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Objective:To observe the efficacy and safety of Fuzheng Huayu tabletsFHTfor treating pulmonary inflammation in patients with coronavirus disease 2019COVID-19. Method(s):A total of 704 cases were lost to follow-up, and 66 cases were finally completedCOVID-19 patients were recruited from February 1 to April 15 in 2020. They were assigned to a control group35 patientsand a FHT group31 patients. The patients in the control group received routine treatment alone and those in the FHT group received FHT in addition to routine treatment. The primary outcome was the ratio of patients showing improvement in chest computed tomographic manifestations after 14 days. The secondary outcome measures included remission rate or progression rate of critical illness,clinical remission rate of respiratory symptoms,routine blood examination, C-reactive proteinCPRlevel,procalcitoninPCTlevel,and blood oxygen saturationSPO2 . The safety was assessed based on liver and kidney functions and adverse events. Result(s): After the 14-day treatment,the ratio of patients showing improvement in the FHT group100%was higher than that in the control group 77.1%chi2 =8.063,P<0.01. The ratio of disease stages after treatment showed no significant difference between two groups. In the FHT group,the symptoms including cough,dyspnea,and fatigue were alleviated after treatmentP<0.01. In the control group,the symptoms including fever,cough,and dyspnea were alleviatedP<0.01,while the fatigue was not relieved after treatment. No significant difference was observed in the clinical symptoms between the two groups after treatment. After treatment,the FHT group showed decreased white blood cellWBCcount and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratioNLRP<0.01,elevated plateletPLTlevelP<0.05,lowered CRP levelP<0.05,and no significant difference in lymphocyte LYM,hemoglobinHb,SPO2 or PCT level. The control group showed decreased NLRP<0.05and WBC countP<0.01,elevated PCT levelP<0.05,and no significant change in LYM,Hb,PLT,SPO2 or CRP level after treatment. Furthermore,the FHT group had higher PLT level than the control groupP<0.05after treatment,and other indicators had no significant differences between the two groups. The liver and kidney functions had no significant difference between the two groups after treatment. Conclusion(s): FHT can safely promote the absorption of acute pulmonary inflammation in COVID-19 patients.Copyright © 2022, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences Institute of Chinese Materia Medica. All rights reserved.
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Objective To explore the application value of Biofire Filmarry pneumonia panel (PN) in detection of secondary and concomitant pathogen among critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19). Methods We consecutively included and analyzed the clinical data of critically ill patients with COVID-19 transferred to the ICU from February to April 2020 in the Sino-French Campus of Wuhan Tongji Hospital. Samples of Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid obtained by bedside bronchoscopy were sent for Biofire Filmarray PN and standard culture concomitantly. We compared the results of two methods and evaluated their concordance. Results In total, 21 critically ill patients with COVID-19 were included and 54 samples were tested, including 33 (61.1%) Biofire Filmarray PN tests (21 patients) and 21 (38.9%) standard cultures (14 patients), in which 19 pairs (38 samples) underwent both tests simultaneously. In Biofire Filmarray PN group, the turnaround time was about 1 hour. There were 74 positive results in 32 samples (97.0%) from 20 patients, including 29 cases(39.2%) of Acinetobacter baumannii complex, 21 cases (28.4%) of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 16 cases (21.6%)of Klebsiella pneumoniae, 5 cases (6.8%) of Escherichia coli, 1 case (1.4%)each of Enterobacter cloacae, Haemophilus influenzae, and respiratory syncytial virus. In the standard culture group, the turnaround time was about 3 days. 19 positive results returned in 16 (76.2%) samples from 11 patients, including 8 cases (42.1%) of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 6 cases (31.6%) of Acinetobacter baumannii, 4 cases (21.1%) of Stenotrophomonas malt and 1 case (5.3%) of Myxobacterium. Among the 19 pairs of "back-to-back" specimens, 15 pairs were concordant, and the agreement ratio was 78.9%. Conclusions Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa may be the common pathogens of secondary or concomitant infection in critically ill patients with COVID-19. Biofire Filmarray PN is a rapid diagnostic test and has application value in such patients;its sensitivity and accuracy require further investigation with larger sample sizes.Copyright © 2021, Peking Union Medical College Hospital. All rights reserved.
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This research explores the opportunities presented by COVID-19 for green supply chains' environmental practices and ecological sustainability performances in the healthcare sector. This study investigates the connections between uncertainty-fear of COVID-19, healthcare green supply chain management (GSCM), and the three pillars of a firm's sustainability performance (environmental, economic, and social). Moreover, this study examines the moderating role of social media usage (SMU) on the effect of uncertainty-fear of COVID-19 on healthcare-GSCM. When conducting the empirical part, this study uses the partial least squares structural equation modeling method based on a sample of 483 healthcare managers. The findings prove that the uncertainty-fear of COVID-19 has a beneficial impact on healthcare-GSCM. Besides, SMU moderates the relationship between uncertainty-fear of COVID-19 and healthcare-GSCM, indicating the importance of SMU in gathering information for the healthcare sector during COVID-19. Likewise, when interacting with healthcare firms' sustainability performances, healthcare-GSCM positively impacts environmental and social performances, though it has a negligible impact on economic performance. This study adds to the “social cognitive theory”by introducing the concept of uncertainty-fear of COVID-19. Furthermore, this research adds to the “resource-based view theory”and the “knowledge-based view theory”by exploring the SMU's role during the outbreak. IEEE
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The pandemic outbreak of COVID-19 created panic all over the world. As therapeutics that can effectively wipe out the virus and terminate transmission are not available, supportive therapeutics are the main clinical treatments for COVID-19. Repurposing available therapeutics from other viral infections is the primary surrogate in ameliorating and treating COVID-19. The therapeutics should be tailored individually by analyzing the severity of COVID-19, age, gender, comorbidities, and so on. We aim to investigate the effects of COVID-19 therapeutics and to search for laboratory parameters indicative of severity of illness. Multi-center collaboration and large cohort of patients will be required to evaluate therapeutics combinations in the future. This study is a single-center retrospective observational study of COVID-19 clinical data in China. Information on patients' treatment modalities, previous medical records, individual disease history, and clinical outcomes were considered to evaluate treatment efficacy. After screening, 2,844 patients are selected for the study. The result shows that treatment with TCM (Hazard Ratio (HR) 0.191 [95% Confidence Interval (CI), 0.14–0.25];p < 0.0001), antiviral therapy (HR 0.331 [95% CI 0.19–0.58];p = 0.000128), or Arbidol (HR 0.454 [95% CI 0.34–0.60];p < 0.0001) is associated with good prognostic of patients. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed TCM treatment decreased the mortality hazard ratio by 69.4% (p < 0.0001). © 2022, ICST Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering.
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The rapid spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has led to an unprecedented public health, economic, and social crisis worldwide. Since no therapeutic treatment is yet available to effectively clear the virus and terminate transmission, supportive therapy is the primary clinical approach for coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The role of corticosteroids as one of the main means of anti-inflammatory adjuvants in the treatment of COVID-19 is controversial. Here, we retrospectively evaluated the therapeutic effects of corticosteroids by comparing clinical data of patients treated with or without a corticosteroids therapy at different severity levels. Kaplan-Meier curves shows that therapy with methylprednisolone and cortico-steroids increases the risk of death in patients with critical COVID-19 pneumonia. For patients in the critical group, the risk of death was slightly higher in males receiving corticosteroids therapy, while hypertension and trauma history reduced the hazard ratio. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
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A new wave of the Covid-19 pandemic struck Hong Kong in February 2022. It led to construction of a temporary 1000-bed hospital and 10 000-bed isolation and treatment facility on an island site in just 51 days using factory-made modules. To achieve such rapid construction, module assembly was carried out at a separate site between the factories and site. Several new modular construction technologies were also developed, including adjustable base supports, large-span roof modules, universal safety barriers and an intelligent cloud platform for construction management. But to enable sustainable construction of such emergency buildings in future, further studies on demolition, recycling and relocation of modular buildings need to be carried out in the post-pandemic era. © 2022 ICE Publishing: All rights reserved.
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Background: COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, has spread worldwide and become a global pandemic. Objective(s): Studies of the earliest events of the COVID-19 pandemic are critical in understanding how the pandemic started and providing insight into the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and its infection in humans. Method(s): In this report, we studied the epidemiological characteristics of all 34 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Wuhu, China, from January 3 to March 19, 2020. Result(s): Our study indicated that cases in male patients (61.76%, 21/34) outnumbered those in female patients (38.24%, 13/34). Studies of the age distribution among the confirmed cases revealed that most COVID-19 patients were 15 to 59 years of age (26/34, 76%), while more than 14% (5/34) were >= 60 years old, and less than 9% (3/34) were <= 14 years old. Notably, 32 of the 34 confirmed cases were (a) people who had recently resided in or traveled to Wuhan or had close contact with Wuhan residents or visitors (22 cases);and (b) people who had close contact with these 22 confirmed COVID-19 patients (10 cases). Conclusion(s): This study revealed the epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 outbreaks in Wuhu between January and March 2020 and provided insight into the earliest events of the COVID-19 pandemic in China. Our analyses suggested that the COVID-19 cases confirmed in Wuhu in 2020 were directly related to or originated from the outbreaks in Wuhan. Copyright © 2022, Author(s).
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Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a pleiotropic cytokine, which participates in many physiological and pathological functions. Studies have shown that IL-6 first forms a heterohexameric complex with its own receptors (IL-6R, gp130), which further activate downstream signal transduction pathways, and finally exerts biological functions. However, abnormal activation and dysfunction of IL-6 signaling pathway are closely related to a variety of diseases, such as autoimmune diseases, chronic inflammation, and malignant tumors. In addition, the abnormal expression of IL-6 also plays an important role in COVID-19’s cytokine storm syndrome (CSS). In general, treatments that block key molecules in the IL-6 signaling pathway can be used for IL-6-related diseases. Different from blocking shared receptor molecules such as IL-6R or gp130, therapeutic monoclonal antibodies that block IL-6 protein are more specific. In clinical research, some antibodies targeting IL-6 show their unique therapeutic characteristics and beneficial effects. At present, only one monoclonal antibody drug targeting IL-6 protein has been approved by the US FDA for marketing, and more than 8 therapeutic monoclonal antibodies are in the clinical research. This article focuses on a brief review of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies targeting human IL-6 protein around world and their clinical applications. © 2022, China Biotechnology Press. All rights reserved.
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Objective：To observe the efficacy and safety of Fuzheng Huayu tablets（FHT）for treating pulmonary inflammation in patients with coronavirus disease 2019（COVID-19）. Method：A total of 70（4 cases were lost to follow-up, and 66 cases were finally completed）COVID-19 patients were recruited from February 1 to April 15 in 2020. They were assigned to a control group（35 patients）and a FHT group（31 patients）. The patients in the control group received routine treatment alone and those in the FHT group received FHT in addition to routine treatment. The primary outcome was the ratio of patients showing improvement in chest computed tomographic manifestations after 14 days. The secondary outcome measures included remission rate or progression rate of critical illness，clinical remission rate of respiratory symptoms，routine blood examination， C-reactive protein（CPR）level，procalcitonin（PCT）level，and blood oxygen saturation（SPO2 ）. The safety was assessed based on liver and kidney functions and adverse events. Result： After the 14-day treatment，the ratio of patients showing improvement in the FHT group（100%）was higher than that in the control group （77.1%）（χ2 =8.063，P<0.01）. The ratio of disease stages after treatment showed no significant difference between two groups. In the FHT group，the symptoms including cough，dyspnea，and fatigue were alleviated after treatment（P<0.01）. In the control group，the symptoms including fever，cough，and dyspnea were alleviated（P<0.01），while the fatigue was not relieved after treatment. No significant difference was observed in the clinical symptoms between the two groups after treatment. After treatment，the FHT group showed decreased white blood cell（WBC）count and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio（NLR）（P<0.01），elevated platelet（PLT）level（P<0.05），lowered CRP level（P<0.05），and no significant difference in lymphocyte （LYM），hemoglobin（Hb），SPO2 or PCT level. The control group showed decreased NLR（P<0.05）and WBC count（P<0.01），elevated PCT level（P<0.05），and no significant change in LYM，Hb，PLT，SPO2 or CRP level after treatment. Furthermore，the FHT group had higher PLT level than the control group（P<0.05）after treatment，and other indicators had no significant differences between the two groups. The liver and kidney functions had no significant difference between the two groups after treatment. Conclusion： FHT can safely promote the absorption of acute pulmonary inflammation in COVID-19 patients. © 2022, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences Institute of Chinese Materia Medica. All rights reserved.
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Objective To explore the application value of Biofire Filmarry pneumonia panel (PN) in detection of secondary and concomitant pathogen among critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19). Methods We consecutively included and analyzed the clinical data of critically ill patients with COVID-19 transferred to the ICU from February to April 2020 in the Sino-French Campus of Wuhan Tongji Hospital. Samples of Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid obtained by bedside bronchoscopy were sent for Biofire Filmarray PN and standard culture concomitantly. We compared the results of two methods and evaluated their concordance. Results In total, 21 critically ill patients with COVID-19 were included and 54 samples were tested, including 33 (61.1%) Biofire Filmarray PN tests (21 patients) and 21 (38.9%) standard cultures (14 patients), in which 19 pairs (38 samples) underwent both tests simultaneously. In Biofire Filmarray PN group, the turnaround time was about 1 hour. There were 74 positive results in 32 samples (97.0%) from 20 patients, including 29 cases(39.2%) of Acinetobacter baumannii complex, 21 cases (28.4%) of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 16 cases (21.6%)of Klebsiella pneumoniae, 5 cases (6.8%) of Escherichia coli, 1 case (1.4%)each of Enterobacter cloacae, Haemophilus influenzae, and respiratory syncytial virus. In the standard culture group, the turnaround time was about 3 days. 19 positive results returned in 16 (76.2%) samples from 11 patients, including 8 cases (42.1%) of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 6 cases (31.6%) of Acinetobacter baumannii, 4 cases (21.1%) of Stenotrophomonas malt and 1 case (5.3%) of Myxobacterium. Among the 19 pairs of “back-to-back” specimens, 15 pairs were concordant, and the agreement ratio was 78.9%. Conclusions Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa may be the common pathogens of secondary or concomitant infection in critically ill patients with COVID-19. Biofire Filmarray PN is a rapid diagnostic test and has application value in such patients;its sensitivity and accuracy require further investigation with larger sample sizes. © 2021, Peking Union Medical College Hospital. All rights reserved.
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Background: To analyze the clinical features of convalescent individuals with novel coronavirus-infected pneumonia (novel coronavirus pneumonia) at rehabilitation station in Wuhan. Methods: 712 patients in the convalescence period of novel coronavirus pneumonia isolated and observed at the rehabilitation station were investigated by collecting their basic data, clinical syndrome features, and tongue manifestations. The clinical syndrome features were analyzed based on guidelines of Diagnosis and Treatment Plan for Novel Coronavirus-infected Pneumonia (National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China, 7th Trial Edition). Results: Cough (24.86%), chest tightness and shortness of breath (23.17%), and fatigue (16.57%) were the main symptoms of patients in the convalescence period of novel coronavirus pneumonia. Their tongue appearance was mostly characterized by redness (88.65%), thick coating (67.25%), greasy coating (49.78%) and white coating (76.86%). Conclusion: Compared with the ordinary / mild patients, cough and anorexia symptoms were more common in the severe / critical patients. In convalescent patients, red and fat tongue with thick greasy fur were common.
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Background: First isolated in December 2019, SARS-CoV-2 is the agent responsible for the ongoing breakout of COVID-19. Method: We curated an assembly of the first 48 full-length SARS-CoV-2 genomes isolated and sequenced across the world and performed a phylogenetic network analysis to monitor the emergence of genomic divergence in the global SARS-CoV-2 population. Results: We identified regions of the genome that have accumulated mutations producing non-synonymous changes at the protein level, suggesting ongoing adaptation of SARS-CoV-2 to its novel human host. We identified a strong L84S mutational signal in ORF8 (present in 29.16% of genomes) together with 12 variable sites in the region encoding non-structural protein Nsp3 that represent the strongest putative regions under selection in our dataset. We did not detect mutations in the coronavirus spike protein, which is reassuring for the vaccines currently available or are ongoing large-scale clinical trials. Conclusion: Our analysis provides a snapshot in time of a rapidly evolving pandemic based on available data. Our results are in line with previous findings that point to a common ancestor isolated in Wuhan that is likely to have circulated and spread worldwide. © 2021, University of Toronto. All rights reserved.
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In order to stop the spread of COVID-19, government has to lockdown of the city from all outside contact. Most of business activities force to stop. This will have an impact on the economic activities. In this paper, first we will use the crawler technology to fetch company's data from Cninfo website. Second, we will use the big data analysis and data visualization technology to analyze the impact of Covid-19 on China various industries. In comparing various industries' profit in the first quarter of 2019 and 2020, we find that except for agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery, national defense and military, banking, food and beverage industries, the profit value of other industries has declined, with transportation, chemical industry, mining and non-banking financial sector falling the most. On the whole, various industries have been hit by the epidemic. © 2020 IEEE.
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Objective: To investigate the clinical and coagulation characteristics in patients with critical Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and acro-ischemia. Methods: The retrospective study included 7 critical COVID-19 patients with acro-ischemia in an intensive care unit (ICU) in Wuhan, from Feb 4 to Feb 15, 2020. The clinical and laboratory data before and during the ICU stay were analyzed. Results: The median age of 7 patients was 59 years and 4 of them were men. Three patients were associated with underlying comorbidities. Fever, cough, dyspnea and diarrhea were common clinical symptoms. All patients had acro-ischemia presentations including finger/toe cyanosis, skin bulla and dry gangrene. D-dimer, fibrinogen and fibrinogen degradation product (FDP) were significantly elevated in most patients. Prothrombin time was prolonged in 4 patients. D-dimer and FDP levels progressively elevated consistent with COVID-2019 exacerbation. Four patients were diagnosed with disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) . Low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) was administrated in 6 patients, which reduced D-dimer and FDP rather than improved clinical symptoms. Five patients died finally and the median time from acro-ischemia to death was 12 days. Conclusions: Coagulation parameters should be monitored closely in critical COVID-2019 patients. The timing and protocol of anticoagulation therapy are still under investigation based on more clinical data.