Analysis of the Role of Female Hormones During Infection by COVID-19.

Women have metabolic, immunological, and genetic variables that ensure more protection from coronavirus infection. However, the indication of treatment for several pathologies and contraception is determined by hormones that have adverse effects and raise doubts about their use during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the present study searches women specificities and the relation between female sexual hormones and COVID-19, and reports the main recommendations in this background. To this end, a review of the literature was conducted in the main databases, auxiliary data sources, and official websites. Therefore, considering the hypercoagulability status of COVID-19, the debate about the use of contraceptives due to the relative risk of thromboembolic effects that they impose arises. However, the current available evidence, as well as the recommendations of main health organs around the world, demonstrate that the use of hormonal contraceptives must be maintained during the pandemic.

As mulheres possuem variáveis metabólicas, imunológicas e genéticas que conferem maior proteção à infecção pelo coronavírus. Todavia, a indicação de tratamento para certas patologias e para a contracepção é determinada por hormônios que possuem efeitos adversos e levantam dúvidas quanto ao seu uso durante a pandemia da COVID-19. Desta forma, o presente estudo busca investigar as especificidades da mulher e a relação dos hormônios sexuais femininos com a COVID-19, assim como relatar as principais recomendações neste contexto. Para isso, realizou-se uma revisão da literatura nas principais bases de dados, fontes auxiliares de dados e sites oficiais. Portanto, considerando o estado hipercoagulável da COVID-19, surge o debate quanto à utilização de contraceptivos pelo seu risco relativo de efeitos tromboembólicos. No entanto, as atuais evidências disponíveis, assim como as recomendações dos principais órgãos de saúde do mundo, demonstraram que o uso de contraceptivos hormonais deve ser mantido durante a pandemia.

Analysis of the Role of Female Hormones During Infection by COVID-19 / Análise do papel dos hormônios femininos durante a infecção por COVID-19

Abstract Women have metabolic, immunological, and genetic variables that ensure more protection from coronavirus infection. However, the indication of treatment for several pathologies and contraception is determined by hormones that have adverse effects and raise doubts about their use during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the present study searches women specificities and the relation between female sexual hormones and COVID-19, and reports the main recommendations in this background. To this end, a review of the literature was conducted in the main databases, auxiliary data sources, and official websites. Therefore, considering the hypercoagulability status of COVID-19, the debate about the use of contraceptives due to the relative risk of thromboembolic effects that they impose arises. However, the current available evidence, as well as the recommendations of main health organs around the world, demonstrate that the use of hormonal contraceptives must be maintained during the pandemic.

Resumo As mulheres possuem variáveis metabólicas, imunológicas e genéticas que conferem maior proteção à infecção pelo coronavírus. Todavia, a indicação de tratamento para certas patologias e para a contracepção é determinada por hormônios que possuem efeitos adversos e levantam dúvidas quanto ao seu uso durante a pandemia da COVID-19. Desta forma, o presente estudo busca investigar as especificidades da mulher e a relação dos hormônios sexuais femininos com a COVID-19, assim como relatar as principais recomendações neste contexto. Para isso, realizou-se uma revisão da literatura nas principais bases de dados, fontes auxiliares de dados e sites oficiais. Portanto, considerando o estado hipercoagulável da COVID-19, surge o debate quanto à utilização de contraceptivos pelo seu risco relativo de efeitos tromboembólicos. No entanto, as atuais evidências disponíveis, assim como as recomendações dos principais órgãos de saúde do mundo, demonstraram que o uso de contraceptivos hormonais deve ser mantido durante a pandemia.

Cochlear implant telemedicine: Remote fitting based on psychoacoustic self-tests and artificial intelligence.

Objective: This study aims to assess the feasibility of autonomous cochlear implant (CI) fitting by adult CI recipients based on psychoacoustic self-testing and artificial intelligence (AI). Design: A feasibility study was performed on six adult CI recipients implanted with a Nucleus device. Two weeks after processor activation in the clinic, a 'self-fitting' session was organized in a supervised simulated home environment. The CI recipient performed pure tone audiometry and spectral discrimination tests as self-tests. The AI application FOX analysed the results and recommended a new map. The participants filled out a questionnaire and were tested again after 2 months of take-home experience. Results: Four out of six patients performed the self-tests without any help from the audiologist and four were fitted by FOX without any manual intervention. All patients were comfortable with the concept of self-testing and automated fitting. Patients acknowledged that at this stage the remote supervision of an audiologist remains essential. Conclusions: The study showed that audiological self-assessment and remote CI fitting with AI under the supervision of an audiologist is feasible, at least in a number of CI recipients. Currently, there are still some technical and regulatory challenges to be addressed before this can become routine practice.

Speech polar plots for different directionality settings of SONNET cochlear implant processor.

Objectives: The newest CI processor from MED-EL company, the SONNET, has two new directional microphone settings. Besides the Omnidirectional microphone mode, it has the possibility to switch to Natural or Adaptive directionality. Both new modes favour perception of sound coming from a front-facing direction compared to sounds from sources at alternate azimuths. Natural directionality mimics the pinna effect of the normal external ear. Design: We undertook to verify the effect of these options in vivo by means of clinical audiological tests. Speech reception thresholds were successively measured for a variety of speech presentation azimuths while keeping the noise azimuths constant. Complete 'Speech Reception Threshold (SRT)-Polar-Plots' were obtained from these data for the Omnidirectional and Natural directionality modes of the SONNET. In addition, one 'SRT-point' was also measured in the 'Adaptive' mode for speech coming from 45° azimuth. Study sample: A group of 13 adult CI recipients participated. Only one of these subjects had previous experience with the SONNET processor. Results: Complete 'SRT-Polar-Plots' could be measured in Natural and Omnidirectional modes in CI recipients within an acceptable timeframe. The pinna-following directionality for Natural mode could be confirmed. Median SRT in noise for speech coming from the 45° azimuth speaker was -5.6 dB SNR for Omnidirectional, -9.1 dB SNR for Natural and -12.8 dB SNR for Adaptive microphone. Natural and Adaptive significantly improved performance compared to Omnidirectional mode at this optimal azimuth of 45° with a median improvement in SRT of 3.5 and 7.2 dB respectively. Conclusions: A novel audiological method, 'SRT-Polar-Plot', was developed and described. Significant directionality benefits for Natural and Adaptive mode were confirmed in vivo using this technique.

The use of cochlear's SCAN and wireless microphones to improve speech understanding in noise with the Nucleus6® CP900 processor.

OBJECTIVES: The newest Nucleus CI processor, the CP900, has two new options to improve speech-in-noise perception: (1) use of an adaptive directional microphone (SCAN mode) and (2) wireless connection to MiniMic1 and MiniMic2 wireless remote microphones. DESIGN: An analysis was made of the absolute and relative benefits of these technologies in a real-world mimicking test situation. Speech perception was tested using an adaptive speech-in-noise test (sentences-in-babble noise). In session A, SRTs were measured in three conditions: (1) Clinical Map, (2) SCAN and (3) MiniMic1. Each was assessed for three distances between speakers and CI recipient: 1 m, 2 m and 3 m. In session B, the benefit of the use of MiniMic2 was compared to benefit of MiniMic1 at 3 m. STUDY SAMPLE: A group of 13 adult CP900 recipients participated. RESULTS: SCAN and MiniMic1 improved performance compared to the standard microphone with a median improvement in SRT of 2.7-3.9 dB for SCAN at 1 m and 3 m, respectively, and 4.7-10.9 dB for the MiniMic1. MiniMic1 improvements were significant. MiniMic2 showed an improvement in SRT of 22.2 dB compared to 10.0 dB for MiniMic1 (3 m). CONCLUSIONS: Digital wireless transmission systems (i.e. MiniMic) offer a statistically and clinically significant improvement in speech perception in challenging, realistic listening conditions.

Computer-assisted CI fitting: Is the learning capacity of the intelligent agent FOX beneficial for speech understanding?

OBJECTIVE: The software application FOX ('Fitting to Outcome eXpert') is an intelligent agent to assist in the programing of cochlear implant (CI) processors. The current version utilizes a mixture of deterministic and probabilistic logic which is able to improve over time through a learning effect. This study aimed at assessing whether this learning capacity yields measurable improvements in speech understanding. METHODS: A retrospective study was performed on 25 consecutive CI recipients with a median CI use experience of 10 years who came for their annual CI follow-up fitting session. All subjects were assessed by means of speech audiometry with open set monosyllables at 40, 55, 70, and 85 dB SPL in quiet with their home MAP. Other psychoacoustic tests were executed depending on the audiologist's clinical judgment. The home MAP and the corresponding test results were entered into FOX. If FOX suggested to make MAP changes, they were implemented and another speech audiometry was performed with the new MAP. RESULTS: FOX suggested MAP changes in 21 subjects (84%). The within-subject comparison showed a significant median improvement of 10, 3, 1, and 7% at 40, 55, 70, and 85 dB SPL, respectively. All but two subjects showed an instantaneous improvement in their mean speech audiometric score. DISCUSSION: Persons with long-term CI use, who received a FOX-assisted CI fitting at least 6 months ago, display improved speech understanding after MAP modifications, as recommended by the current version of FOX. This can be explained only by intrinsic improvements in FOX's algorithms, as they have resulted from learning. This learning is an inherent feature of artificial intelligence and it may yield measurable benefit in speech understanding even in long-term CI recipients.

Conversion of adult Nucleus® 5 cochlear implant users to the Nucleus® 6 system.

OBJECTIVES: Cochlear's new sound processor system (Nucleus(®) 6) features a new noise reduction algorithm called SNR-NR (signal-to-noise ratio), and an environmental classifier called SCAN, which activates the appropriate sound coding algorithms for a given listening environment. In addition, the sound processors (CP910 and CP920) have a data logging feature with data visually summarized using clinical programing software and come with two remote controls, CR210 and CR230. The objective of this clinical study was to conduct a field acceptance study comparing the user experience with the Nucleus(®) 6 to the Nucleus(®) 5 system and to evaluate the benefits of Nucleus(®) 6 in an adult population currently equipped with the previous generation Nucleus(®) 5 sound processor. Our primary objective was to compare speech recognition in speech-weighted noise using Nucleus(®) 6 with SCAN (activating SNR-NR) with the default Nucleus(®) 5 'Noise' Program. Secondary objectives included comparisons of speech recognition in quiet, subjective performance feedback via questionnaires and diaries, and recipient preference for device and program type. METHODS: A prospective controlled trial was conducted with 30 adult Nucleus CI recipients using the Nucleus(®) 5 sound processor (condition A). The Nucleus(®) 6 sound processor (condition B) was evaluated in a within-subject ABBA design, with repeated speech in noise (S0N0, LIST sentence test), and speech in quiet testing (S0, NVA words). The remote controls were randomly given during the two B intervals. In addition, recipients had to complete questionnaires and diaries on the use of their current as well as new sound processors and remotes. RESULTS: The group mean speech reception threshold in noise (SRT50) with Nucleus(®) 6 SCAN was significantly better (1.2 dB SNR) than with the Nucleus(®) 5 'Noise' Program. Mean speech recognition scores in quiet were not significantly different between the processors. Subjective performance feedback (APHAB) did not show a significant difference between Nucleus(®) 6 and Nucleus(®) 5 with high satisfaction scores being reported for both sound processors. Recipients preferred the SCAN program in noise and reported a clear overall preference for the Nucleus(®) 6 system. Clinicians were satisfied with the conversion process from Nucleus(®) 5 to Nucleus(®) 6. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: SNR-NR provides a significant benefit in noise. Recipients were easily converted from Nucleus(®) 5 to Nucleus(®) 6 requiring little or no sound quality adjustment period. The Nucleus(®) 6 SCAN program was well accepted by the majority of recipients for use during their daily life.