COVID-19- associated Guillain–Barrè Syndrome and urinary dysfunction: A case report

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) viral infection can cause multiple systemic and neurological complications, including Guillain- Barrè Syndrome (GBS). In this report we describe for the first time, urinary dysfunction in a patient with COVID- 19. We reported a 41-years- old female patient with complaints of an increased generalized muscular weakness associated with progressive difficulty in walking. Four days earlier, patient complained of fever, diarrhea, and general weakness, and the RT-PCR was positive for COVID-19 infection. Due to the worsening of neurological symptoms, a neurophysiological examination on nervous conduction was performed and the diagnosis was suggestive of GBS. Two weeks later, patient developed two consecutive episodes of acute urinary retention that requested the placement of indwelling transurethral catheter. Patient started assuming selective alpha-1 adrenergic antagonist in association with 4 clean intermittent catheterization/ die. Four months later, women continued the therapy and the ultrasound evaluation revealed non- pathologic post- void residual volume. Therefore, patient started to void spontaneously again and alpha- blockers were discontinued. We report for the first time a case of severe voiding disorder in a patient with COVID-19 associated GBS. Timely bladder drainage should be adopted to avoid irreversible detrusor damage.

Association of patient characteristics with clinical outcomes in a cohort of hospitalised patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection in a Greek referral centre for COVID-19.

Patient-important outcomes related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continue to drive the pandemic response across the globe. Various prognostic factors for COVID-19 severity have emerged and their replication across different clinical settings providing health services is ongoing. We aimed to describe the clinical characteristics and their association with outcomes in patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in the University Hospital of Ioannina. We assessed a cohort of 681 consecutively hospitalised patients with COVID-19 from January 2020 to December 2021. Demographic data, underlying comorbidities, clinical presentation, biochemical markers, radiologic findings, COVID-19 treatment and outcome data were collected at the first day of hospitalisation and up to 90 days. Multivariable Cox regression analyses were performed to investigate the associations between clinical characteristics (hazard ratios (HRs) per standard deviation (s.d.)) with intubation and/or mortality status. The participants' mean age was 62.8 (s.d., 16.9) years and 57% were males. The most common comorbidities were hypertension (45%), cardiovascular disease (19%) and diabetes mellitus (21%). Patients usually presented with fever (81%), cough (50%) and dyspnoea (27%), while lymphopenia and increased inflammatory markers were the most common laboratory abnormalities. Overall, 55 patients (8%) were intubated, and 86 patients (13%) died. There were statistically significant positive associations between intubation or death with age (HR: 2.59; 95% CI 1.52-4.40), lactate dehydrogenase (HR: 1.44; 95% CI 1.04-1.98), pO2/FiO2 ratio < 100 mmHg (HR: 3.52; 95% CI 1.14-10.84), and inverse association with absolute lymphocyte count (HR: 0.54; 95% CI 0.33-0.87). These data might help to identify points for improvement in the management of COVID-19 patients.

Impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on oral carcinoma patients

Coronavirus-related Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV) in 2002/2003, Middle-East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-Cov) in 2012/2013, and especially the current 2019/2020 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-2 (SARS-CoV-2) tested the national health systems' endurance worldwide. In order to fight this emergency situation, a variety of pharmaceutical companies focused on the design and development of efficient vaccines that are considered necessary for providing a level of normalization in totally affected human social-economical activity worldwide. COVID-19 led to an increased uncertainty in the field of oncological patients' management disrupting the normal conditions of therapeutic and monitoring procedures. In the current article, we explored the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on oral carcinoma patients. We observed COVD-19 pandemic negatively affects the normality regarding early diagnosis and optimal management (surgical operation, post-operational follow up/monitoring) in HNSCC/OSCC patients. Understanding the involvement of SARS-CoV-2 in the progression of malignancies is the first critical step for targeting the virus by efficient monoclonal antibodies and vaccines.

Power-law growth of the COVID-19 fatality incidents in Europe.

We report on the dynamic scaling of the diffusion growth phase of the COVID-19 epidemic in Europe. During this initial diffusion stage, the European countries implemented unprecedented mitigation polices to delay and suppress the disease contagion, although not in a uniform way or timing. Despite this diversity, we find that the reported fatality cases grow following a power law in all European countries we studied. The difference among countries is the value of the power-law exponent 3.5 < α < 8.0. This common attribute can prove a practical diagnostic tool, allowing reasonable predictions for the growth rate from very early data at a country level. We propose a model for the disease-causing interactions, based on a mechanism of human decisions and risk taking in interpersonal associations. The model describes the observed statistical distribution and contributes to the discussion on basic assumptions for homogeneous mixing or for a network perspective in epidemiological studies of COVID-19.