ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The postacute COVID-19 syndrome (PACS) can be addressed with multidisciplinary approaches, including professional support and digital interventions. OBJECTIVE: This research aimed to test whether patients who received a health care facilitation program including medical internet support from human personal pilots and digital interventions (intervention group [IG] and active control group [ACG]) would experience fewer symptoms and have higher work ability and social participation than an untreated comparison group (CompG). The second objective was to compare the impact of a diagnostic assessment and digital interventions tailored to patients' personal capacity (IG) with that of only personal support and digital interventions targeting the main symptoms (ACG). METHODS: In total, 1020 patients with PACS were recruited. Using a randomized controlled trial design between the IG and the ACG, as well as propensity score matching to include the CompG, analyses were run with logistic regression and hierarchical-linear models. RESULTS: Symptoms decreased significantly in all groups over time (ßT1-T2=0.13, t549=5.67, P<.001; ßT2-T4=0.06, t549=2.83, P=.01), with a main effect of the group (ß=-.15, t549=-2.65, P=.01) and a more pronounced effect in the IG and ACG compared to the CompG (between groups: ßT1-T2=0.14, t549=4.31, P<.001; ßT2-T4=0.14, t549=4.57, P<.001). Work ability and social participation were lower in the CompG, but there was no significant interaction effect. There were no group differences between the IG and the ACG. CONCLUSIONS: Empowerment through personal pilots and digital interventions reduces symptoms but does not increase work ability and social participation. More longitudinal research is needed to evaluate the effects of a diagnostic assessment. Social support and digital interventions should be incorporated to facilitate health care interventions for PACS. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05238415; https://classic.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05238415. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): RR2-10.1186/s12879-022-07584-z.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Humans , Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome , Social SupportABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: For dental resin composites, high translucency is important. Therefore, the aim of the study was to create a biocompatible and highly translucent resin-based composite, and to investigate the effect of material thickness on translucency. METHODS: A biocompatible ORMOCER® resin matrix was reinforced with dental glass powder as fillers. To reach a high translucency, refractive index matching of the matrix and fillers was done in the two ways: (1) Highly refractive ZrO2 nanoparticles were incorporated into the resin. (2) The resin was modified via addition of 4-Methylthiophenol. The corresponding refractive indices were acquired on an Abbe refractometer (n = 5). In both cases, the dental glass powder was added and translucency of the resulting minifilled and nanohybrid composites were measured using spectral photometry (n = 5). Additionally, the translucency of the experimental composites was determined as a function of specimen thickness in the range 10 µm-2 mm (n = 5). One-way ANOVA was performed to determine the significant differences in various optical parameters among different amounts of modifications and thicknesses at α = 0.05. Furthermore, cytotoxicity tests (extract and direct contact tests) were conducted according to ISO 10993 to classify the biocompatibility of the composites (n = 6). RESULTS: The translucency values of the composites with 47 wt.-% dental glass powder and a specimen thickness of 2 mm, could be increased from 26% up to 71% by increasing the refractive index of the matrix through incorporating ZrO2 nanoparticles. Moreover, it can also be increased to 67% via addition of 4-Methylthiophenol. Further results showed that the translucency significantly depended on the sample thickness following an exponential function. The effect of all tested parameters was significant among the materials (p < 0.001). The composites did not show any cytotoxic effect. SIGNIFICANCE: Highly translucent and biocompatible resin composites were developed. They show attractive properties for the use as dental enamel material in direct and indirect restorations.
