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Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 is a novel viral infectious disease, which broke out in the end of winter season 2019 in China and soon became a pandemic. Characteristically there was severe local and systemic immune-inflammatory response to the virus, damaging the respiratory system and other organ systems. The morbidity and mortality caused by the disease are producing tremendous impact on health. The understanding about pathogenesis and manifestations of the disease was obscure. To date, no classic treatment or preventive measure was available for COVID-19 other than symptomatic and supportive care or few drugs under trial. A possibility exists that maintaining vitamin A adequate levels can protect the affected respiratory mucosa, increase antimicrobial activity, produce better antibody response, and have antiinflammatory effects, thereby promoting repair and healing as well. It has been discussed in the review that by various mechanisms, immune regulation through vitamin A supplementation is beneficial to boost immunity in the current outbreak situation when the population is susceptible to the disease. There is a high possibility that vitamin A supplementation to cases as well as population at risk of COVID-19 has a key role in prevention and control. Hence, it is believed that along with other therapeutic and preventive measures, maintaining vitamin A sufficiency during and prior to the development of active disease may act as an adjuvant in population at risk and cases to prevent and control COVID-19.
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Background: The etiological agent for pandemic COVID-19 is severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2. Hematological and biochemical parameters are the indicators of inflammation and coagulopathy. Aims and Objectives: The present study aimed to determine how effectively the hematological parameters and biochemical markers can help predict the severity of critically ill COVID-19 patients. Materials and Methods: The current retrospective cohort study was conducted among 200 COVID-19 patients admitted in the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital, Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, India. In our lab’s computerized system, certain hematological and biochemical parameters of the patients were retrieved and recorded. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis was done to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of hematological and biochemical parameters. Results: Total leukocyte count (TLC), absolute lymphocyte count (ALC), neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), D-dimer, and serum ferritin had a significant relationship with severity among ICU patients (P<0.05). ALC, D-dimer, and serum ferritin can be used to predict the severity of COVID patients with area under the ROC-AUC curve values of 0.717, 0.725, and 0.710, respectively. Platelet to lymphocyte ratio, lymphocyte to monocyte ratio, and C-reactive protein were not useful to predict the severity of COVID illness. Conclusion: Hb concentration, TLC, NLR, D-dimer, and serum ferritin were significantly raised in critically ill COVID patients. ROC curve analysis showed that ALC, serum ferritin, and D-dimer were able to predict the severity of COVID illness effectively. Conclusively, these parameters can be used to track the prognosis of patients. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Asian Journal of Medical Sciences is the property of Manipal Colleges of Medical Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)
RESUMEN
The COVID-19 global pandemic of 2019-2020 pointedly revealed the lack of diagnostic solutions that are able to keep pace with the rapid spread of the virus. Despite the promise of decades of lab-on-a-chip research, no commercial products were available to deliver rapid results or enable testing in the field at the onset of the pandemic. In this critical review, we assess the current state of progress on the development of point-of-care technologies for the diagnosis of viral diseases that cause pandemics. While many previous reviews have reported on progress in various lab-on-a-chip technologies, here we address the literature from the perspective of the testing needs of a rapidly expanding pandemic. First, we recommend a set of requirements to heed when designing point-of-care diagnostic technologies to address the testing needs of a pandemic. We then review the current state of assay technologies with a focus on isothermal amplification and lateral-flow immunoassays. Though there is much progress on assay development, we argue that the largest roadblock to deployment exists in sample preparation. We summarize current approaches to automate sample preparation and discuss both the progress and shortcomings of these developments. Finally, we provide our recommendations to the field of specific challenges to address in order to prepare for the next pandemic.