Drug Repurposing of the Antiviral Drug Acyclovir: New Pharmaceutical Salts

Drug repurposing is becoming interesting in terms of offering advantages over the traditional drug development, once drug discovery is a costly, time-consuming, and highly risky process. In particular, with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) declared by World Health Organization as a global pandemic, there has emerged a considerable need to develop therapeutic agents capable of preventing viral outbreaks. Concomitantly, well-known and long-used drugs such as acyclovir (Acv) have been tested against COVID-19. Acv is a guanosine analogue that acts as an antiviral drug, commonly used to treat herpes simplex virus (HSV), genital herpes, and varicella zoster virus (VZV). Acv showed to inhibit viral proteases, multiple viral genes expression, and RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase, helping to recover COVID-19 patients. However, ACV is a BCS class III/IV drug, with low permeability and/or slight water solubility (concentration-dependent). Given the repurposing eligibility of Acv, in this work, two new salts of this drug are presented (nitrate and sulfate), with the aim of improving its pharmacokinetic properties. The new salts were evaluated by X-ray diffraction, and thermal and spectroscopic analyses. A third salt, a chloride one, was also characterized and used for comparison.

Correlation between physical activity practice and mortality from COVID-19: an ecological study

Background and objective: new population-level studies are needed to better assess the relationship between physical inactivity and mortality from COVID-19. The aim of the study was to evaluate the correlation between population prevalence of physical activity and standardized mortality rates by COVID-19 in Brazilian capital cities and the Federal District. Methods: this is an ecological study, whose analysis is secondary. The prevalence of physical inactivity, insufficient physical activity, and physical activity during free time was obtained from the Surveillance of Risk Factors and Protection for Chronic Diseases by Telephone Survey 2019 (VIGITEL), according to minutes spent on leisure, commuting, and household activities. The COVID-19 mortality data was obtained from the Influenza Epidemiological Surveillance Information System (SIVEP-Gripe), adding the accumulated deaths until December 31, 2020. The resident population was estimated from the Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatistica (IBGE) for the year 2020. Pearson Correlation evaluated the correlation between the prevalence of different physical activity practices and the standardized mortality rate from COVID-19, in total, and according to age groups. Results: there was a significant positive correlation (r = 0.420;p = 0.029) between the overall prevalence of insufficient physical activity and the standardized COVID-19 mortality rate. No correlation was observed between the other prevalence of physical activity and the standardized mortality rate from COVID-19. Conclusion: there was a correlation between insufficient levels of physical activity and the standardized mortality rate from COVID-19 in people living in Brazilian capital cities.

Analysis of the Academic Performance of Mechanical-Electrical Engineering Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study in a Private University in Peru

The COVID-19 pandemic, brought with a number of problems in different sectors, one of the most affected was the education sector, especially in engineering programs, since these have a practical nature and need laboratories to consolidate meaningful learning. In many cases, the virtualization generated some anomalous behavior in the academic indicators that could be used for the analysis of the successes and errors that could lay the foundations for a modern education in engineering careers. The main objective of this research is to analyze the average academic performance per course of a mechanical-electrical engineering program, for which some data was taken from 2018 to 2021. To explain the behavior of the curves, a qualitative survey was applied to 357 students. Three academic indicators are used in the study: grades average, "not pass” rate, desertion rate. The results of the analysis showed that in the first period of the year 2020 (starting period of confinement) they presented very different parameters from those already known in previous years, which could be based on three main causes. The first was due to the full-time dedication of the students to carry out their academic activities, the second is based on the proper technology, resources and strategies adopted by the university and finally, the economic aid from the Peruvian government. © 2023 by the authors.

Physical activity and long COVID: findings from the Prospective Study About Mental and Physical Health in Adults cohort.

OBJECTIVES: The study investigated the longitudinal association between physical activity and the risk of long COVID in patients who recovered from COVID-19 infection. STUDY DESIGN: We analyzed longitudinal data of the Prospective Study About Mental and Physical Health cohort, a prospective cohort study with adults living in Southern Brazil. METHODS: Participants responded to an online, self-administered questionnaire in June 2020 (wave 1) and June 2022 (wave 4). Only participants who self-reported a positive test for COVID-19 were included. Physical activity was assessed before (wave 1, retrospectively) and during the pandemic (wave 1). Long COVID was assessed in wave 4 and defined as any post-COVID-19 symptoms that persisted for at least 3 months after infection. RESULTS: A total of 237 participants (75.1% women; mean age [standard deviation]: 37.1 [12.3]) were included in this study. The prevalence of physical inactivity in baseline was 71.7%, whereas 76.4% were classified with long COVID in wave 4. In the multivariate analysis, physical activity during the pandemic was associated with a reduced likelihood of long COVID (prevalence ratio [PR]: 0.83; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.69-0.99) and a reduced duration of long COVID symptoms (odds ratio: 0.44; 95% CI: 0.26-0.75). Participants who remained physically active from before to during the pandemic were less likely to report long COVID (PR: 0.74; 95% CI: 0.58-0.95), fatigue (PR: 0.49; 95% CI: 0.32-0.76), neurological complications (PR: 0.47; 95% CI: 0.27-0.80), cough (PR: 0.40; 95% CI: 0.22-0.71), and loss of sense of smell or taste (PR: 0.43; 95% CI: 0.21-0.87) as symptom-specific long COVID. CONCLUSION: Physical activity practice was associated with reduced risk of long COVID in adults.

Health education in times of pandemic: Promoting health among indigenous populations in the Brazilian Amazon

In the light of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are faced with the need to develop intercultural health education strategies from the perspective of health promotion, as a collective empowerment tool to confront the pandemic and for protection and comprehensive health care for indigenous peoples. This chapter describes the alternative educational and pedagogical strategies for conducting a collaborative training course with indigenous empowerment through gathering the knowledge of traditional medicine in communities and creating viable and consensual alternatives for addressing their health problems and solutions. In 2020-2021, a training course in mental health was conducted exclusively to mitigate the psychosocial impact of COVID-19 on indigenous populations in the Brazilian Amazon. It was possible to rethink pedagogical practices, technological tools, the student's culture, the curriculum, and the social environment. This sensitivity demonstrates respect for different cultures, ethnicities, and languages, highlighting intercultural dialogue. The completion of the course evidenced the construction of unpublished knowledge about COVID-19 in promoting self-care and autonomy of indigenous people for decision-making based on healthy choices, which protect life in indigenous villages in the Amazon. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022. All rights reserved.

Machine Learning Approaches for Temporal and Spatio-Temporal Covid-19 Forecasting: A Brief Review and a Contribution

In December 2019 an outbreak of a new disease happened, in Wuhan city, China, in which the symptoms were very similar to pneumonia. The disease was attributed to SARS-CoV-2 as the infectious agent and it was called the new coronavirus or Covid-19. In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared a worldwide pandemic of the new coronavirus. We have already counted more than 110 million cases and almost 2.5 million deaths worldwide. In order to assist in decision-making to contain the disease, several scientists around the world have engaged in various efforts, and they have proposed a lot of systems and solutions for tracking, monitoring, and predicting confirmed cases and deaths from Covid-19. Mathematical models help to analyze and understand the evolution of the disease, but understanding the disease was not enough, it was necessary to understand the problem in a quantitative way to lead the decision-making during the pandemic. Several initiatives have made use of Artificial Intelligence, and models were designed using machine learning algorithms with features for temporal and spatio-temporal investigation and prediction of cases of Covid-19. Among the algorithms used are Support Vector Machine (SVM), Random Forest, Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), Graph Neural Networks (GNNs), Ecological Niche Models (ENMs), Long-Short Term Memory Networks (LSTM), linear regression, and others. And these had good results, and to analyze them, the Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE), Log Root Mean Squared Error (RMSLE), correlation coefficient, and others were used as metrics. Covid-19 presents a huge problem to public health worldwide, so it is of utmost importance to investigate it, and with these two approaches it is possible to track not only how the disease evolves but also to know which areas are at risk. And these solutions can help in supporting decision-making by health managers to make the best decisions for the disease that is in the outbreak. This chapter aims to present a literature review and a brief contribution to the use of machine learning methods for temporal and spatio-temporal prediction of Covid-19, using Brazil and its federative units as a case study. From canonical methods to deep networks and hybrid committee-based, approaches will be investigated. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

Potential of Bike Sharing During Disruptive Public Health Crises: A Review of COVID-19 Impacts

With public transport (PT) continuing to be negatively affected by the coronavirus pandemic and private car usage surging, alternative modes need to be considered. In this study, we review the available evidence (from academic and gray literature sources) on the performance of bike sharing systems (BSSs) during COVID-19 around the world, with the goal of assessing their potential contribution to improving the resilience of transport systems during pandemics and similar disruptive events. We found BSS usage followed a decrease-rebound pattern, with BSSs overall sustaining lower ridership declines and faster recoveries compared with PT. During lockdowns especially, the average duration of BSS trips increased, following a rise in casual users and leisure trips, while commuting trips decreased. Evidence has also been found for a possible modal shift from some PT users to BSSs, with a decline in the share of multimodal trips conducted between PT and BSSs. Bike sharing is perceived as safer than other shared modes (e.g., PT, taxis, and ride-hailing/sharing) but as having a higher infection risk than personal modes (e.g., private car, walking, and personal bike). Moreover, the BSS was an important transport alternative for essential workers, with several operators providing waivers especially to healthcare staff, leading to ridership increases near healthcare facilities and in deprived neighborhoods. Findings from this research support policies for promoting bike sharing, namely through fee reductions, system expansions, and symbiotic integration with PT, as BSSs can increase the sustainability and resilience of transport systems during disruptive public health events like COVID-19.

RNA-sequencing unravels unique host-response to infection with SARS-CoV-2

Introduction/Aim: As the causative agent of COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 remains a global cause for concern. Compared to other highly pathogenic coronaviruses (SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV), SARS-CoV-2 exhibits stronger transmissibility but less lethality, indicating that SARS-CoV-2 displays unique characteristics, despite the partial genomic proximity. Thus, we aim to employ RNA sequencing to define transcriptional differences in epithelial responses following infection with SARS-CoV-2 compared to pathogenic SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, and low pathogenic HCoV-229E. Method(s): Primary human bronchial epithelial cells (PBEC) were differentiated for 6 weeks at the air-liquid interface (ALI) before parallel infection by the 4 different coronaviruses (n = 4). After infection following apical application of coronaviruses at low dose (MOI 0.1), cells were harvested for bulk RNA sequencing. Gene were considered significant with a fold change (FC) > 2 and false discovery rate of FDR < 0.05. Inhibitor experiments were conducted on CALU-3 cells using DIM-C-pPhOH 10 muM (NR4A1 antagonist), Sp600125 10 muM (JNK inhibitor), T-5224 10 muM (AP-1 transcription factor inhibitor) and Cytosporone B (CsB 5 muM;NR4A1 agonist) preincubated for 1 h with these compounds and subsequently infected with SARS-CoV-2 or MERS-CoV (MOI of 1). Samples were collect 24 h later for PCR. Result(s): PCR and RNA-Seq demonstrated that all tested coronaviruses efficiently infected ALI-PBEC and replicated over 72 h (p < 0.05). RNA sequencing analysis revealed that infection with SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV and HCoV-229E resulted in largely similar transcriptional responses by the epithelial cells. However, whereas infection with these viruses was accompanied by an increased expression of genes associated with JNK/AP-1 signalling, including FOS, FOSB and NR4A1 (FC > 1, FDR < 0.05), no such increase was observed following SARS-CoV-2 infection. Further, we found that an NR4A1 antagonist reduced viral replication of MERS and SARs-CoV-2 100-fold in Calu-3 cells. Conclusion(s): In conclusion, these data suggest that SARS-CoV-2-infected ALI-PBEC exhibit a unique transcriptional response compared to other coronaviruses, which might relate to the pathogenicity of the virus.

Educational governance in a pandemic scenario: mapping of public actions in the state of Amazonas

To analyze the design of educational governance for Basic Education that materialized in the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic in Amazonas, the article resumes and analyzes the decision-making of the public power on the municipal and state education systems of the capital and state between March 2020 and February 2021. Based on the Sociology of Public Action and a qualitative approach, the study that serves as the basis for this article – developed by researchers in the field of Education at the Federal University of Amazonas, based on an integrative review of the specialized literature, mapping and analysis of the actions of the education departments of Manaus and Amazonas – reconstructed the consolidated paths in the educational field in one of the epicenters of the pandemic in the country. The data reveal the complex network of public and private agents that engender the governance investigated here, the tensions between the comings and goings around the resumption of face-to-face classes, as well as alternative teaching models for the pandemic scenario and the deepening of public-private partnerships. © 2023, Ensaio. All Rights Reserved.

Sedation in the ICU: association between dexmedetomidine and 28-day mortality in patients with COVID-19

Introduction: The aim of our study is to evaluate the relationship between dexmedetomidine (DEX) use as a sedative agent in mechanical ventilated ICU patients and 28-day mortality. DEX, a selective alfa-2 adrenergic receptor agonist, widely used for its sedative and analgesic properties, has been linked to increasing parasympathetic tone, reducing the inflammatory response and oxidative stress [1]. Since severe COVID-19 is associated with an hyperinflammatory state, it is hypothesized that DEX might improve outcomes in these patients. Method(s): This is a retrospective observational study of mechanically ventilated patients admitted with COVID-19 pneumonia in the ICU of a tertiary center in Portugal, between March 2020 and December 2021. Logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the association of DEX use and 28-day mortality from time of intubation. Result(s): A total of 277 patients were analyzed, 151 in the DEX group and 126 in the no DEX group. Patients in the DEX group were younger (53.3 vs. 63.3 years, p < 0.001), had less comorbidities (2.8 vs. 3.5, p = 0.01), lower SOFA at admission (6.2 vs. 7.1, p = 0.01) but had a prolonged ICU stay (21.4 vs. 15.9, p < 0.001). Male gender (65.6 vs. 69.0, p = 0.54), incidence of obesity (56.3 vs. 46.8, p = 0.12), coronary artery disease (4.0 vs. 7.9, p = 0.16) and atrial fibrillation (4.0 vs. 7.1, p = 0.25) were similar between groups. PaO2/ FiO2 ratio at admission (111.1 vs. 108.1, p = 0.61), days spent in RASS < 3 (13.7 vs. 12.4, p = 0.31) and opioid use (14.8 vs. 13.1, p = 0.16) were also similar. From time of intubation, 28-day mortality in the cohort receiving DEX was 14.7% compared to 59.5% in the no DEX group (OR 0.12;95% CI 0.07-0.21;p = 0.01). Conclusion(s): Use of DEX was associated with lower 28-day mortality in COVID-19 critically ill patients requiring invasive mechanical ventilation in our study analysis. Considering the limitations of a retrospective observational study, RCTs are needed to confirm the results.

Risk factors for nosocomial infections in COVID-19 ICU population

Introduction: The aim of this study is to identify the factors associated with an increased risk of developing nosocomial infections (NI) in COVID-19 patients admitted with pulmonary involvement in the ICU. NI in COVID-19 ICU population are an important cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and its prompt identification might lead to its prevention and better outcomes. Method(s): This is a retrospective observational study of patients admitted with COVID-19 pneumonia in the ICU of a tertiary center in Portugal, between March 2020 and December 2021. We considered NI as any infection acquired > 48 h post ICU admission. Clinical, analytical and baseline patient data were evaluated. Logistic regression analysis was performed to correlate patient related variables with the development of NI. Result(s): A total of 338 patients were enrolled, from which 167 (47.9%) presented with NI. Baseline characteristics are described in Table 1. In the logistic regression analysis, older age (OR 1.13;95% CI 1.03-1.25;p = 0.013), coronary artery disease (CAD) (OR 28.7;95% CI 1.92-429;p = 0.02), obesity (OR 3.14;95% CI 0.86-11.42;p = 0.008), chronic liver disease (CLD) (OR 104.33;95% CI 1,.04-1008.49;p = 0.04), use of dexamethasone (OR 21.89;95% CI 3.04-157.85;p = 0.002) and days in RASS < 3 (OR 1.4;95% CI 1.05-1.86;p = 0.02) were associated with an increased risk of developing NI in the ICU. Surprisingly, SOFA at admission, days of invasive mechanical ventilation, days of sedation and PaO2/ FiO2 ratio at admission, although statistically significantly different between groups, did not correlate with the risk of infection. Conclusion(s): We identified prolonged deep sedation, corticosteroid use, and patient characteristics (CAD, obesity, CLD, older age) as independent risk factors for NI development in COVID-19 critically ill patients. It is also noteworthy to point out for the presence of confounding variables, including the excessive workload in the ICU during this period, leading to an increase in NI numbers.

Outcomes of renal replacement therapy in critically ill COVID-19 patients

Introduction: Our goal is to describe outcomes of critically ill COVID-19 patients submitted to renal replacement therapy (RRT), in particular the association of RRT with mortality. Multi-system organ failure or direct kidney injury caused by SARS-CoV-2 is associated with the development of acute kidney injury (AKI) which subsequently increases the need for RRT and may affect the outcomes. Method(s): This is a retrospective observational study of 338 critically ill patients admitted with COVID-19 pneumonia in the ICU of a tertiary center in Portugal, between March 2020 and December 2021. Clinical, analytical and baseline patient characteristics were evaluated. Logistic regression analysis was performed to correlate patient data with the need for RRT and ICU mortality. Result(s): From a total of 338 patients, 5% required RRT (n = 16), 25% of which received intermittent hemodialysis (n = 4) and 87,5% continuous veno-venous hemofiltration (n = 14). Baseline characteristics are described in Table 1. In our sample, 61 patients (18%) presented with acute AKI, from whom 14 (23%) were submitted to RRT. From all the patients receiving RRT, 10 (62.5%) did not have pre-existing chronic kidney disease. In the logistic regression analysis, AKI (OR 45.4;95% CI 7.7-269.5;p < 0.001), higher SOFA (OR 1.24;95% CI 103-1.51;p = 0,03), creatinine (OR 2.01;95% CI 1.4-3.0;p < 0.001) and C-reactive protein (OR 1.09;95% CI 1.02-1.16;p = 0,01) on admission were associated with the need for RRT. Additionally, ICU mortality associated with RRT was 75% compared to 28.3% in the group not submitted to RRT (OR 7.6;2.4-24.2;p = 0.001). Conclusion(s): The need for RRT in critically ill COVID-19 patients is associated with an increased mortality rate in our study. We were also able to identify AKI, higher SOFA, creatinine and C-reactive protein at admission as risk factors for RRT. However, due to the retrospective nature of our analysis and our small sample size, more studies on this topic are needed to confirm these results.

Educational Governance in One of the Epicenters of the Pandemic

The pandemic scenario is analyzed in this article focusing on the educational field and on the transformations and challenges faced by Basic Education schools. With the objective of analyzing the pendular tensions between suspension and return of face-to-face classes in the state of Amazonas in the first months of the Covid-19 pandemic, the article retraces educational governance in the first half of 2020. From the Sociology of Public Action, we demonstrate: the main consequences of the pandemic on education;the complex web of educational governance in times of a pandemic;and the struggles for hegemony from the movements between suspension and return of classes in schools in Amazonas.

Odor, flames and smoke: Covid and the incendiary crisis of reason

The text starts from a phenomenological diagnosis: that every pandemic emergency (such as that of covid, for example) is the fatal symptom of a state of crisis motivated in the same onto - logical entrails of rationality as it takes shape in our Western culture. The task of thought is not to destroy reason, but to safeguard it in the face of the ever-imminent danger of irrationalism. Thus, every form of obscurantism emerges as a decadent figure with a symptomatic backdrop to the crisis of reason itself;crisis that was installed by the distinction of principle between cul-ture and nature so well prefigured by Marx and deepened by Merleau-Ponty. The text examines this neuralgic point and ends by highlighting the essential character and therefore political inalienably this phenomenon.

Relationship between Reported Symptomatology of Mental Disorders and the Difficulties Imposed by Remote Teaching during the Covid-19 Pandemic in University Lecturers

Changes in tertiary education system in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, evoked a situation of extreme vulnerability to triggering and worsening of mental disorders. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of mental disorders referred by university professors, and to identify the correlation of mental disorders of stress, anxiety, depression and negative affectivity with some of the difficulties inherent to teaching during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the context of remote working, either exclusively or partially. Therefore, data collection was performed virtually using the following instruments: Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21 Brazilian version), and the Questionnaire for socio-demographic, habits and lifestyle and work aspects Characterization. There was a high prevalence of mental disorders in these professors, but the type of work did not present any association to the symptoms mentioned, nor with the difficulties and obstacles faced in the teaching practice. However, in the exclusively remote teaching, the difficulty of adapting to distance classes had a correlation to those with the highest severity levels of all the mental symptoms investigated, while in the partially remote teaching, this correlation was in relation to the difficulties of adapting to the work schedules.

Asymptomatic Sars-Cov-2 Infection in Pediatric Patients with Juvenile Dermatomyositis and Other Rheumatic Diseases of One Tertiary Referral Hospital

Background. Several studies and cohorts with adult populations with rheumatic diseases (RD) were performed since pandemic outbreak. RD patients were more susceptible to infections and may develop severe forms of COVID-19, since they present immunosuppressive mechanisms inherent to the disease itself and to its treatment. Healthy children and adolescents seem to be less infected and present milder diseases. However, juvenile dermatomyositis patiets and immunosuppressed children have not been extensively studied. The objectives of the study are to evaluate asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection in pediatric RD patients, to identify the risk factors related to contagion and to describe demographics and the profile of COVID-19 in juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) patients followed. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted in March 2021, including 77 pediatric RD patients followed at a Brazilian tertiary hospital and 45 healthy controls. Data was obtained through a questionnaire applied to outpatients during the month of March 2021, before the vaccine, and contained demographic data, symptoms compatible with COVID-19 over the past year, and contact with people with confirmed COVID-19. Patients' medical records were reviewed to access data regarding disease and current medications. A qualitative immunochromatographic SARS-CoV-2 test was performed in all participants. All patients who were using rituximab or intravenous human immunoglobulin, or had symptoms of COVID-19, were excluded. Results. Patients' group included 11 (14.3%) JDM patients, 31 (40.2%) JIA, 25 (32.4%) JSLE, six patients with vasculitis, two with SS, one MCTD and one with autoinflammatory syndrome. Patients and controls were similar in terms of female gender (70.1% vs. 57.8%, p=0.173), median age (14 vs. 13 years, p=0.269) and SARS-CoV-2 serology positivity (22% vs. 15.5%, p=0.481). 80.5% of rheumatic patients were in use of immunosuppressive drugs, 27.3% of them using corticosteroids, 33.3% in high doses, and 7.8% on immunobiologicals. No statistical differences were found between positive (n=17) and negative serology (n=60) patients regarding demographic/socioeconomic data, contact with people with confirmed COVID-19, use and number of immunosuppressive drugs, use and dose of corticosteroids, use of hydroxychloroquine and immunobiological drugs (p>0.05). Regarding the profile of JDM patients, 6/11 (54%) were female, the median age was 13 years (range 9-17) and 3/11 (27%) presented COVID-19 serology positivity. 2/11 were in immunosuppressive treatment, however none of them were in use of glucocorticoids and biologic agents. Conclusions. Pediatric JDM and other rheumatic diseases patients were infected at the same rate as healthy ones. Neither the underlying pathology nor its treatment seemed to interfere with the contagion risk.

Allergic disease and risk of hospitalization in patients with COVID-19

Background: SARS-Cov- 2 is a new respiratory virus that causes COVID-19 disease. It is a new infectious agent and knowledge is still very limited, particularly its interaction with allergic disease. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of allergic disease on the risk of hospitalization for COVID-19. Method(s): A total of 7542 SARS-CoV- 2 infections were diagnosed from 1 March to 31 December 2020 at the Centro Hospitalar Universitario de Sao Joao. A total of 1727 (22.9%) patients were hospitalized (31% in intensive care) and 5815 were followed up by an outpatient clinic. Of this group, 3479 (65%) answered a telephone questionnaire, 3 to 6 months after acute infection, about sociodemographic, clinical, behavioral and psychological characteristics. They were also asked about a previous diagnosis of allergic disease. Individuals aged < 18 years and those with asymptomatic infection were excluded. Result(s): A sample of 2702 participants was analyzed, 33.5% reported allergic disease prior to the diagnosis of COVID-19: 215 (8%) asthma, 517 (19.2%) rhinitis, 138 (5.1%) drug allergy, 36 (1.3%) food allergy, 22 (0.8%) atopic dermatitis and 2 (0.1%) hymenoptera venom allergy. The proportion of participants with asthma is not statistically different across age groups, but when grouping other allergic diseases other than asthma, a reduction was observed with age (21.5% of 18-29 years old vs. 4.9 % with >=80 years, p > 0.001). Allergic disease was significantly more prevalent in women (asthma 9.8% vs. 5.2%;other allergies: 17.9% vs. 12.7%, p < 0.001). In a univariate analysis, the risk of hospitalization of patient with COVID-19 was significantly lower in those with allergic disease (OR = 0.7;95% CI: 0.55-0.92), but for asthma the effect was not significant. Gender was an interaction factor in this association, so in a separate multivariate model for women and men and adjusted for the other significant risk factors -age, obesity and comorbidities -the effect on risk reduction remained only in the men (adjusted OR = 0.6;95% CI:0.33-1.07). Conclusion(s): In this study, allergic disease, excluding asthma, was associated with a decrease in the severity of COVID-19, especially in men. However, further studies, namely prospective studies, are needed to better characterize this effect and the underlying mechanisms.

Evaluation of computed tomography and pulmonary SOFA score: relationship of findings in patients with covid-19 and mortality in ICU

Objective: To evaluate the pulmonary severity of COVID-19 patients throug the SOFA score computed with pulmonary involvement in Chest Computed Tomography. Method: This is a descriptive epidemiological study conducted out in an Intensive Care Unit, which aimed to study the pulmonary treatment of COVID-19 patients through the calculation of the pulmonary SOFA score relating to Chest Tomography and whether these were related to clinical treatment. Results: The study population consisted of 704 patients, of which 43.7% were women and 56.2% men, with a mean age of 61 years and a mean hospitalization time of 13 days. Most patients had a pulmonary behavior of 75%, a pulmonary SOFA score of 2 and a PaO2/FiO2 ratio between 100 and 200. Conclusion: Patients who had more extensive pulmonary involvement/consequently had a lower PaO2/FiO2 ratio and remained longer hospitalized with a higher incidence of death © COPYRIGHT Servicio de Publicaciones - Universidad de Murcia