Feedback on post COVID-19 rehabilitation.

The outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19) following the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) viral infection has placed particular pressure on occidental health systems, especially in terms of acute care resources and critical care skills. A number of affected patients subsequently required a rehabilitation process, due to multiple functional limitations, either as a result of an extended stay in intensive care or the consequences of the infection itself. The aim of this article is to report on the Geneva experience in post COVID19 rehabilitation, through 2 clinical vignettes, illustrating the heterogeneity of symptoms and deficits that may be encountered following this disease.Copyright © 2020 Editions Medecine et Hygiene. All rights reserved.

Association Between ABO Blood Group System and COVID-19 Severity.

OBJECTIVES: A possible association between blood group systems (ABO and Rh) and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) severity has recently been investigated by various studies with conflicting results. However, due to variations in the prevalence of the ABO and Rh blood groups in different populations, their association with COVID-19 might be varied as well. Therefore, we conducted this study on Libyan participants to further investigate this association and make population-based data available to the worldwide scientific community. METHODS: In this case-control study, ABO and Rh blood groups in 419 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Zawia, Libya, and 271 healthy controls were compared using descriptive statistics and χ 2 tests. RESULTS: Blood group A was significantly more prevalent in patients with severe COVID-19 (64/125; 51.2%) than in patients with nonsevere COVID-19 (108/294, 36.7%) (P < .034), whereas the O blood group prevalence was higher in nonsevere COVID-19 cases (131/294, 44.5%) compared with severe cases (43/125, 34.4%) (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: The results showed a significant association between blood group A and the severity of COVID-19, whereas patients with blood group O showed a low risk of developing severe COVID-19 infection. No significant association was found between Rh and susceptibility/severity of the disease.

Living Donor Liver transplantation in an alloimmunised patient: Immunological challenges and Management in Indian Settings.

Liver transplantation (LT) is often associated with hematological abnormalities with immune or non-immune etiologies and require timely diagnosis and interventions. We report a case of a patient suffering from non-alcoholic steato-hepatitis (NASH) related end stage liver disease (ESLD) with multiple red cell antibodies who underwent LT surgery. In postoperative phase, she developed immune hemolysis as well as acute antibody mediated rejection (AMR) which was managed with therapeutic plasma exchange and IVIG. The case highlights the need to develop an algorithm for red cell and HLA antibody screening in high-risk patients for timely detection and management.

Medical Rehabilitation and Infectious Diseases in Children

Today, medical rehabilitation is undergoing significant transformation. The new system built around the biopsychosocial model includes assessment of physical constraints and rehabilitation diagnosis, determination of rehabilitation potential, formulation of goals and objectives of individual interventions, development of rehabilitation plans, and progress evaluation. All of these rehabilitation components can be implemented using a personalized, problem-oriented, multidisciplinary approach, which is now being actively introduced into clinical practice. The current pandemic of the novel coronavirus infection has demonstrated that medical rehabilitation is crucial for convalescents. However, its principles and techniques have not been fully elaborated yet. This review describes the current state of medical rehabilitation of children with or after infectious diseases and identifies its avenues and prospects.Copyright © 2022 Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproduction. All rights reserved.

Rehabilitation is crucial for severe COVID-19 survivors

COVID-19 survivors can have serious complications from this viral infection, particularly respiratory and cardiovascular with severe asthenia and fatigue. Several studies have already demonstrated the benefit of early rehabilitation after the acute phase, especially in patients who have been in intensive care. The authors present a rehabilitation program including interdisciplinary care with simple and reproducible clinical criteria.Copyright © 2020 Editions Medecine et Hygiene. All rights reserved.

The nutrition management of patients with Coronavirus disease 2019 in the hospital: An expert opinion (2020).

To prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and enhance the nutrition management for patients, the Beijing Quality Control and Improvement Center for Clinical Nutrition Therapy organized relevant experts to formulate "The Nutrition Management of Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 in the Hospital: An Expert Opinion (2020)". It clearly stated that food safety, food hygiene, and nutrition management should be incorporated into the whole process of prevention, control, treatment, and rehabilitation of COVID-19. The reasonable and standardized pathway of nutrition management, which includes nutrition-risk screening, malnutrition diagnosis, nutritional support therapy and nutrition monitoring, should be established to improve the immune status, clinical outcome, and quality of life of patients with COVID-19.Copyright © 2021, Peking Union Medical College Hospital. All rights reserved.

The potential therapeutic effect of platelet-rich plasma in the treatment of post-COVID-19 parosmia

Background: COVID-19-related olfactory dysfunction is an emerging problem with a significant impact on the quality of life of affected individuals. Different lines of treatment have been used with varying results. This study aimed to assess the potential therapeutic effect of PRP in the treatment of post-COVID olfactory dysfunction. This work aimed to assess the potential therapeutic effect of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in treating post-COVID-19 parosmia. A pilot study was conducted on 60 patients with post-COVID parosmia without responding to a 3-month course of olfactory training, topical corticosteroids, omega-three, vitamin B12, and zinc supplementation. The patients were distributed randomly and equally among 2 groups. The case group was subjected to three PRP injections in the olfactory cleft at 3 weeks intervals. The control group continued the pre-study treatment protocol for 6 weeks. The degree of parosmia was assessed before and after treatment subjectively using a visual analog scale (VAS) from 0 to 10. Reaching 0-1 on the visual analog scale was a complete improvement. The primary outcome was assessing the post-treatment score for parosmia 1 month after the third injection in the case group. The second outcome was the comparison between both groups regarding the degree of improvement 1 month after cessation of treatment. Result(s): There was a highly significant improvement in VAS for parosmia (p < 0.00001) in the case group and a significant improvement in VAS for parosmia in the control group (p = P = 0.00148). There was a significant difference between both groups regarding the degree of improvement favoring the case group (p = 0.002). Conclusion(s): Platelet-rich plasma injection in the olfactory cleft offers a therapeutic option for treating patients with post-COVID-19 olfactory parosmia who failed to respond to traditional conservative treatment.Copyright © 2022, The Author(s).

Effect of Telerehabilitation Versus In-Clinic Rehabilitation Delivery on Self-Efficacy in Breast Cancer-Related Lymphedema

Background: Individuals with breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL) require self-management strategies to reduce risk of infection, exacerbation, and/or progression of lymphedema. The coronavirus pandemic thrust the medical field into the world of telehealth;both patients and providers were forced to reduce in-person treatments and engage in this new platform of rehabilitation delivery. The role of telehealth in promotion of self-management for BCRL is unknown. Purpose(s): This study examines self-efficacy during cancer rehabilitation for in-clinic versus telehealth visits among individuals with BCRL during the pandemic quarantine April to November 2020. Method(s): Forty women who recently completed oncology rehabilitation for BCRL were asked to complete demographics and 2 Likert surveys, including the Exercise Self-Efficacy Scale (ESES) and the Self-Care Self-Efficacy Scale (SCSE), to compare the efficacy of telehealth versus in-person treatment modalities. Result(s): Thirty-two participants completed the survey and indicated that the percentage of telehealth visits was less than face-to-face visits. Despite this, the participants indicated numerous positive moderately strong correlations between self-care self-efficacy and exercise self-efficacy for both types of visits (P <.05). Limitation(s): Self-report surveys by a convenience sample, multifactorial characteristics of rehabilitation treatment across modes, and varying severity of lymphedema may limit study findings. Conclusion(s): Telehealth provided safe and effective care to participants and bolstered confidence in self-care and self-management of BCRL. Data support that telehealth visits can be considered an essential part of comprehensive cancer rehabilitation care. Future research is needed to establish and optimize practice guidelines in both health delivery systems.Copyright © 2023 Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Immunoserologic and hemotherapy considerations in patients undergoing hematopoietic progenitor cell transplantation

With increasing evidence of the success of hematopoietic progenitor cell (HPC) transplantation in the cure of many benign and malignant diseases, such interventions have been performed at increasing rates for the past several years. Due to myelosuppression caused by the conditioning and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis regimens, blood component transfusions are almost inevitably needed. During transplantation, patient's hematopoietic lineages reconstitute to the HPC donor's progenitor cell types. Therefore, specific immunoserologic and hemotherapeutic aspects need to be considered for the selection of blood components during different phases of transplantation for successful outcomes. Those considerations include but are not limited to ABO and human leucocyte antigen (HLA) compatibility of the transfused blood components with either or both the patient and the HPC donor according to the particular phase of transplantation, and the special blood component processing to reduce the risk of transfusion associated graft-versus-host disease (TA-GVHD), cytomegalovirus (CMV) transmission in CMV seronegative patients and immune mediated platelets refractoriness. Complications may still arise, particularly in major, minor, or bidirectional ABO mismatched transplantations and/or due to the HLA mismatch and alloimmunization. Here we discuss the indications, immunoserologic considerations and the special component processing of red blood cells (RBCs), platelets, granulocytes, and plasma transfusions, based upon the current evidence and describe the prevention and management of salient, pertinent complications.Copyright © 2022 The authors.

Association between Rhesus Blood Groups and Malaria Infection: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

In the literature, there was inconsistency in the risk of malaria between individuals with Rhesus blood group positive (Rh+) and negative (Rh-). The systematic review aimed to investigate the risk of malaria among participants with different Rh blood types. All observational studies that reported the occurrence of Plasmodium infection and investigation of the Rh blood group were searched in five databases (Scopus, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PubMed, and Ovid). Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology was used to assess the reporting quality in the included studies. A random-effects model was used to calculate the pooled log OR and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Database searches yielded a total of 879 articles, of which 36 were eligible for inclusion in the systematic review. The majority of the included studies (44.4%) revealed that Rh+ individuals had a lower proportion of malaria than Rh- individuals; however, the remaining studies revealed a higher or no difference in the proportion of malaria between Rh+ and Rh- individuals. Overall, with moderate heterogeneity, the pooled results showed no difference in malaria risk between patients with Rh+ and Rh- (p = 0.85, pooled log OR: 0.02, 95% CI: -0.20-0.25, I2: 65.1%, 32 studies). The current study found no link between the Rh blood group and malaria, even though there was a moderate amount of heterogeneity. Further studies using prospective designs and a definitive method for Plasmodium identification are needed to investigate the risk of Plasmodium infection in Rh+ individuals and increase the reliability and quality of these studies.

Respiratory manifestations of long COVID

As we near the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, greater attention is now being paid to the potential long-term consequences of SARS-CoV-2 in the hundreds of millions of people infected globally. A syndrome termed "long COVID" has emerged, which predominantly manifests as persistent fatigue, dyspnea, chest pain, and cognitive dysfunction following acute infection. The incidence of long COVID is in the range of 15% based on current best evidence, and symptoms are likely a result of several different pathophysiological mechanisms including multi-organ injury from acute infection, systemic viral persistence, immune dysregulation, and/or autoimmunity. Pulmonary symptoms represent a significant component of long COVID, and there is a growing body of research describing the epidemiology, risk factors, physiology, and radiology of the respiratory manifestations of long COVID. In this clinical review, we examine the most recent evidence relating to "respiratory long COVID," discuss how innovative technologies such as Xenon-129 gas transfer magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and respiratory oscillometry are helping to elucidate its unique pathophysiology, and consider the role of preventative strategies and possible treatments such as adapted pulmonary rehabilitation. The burden of respiratory long COVID is likely to continue to grow, and all healthcare professionals who care for patients with respiratory disease must prepare for this emerging chronic condition. This will require increased resources from healthcare decision makers, inventive approaches to healthcare delivery, further research, and the same spirit of collaboration that has enabled the many success stories to date in the global effort against COVID-19.Copyright © 2023 Canadian Thoracic Society.

SARCOPENIA: FEATURES OF PATHOGENESIS, DIAGNOSIS, TREATMENT AND REHABILITATION IN COVID-19 PATIENTS.

A global problem in all countries is the aging of the population due to the lengthening of the life span. The number of age-related diseases, including sarcopenia, rises with increasing age. People of the elderly and senile age were especially vulnerable in terms of the number of infections, the severity of the course of the disease, the number of deaths, for 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic requires restrictive measures on the movement of citizens up to the introduction of a lockdown. This entails a decrease in physical activity and a rapid progression of sarcopenia, which worsens the prognosis of COVID-19 in this category of citizens, not only in the acute stage of the disease, but also in the following months due to an exacerbation of cardiovascular diseases, kidney diseases.Copyright © 2022 Stavropol State Medical University. All rights reserved.

Cognitive symptoms after COVID-19

Introduction: SARS-CoV-2 infection frequently causes neurological symptoms. Cognitive alterations are among the most frequent symptoms, and may persist beyond the acute phase of infection. Method(s): We conducted a narrative review of the literature. Result(s): Hospitalised patients, and especially critically ill patients, are at greater risk of developing cognitive symptoms. Post-COVID-19 cognitive symptoms, unlike those associated with other viral illnesses, have been observed in patients with mild infection, and present some atypical features. Cognitive symptoms may last longer in COVID-19 than in other infectious processes, and more frequently affect young people. Post-COVID-19 cognitive symptoms share common features with those described in chronic fatigue syndrome, including a similar profile with affective symptoms. Brief screening tests for cognitive impairment present suboptimal diagnostic performance, and standardised criteria are needed to ensure correct diagnosis. Post-COVID-19 cognitive impairment can have a significant impact on the patient's quality of life and functional independence, regardless of other post-COVID-19 symptoms. Currently, no specific treatments have been approved for post-COVID-19 cognitive impairment, although cognitive stimulation may be useful in some patients. Conclusion(s): Post-COVID-19 cognitive symptoms are common and are often associated with other systemic symptoms. Neuropsychological evaluation may be useful for diagnosis and to quantify their severity and long-term prognosis. Detailed, and individualised assessment of cognitive impairment may enable the design of treatment plans.Copyright © 2021 Sociedad Espanola de Neurologia

Relationship between the ABO blood group and Rhesus factors with COVID-19 susceptibility.

INTRODUCTION: The molecular research has raised copious hypotheses about different molecular effects on the variable expression of the current virus on the human body. The present prospective study aims to determine clinically as well as statistically, the relation between ABO blood groups and Rhesus (Rh) factor and the severity of the Covid-19 virus. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We conducted a prospective, single-centered study at The Combined Military Hospital Lahore, Pakistan. Details of only those patients who exhibit COVID-19 symptoms were included. The odds ratios with a 95% confidence interval and the chi-square test of blood groups and Rhesus factor was also conducted individually with the severity of disease, outcomes, and respiratory symptoms. P-values less than 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: The chi-square test and odd ratio yielded no significant results when the covid-19 status was compared with the Rhesus factor (p-value > 0.05). However, the results were found to be significant when associations were run between Covid-19 status and all the blood groups (p-value < 0.05). CONCLUSION: According to the analytical results of the present study, protective nature of all the blood antigens (A, B, AB, none) was observed in patients presenting with Covid-19 symptoms of varying severity.

Clinical application of ABO blood typing.

BACKGROUND: The ABO blood group is closely related to clinical blood transfusion, transplantation, and neonatal hemolytic disease. It is also the most clinically significant blood group system in clinical blood transfusion. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this paper is to review and analyze the clinical application of the ABO blood group. METHODS: The most common ABO blood group typing methods in clinical laboratories are hemagglutination test and microcolumn gel test, while genotype detection is mainly adopted in clinical identification of suspicious blood types. However, in some cases, the expression variation or absence of blood type antigens or antibodies, experimental techniques, physiology, disease, and other factors affect the accurate determination of blood types, which may lead to serious transfusion reactions. RESULTS: The mistakes could be reduced or even eliminated by strengthening training, selecting reasonable identification methods, and optimizing processes, thereby improving the overall identification level of the ABO blood group. ABO blood groups are also correlated with many diseases, such as COVID-19 and malignant tumors. Rh blood groups are determined by the RHD and RHCE homologous genes on chromosome 1 and are classified as Rh negative or positive according to the D antigen., the agglutination method is often used in clinical settings, while genetic and sequencing methods are often used in scientific research. CONCLUSION: Accurate ABO blood typing is a critical requirement for the safety and effectiveness of blood transfusion in clinical practice. Most studies were designed for investigating rare Rh blood group family, and there is a lack of research on the relationship between Rh blood groups and common diseases.

A Method to Monitor Activity of SARS-CoV-2 Nsp3 from Cells

SARS-CoV-2 protease Nsp3 is a therapeutic target for developing anti-SARS-CoV-2 drugs. Nsp3 is a large multi-spanning membrane protein, and its characterization in vitro has been challenging. Here we describe an in vitro assay to characterize the biochemical activity of full-length Nsp3 isolated from cells. The assay can be used to evaluate Nsp3 inhibitors. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

Association of blood group with COVID-19 disease susceptibility and severity in Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: Novel SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) virus has rapidly spread worldwide and was declared a pandemic, making identifying and prioritizing individuals most at risk a critical challenge. The literature describes an association between blood groups and the susceptibility to various viral infections and their severity. Knowing if a specific blood group has more susceptibility to COVID-19 may help improve understanding the pathogenesis and severity of the disease. We aimed to assess the association between ABO/RhD and COVID-19 susceptibility and severity, and to compare results with similar studies in Saudi Arabia. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: This study was conducted between March and October 2021 on 600 patients confirmed positive for COVID-19 infection. Patients' data were collected and analyzed. As a control, 8423 healthy blood donors were enrolled as a sample representative of the population for blood group distribution. RESULTS: More individuals had blood group B in the COVID-19 group in comparison with the control group (24.2% vs. 18%), The opposite was observed among individuals of group O (39.5% vs. 47.3%). The B blood group was predictive of higher risk of mortality. No significant difference in the distribution of RhD was observed between the COVID-19 and the control groups. Neither ABO nor RhD was significantly associated with the severity of COVID-19. DISCUSSION: Although there was no significant association with the disease severity, the B blood group may be associated with a higher risk for COVID-19 infection. Further studies with a larger sample size are necessary to evaluate this correlation.