposed drugs currently being evaluated against COVID-19 either tackle the replication and spread of SARS-CoV2 or they aim at controlling hyper-inflammation and the rampaged immune response in severe disease. In both cases, the target for such drugs resides in the lungs, at least during the period where treatment could still provide substantial clinical benefit to the patient. Yet, most of these drugs are administered systemically, questioning the percentage of administered drug that actually reaches the lung and as a consequence, the distribution of the remainder of the dose to off target sites. Inhalation therapy should allow higher concentrations of the drug in the lungs and lower concentrations systemically, hence providing a stronger, more localized action, with reduced adverse effects. Therefore, the nano-reformulation of the repurposed drugs for inhalation is a promising approach for targeted drug delivery to lungs. In this review, we critically analyze, what nanomedicine could and ought to do in the battle against SARS-CoV2. We start by a brief description of SARS-CoV2 structure and pathogenicity and move on to discuss the current limitations of repurposed antiviral and immune-modulating drugs that are being clinically investigated against COVID-19. This account focuses on how nanomedicine could address limitations of current therapeutics, enhancing the efficacy, specificity and safety of such drugs. With the appearance of new variants of SARS-CoV2 and the potential implication on the efficacy of vaccines and diagnostics, the presence of an effective therapeutic solution is inevitable and could be potentially achieved via nano-reformulation. The presence of an inhaled nano-platform capable of delivering antiviral or immunomodulatory drugs should be available as part of the repertoire in the fight against current and future outbreaks.

Effect of multiple freeze-thaw cycles on detection of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies (preprint)

Several studies have investigated the effect of repeated freeze-thaw (F/T) cycles on RNA detection for SARS-CoV-2. However, no data is available regarding the effect of repeated F/T cycles on SARS-CoV-2 antibody detection in serum. We investigated the effect of multiple F/T cycles on anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG detection using an ELISA test targeting the nucleocapsid antibodies. Ten positive and one negative SARS-CoV-2 IgG sera from 11 participants, in replicates of five were subjected to a total of 16 F/T cycles and stored at 4 degrees celsius until tested by ELISA. Statistical analysis was done to test for F/T cycle effect. Non-of the 10 positive sera turned into negative after 16 F/T cycles. There was no significant difference in the OD average reading between the first and last F/T cycles, except for one serum with a minimal decline in the OD. The random-effect linear regression of log (OD) on the number of cycles showed no significant trend with a slope consistent with zero (B=-0.0001; 95% CI -0.0008; 0.0006; p-value=0.781). These results suggest that multiple F/T cycles had no effect on the ability of the ELISA assay to detect the SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies.

Preference and Feasibility of Online Classes among Bangladeshi Students during COVID-19 Pandemic

The purpose of this study was to gain bits of knowledge about university students' feasibility regarding online classes in Bangladesh during COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 542 students were surveyed by adopting purposive sampling to identify their perceptions towards online classes. Result shows, though 71% (385) of total students participated in online classes but in response to asking their level of agreement on taking online classes, only one third (33%) of the students agree with taking online classes. The study also found 87% of the total students faced different problems during classes including poor net connectivity (85%), lacking logistics (42%). Correlation analysis and hierarchical multiple regression were conducted to identify and confirm the association of socio-demographic variables and the kind of problem faced during online classes with students' preference of online classes. A significant relationship exists between student's preference of online classes with the lack of logistic support they had and poor net connectivity (p<0.01). This study's findings can guide policymakers to take proper initiatives such as ensuring strong network facility, providing low cost internet facilities to students and therefore can help students to continue online classes which will ultimately boost the education system of Bangladesh even and afterwards.

Performance evaluation of five ELISA kits for detecting anti-SARS-COV-2 IgG antibodies.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate and compare the performances of five commercial ELISA assays (EDI, AnshLabs, Dia.Pro, NovaTec, and Lionex) for detecting anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG. METHODS: Seventy negative control samples (collected before the COVID-19 pandemic) and samples from 101 RT-PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 patients (collected at different time points from symptom onset: ≤7, 8-14 and >14 days) were used to compare the sensitivity, specificity, agreement, and positive and negative predictive values of each assay with RT-PCR. A concordance assessment between the five assays was also conducted. Cross-reactivity with other HCoV, non-HCoV respiratory viruses, non-respiratory viruses, and nuclear antigens was investigated. RESULTS: Lionex showed the highest specificity (98.6%; 95% CI 92.3-99.8), followed by EDI and Dia.Pro (97.1%; 95% CI 90.2-99.2), NovaTec (85.7%; 95% CI 75.7-92.1), then AnshLabs (75.7%; 95% CI 64.5-84.2). All ELISA kits cross-reacted with one anti-MERS IgG-positive sample, except Lionex. The sensitivity was low during the early stages of the disease but improved over time. After 14 days from symptom onset, Lionex and NovaTec showed the highest sensitivity at 87.9% (95% CI 72.7-95.2) and 86.4% (95% CI 78.5-91.7), respectively. The agreement with RT-PCR results based on Cohen's kappa was as follows: Lionex (0.89) > NovaTec (0.70) > Dia.Pro (0.69) > AnshLabs (0.63) > EDI (0.55). CONCLUSION: The Lionex and NovaLisa IgG ELISA kits, demonstrated the best overall performance.