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Introduction: Despite several studies, the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 on patients with multiple myeloma remains uncertain. Material(s) and Method(s): We performed a survey that covered the period of the first and second waves of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic in 23 centers inseven countries. Out of 352 patients with myeloma and SARS-CoV-2, 23% died. Results/Conclusions: Logistic regression showed a lower risk of death among patients treated with proteasome inhibitor and a higher risk of death for those who had a severe or a very severe course of disease.Copyright © 2023 Sciendo. All rights reserved.
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The analyses of effectiveness of medical means of protection based on virus specific antibodies, intended for special prophylactic and current of COVID-19 is conducted. The plasma of patients, obtained from the blood takes the leading part among these prepares. It is concluded, that convalescents plasma, containing virus neutralizing antibodies, may be used for emergency prevention or in the early stages of the disease. A risk group, that primarily needs in such drugs for special prophylactics, is medical workers. The other prepares, based on virus specific antibodies, including purified prepares of monoclonal antibodies, that may have certain advantages to convalescent's plasma due to their safety and high activity, due to complexity of their production and presumably high cost are unlikely to be available in the near future for mass use in the practice of medicine. The use of convalescents plasma for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19.can be based on the experience of their application in specialized medical centers and summarizing data from randomized clinical trials.Copyright © 2021 Moscow State University of Psychology and Education. All right reserved.
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The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020 is one of the worst catastrophic events in human history. A number of therapeutic modalities have been utilized in order to fight the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), although the majority of them failed to demonstrate a beneficial clinical effect. Among the anti-COVID-19 agents being investigated, the convalescent plasma collected from recovered donors has gained a growing interest. Convalescent plasma has been employed for over a hundred years to treat severe acute viral infections when a vaccine or a specific antiviral treatment was not yet available. In this narrative review, we summarize the literature data on the use of convalescent plasma during previous viral outbreaks and pandemics, including influenza viruses, coronaviruses other than SARS-CoV-2 and Ebola virus. A literature search, using the Medline and PubMed electronic database, was performed to retrieve publications on the use of convalescent plasma in previous viral epidemics. In conclusion, the available literature data suggest the safety profile of convalescent plasma and its potential benefit in treating emerging viral infectious diseases. In addition, these data retrieved from previous viral epidemics provide a solid rationale for the employment of plasma from convalescent donors also in COVID-19 patients.Copyright © 2021 AME Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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A 60-year-old woman with Hepatitis C infection, cirrhosis, recurrent hepatic hydrothorax, and hepatocellular carcinoma was hospitalized with Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). After her initial discharge, she was re-admitted three weeks later with decompensated liver disease. Imaging revealed extensive thrombosis in the portal vein, superior mesenteric vein, splenic vein and bilateral brachial veins. Given the acute onset and extent of the thrombosis, the patient received therapeutic anticoagulation despite elevated prothrombin time/ international normalized ratio, thrombocytopenia and low fibrinogen. Cirrhotic patients with COVID-19 maybe at high risk of thrombosis, which can present with significant hepatic decompensation.Copyright © 2022 The Author(s)
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COVID-19 is an acute respiratory infectious disease caused by 2019-nCoV, which has become a major global public health event and a serious threat to human health. So far, specific antiviral drugs, safe and effective vaccines for 2019-nCoV are still under development, so there is an urgent need to find alternative strategies for the treatment of COVID-19. Convalescent plasma(CP) contains high titer neutralizing antibodies from patients recovering from infectious diseases, which has been used in the treatment of major infectious diseases such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), and achieved satisfactory clinical results. Therefore, CP from COVID-19 patient is a meaningful choice for the treatment of severe or life-threatening COVID-19 patients, but its potential risks need to be studied. This review focuses on the clinical mechanism, collection points, clinical application and potential benefits and risks of clinical treatment of CP from COVID-19 patients, which will provide reference for the clinical application of CP from COVID-19 patients.Copyright © 2021 Chinese Medical Association
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Background: Currently, the present world is facing a new deadly challenge from a pandemic disease called COVID-19, which is caused by a coronavirus named SARS-CoV-2. To date, no drug or vaccine can treat COVID-19 completely, but some drugs have been used primarily, and they are in different stages of clinical trials. This review article discussed and compared those drugs which are running ahead in COVID-19 treatments. Method(s): We have explored PUBMED, SCOPUS, WEB OF SCIENCE, as well as press releases of WHO, NIH and FDA for articles related to COVID-19 and reviewed them. Result(s): Drugs like favipiravir, remdesivir, lopinavir/ritonavir, hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, ivermectin, corticosteroids and interferons have been found effective to some extent, and partially approved by FDA and WHO to treat COVID-19 at different levels. However, some of these drugs have been disapproved later, although clinical trials are going on. In parallel, plasma therapy has been found fruitful to some extent too, and a number of vaccine trials are going on. Conclusion(s): This review article discussed the epidemiologic and mechanistic characteristics of SARS-CoV-2, and how drugs could act on this virus with the comparative discussion on progress and drawbacks of major drugs used till date, which might be beneficial for choosing therapies against COVID-19 in different countries.Copyright © 2022 Bentham Science Publishers.
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Background/Aim. Plasma containing a high titer of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, donated from individuals who re-covered from COVID-19, has the potential to be used as initial therapy for patients who have been infected (passive immunization). It is a challenge to find suitable donors. The aim of the study was to successively monitor antibody titer in donations and to investigate the correlation between an-tibody titer and the severity of the clinical manifestations. Methods. The retrospective study was conducted from May 1 to October 31, 2020, at the Blood Transfusion Insti-tute of Vojvodina. Donors had to meet certain criteria for inclusion in the study: proven SARS-CoV-2 infection, de-tected SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the serum/plasma, ful-fillment of general criteria for performing plasmapheresis, and adequate laboratory findings. Results. During the study, 651 apheresis plasma units were collected and divided into two equal doses. Plasma was donated by 311 COVID-19 convalescents, including 208 (66.9%) men and 103 (33.1%) women. There were 15 (4.8%) plasma donors with asymptomatic infection, 235 (75. 6%) with a mild form of illness, 45 (14.5%) with a moderate form of illness, 16 (5.1%) with a severe form of illness, and none with a critical form of illness. Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies were pre-sent in the plasma of donors for more than 6 months after the disease. Plasma donors with a more severe clinical mani-festation of COVID-19 had stable antibody levels for a longer period. However, the Pearson correlation of clinical severity and antibody titer did not confirm a statistically sig-nificant correlation between the variables. Conclusion. An-ti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were present in the sample of re-covered patients, plasma donors, for more than 6 months after the disease. Even though no statistically significant correlation was found between the anti-SARS-CoV-2 anti-body titer and the clinical severity of COVID-19, in patients with a more severe clinical manifestations of the disease, stable antibody levels were maintained for a longer period.Copyright © 2022 Inst. Sci. inf., Univ. Defence in Belgrade. All rights reserved.
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At present, there are isolated data on the clinical outcomes of COVID-19 in children, especially those who have experienced asymptomatic and mild forms of infection. Purpose(s): to analyze the nature and frequency of post-COVID symptoms in children during 12 months. after recovery. Materials and methods. The influence of demographic indicators, premorbid background, severity of infection and therapy in the acute period of the disease on the nature and frequency of symptoms in 1079 children who underwent laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 was studied. The results are presented with proportions (%) and calculation of 95% confidence interval according to Klopper-Pearson. Differences between groups were assessed using Pearson's chi-square test. Differences in the groups were considered statistically significant at p < 0,05. Results. Health disorders in the post-COVID period were observed in 8,5% of children, more often in schoolchildren aged 7-17 years (68.4%). Concomitant conditions were found in 38,0%. In most cases, the consequences were noted after a mild form of COVID-19 (77.2%), however, 13,0% of patients experienced an asymptomatic form of infection. Among convalescents, changes in the emotional sphere (2,1%), headache (1,8%), symptoms of asthenia (1,6%), cardiovascular (1,5%), dyspeptic (1,3%) were more often observed, cognitive (1,3%) disorders, neurotic disorders (1,0%), less often respiratory (0.8%), endocrine (0,4%) and visual (0,4%) systems, musculoskeletal system were involved (0.2%). Girls were significantly more likely to have vegetative disorders, while boys were significantly more likely to suffer from cognitive functions. Various antiviral therapy options (interferon-alpha, an oral antiviral drug, or a combination thereof) in the acute period of COVID-19 did not affect the possibility of post-COVID disorders, but there was a tendency to increase the frequency in children who did not receive etiotropic treatment (control group). In 14.1% of cases, post-COVID symptoms appeared late - after 5-10 months. after recovery. The course of rehabilitation therapy, including drug treatment and non-drug methods, made it possible to quickly restore the state of health of the observed children. Conclusion. In most cases, the violations were of a functional nature, due to a disorder of autonomic regulation. Rehabilitation and dispensary observation programs will allow timely restoration of the quality of life of children who have had COVID-19, including in a mild and asymptomatic form.Copyright © 2022 Authors. All rights reserved.
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INTRODUCTION: As the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic unfolds around the world; answers related to the antibody response against the virus are necessary to develop treatment and prophylactic strategies. We attempted to understand part of the immune response of convalescent plasma donation candidates. METHOD: We carried out a cross-sectional, observational, non-intervention study, testing 102 convalescent plasma donation candidates for antibodies against the virus, relating these data to the time interval between symptom onset and sample collection, age, disease severity, and gender. RESULTS: In our sample, the individuals who developed a greater antibody response were the ones who had a longer time interval between symptom onset and sample collection, the ones who had been hospitalized and the subjects above 35 years old. Moreover, 17 individuals did not present any reactive antibodies. CONCLUSION: These results are important in that they raise questions about the role of the humoral response against the virus, as some individuals do not develop antibodies to fight it. In addition, they help develop recruitment strategies for convalescent plasma donors, who should be asymptomatic for at least 21 days and are possibly more likely to have reactive antibodies after 35 days without symptoms.