Lignin-Based Nanomaterials as Drug Delivery Vehicles: A Review.

Over the past decade, lignin-based nanomaterials have astonishingly gained tremendous popularity among researchers worldwide for utilization in various high-value added fields. However, the copiousness of published articles suggests that lignin-based nanomaterials are currently being given the most priority as drug delivery vehicles or drug carriers. A large number of reports have been published during the past decade reporting successful application of lignin nanoparticles as drug carrier, not only for drugs administered in human but also for drugs used in plants such as pesticides, fungicides, etc. In this review, all of these reports have been discussed in an elaborate fashion so as to present all the available information pertaining to the application of lignin-based nanomaterials in drug delivery in a comprehensive manner.

Association of comorbidities with the COVID-19 severity and hospitalization: A study among the recovered individuals in Bangladesh.

Objectives: We aimed at the identification of the association of comorbidities with the COVID-19 severity and hospitalization. Methods: It is a retrospective cross-sectional study to investigate the variation in age, sex, dwelling, comorbidities, and medication with the COVID-19 severity and hospitalization by enrolling 1025 recovered individuals while comparing their time of recovery with or without comorbidities. Results: COVID-19 patients mostly suffered from fever. The predominant underlying medical conditions in them were hypertension (HTN) followed by diabetes mellitus (DM). Patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) (54.3%) and hepatic disorders (HD) (43.6%) experienced higher severity. The risk of symptomatic cases was higher in aged (odds ratio, OR = 1.04, 95% CI = 1.02-1.06) and comorbid (OR = 1.87, 95% CI = 1.34-2.60) patients. T-test confirmed the differences between the comorbid and non-comorbid patients' recovery duration. The presence of multiple comorbidities increased the time of recovery (15-27 days) and hospitalization (20-40%). Increased symptomatic cases were found for patients having DM+HTN whereas CVD+Asthma patients were found with higher percentage of severity. Besides, DM+CKD (chronic kidney disease) was associated with higher hospitalization rate. Higher odds of severity were found for DM+CVD (OR = 4.42, 95% CI = 1.81-10.78) patients. Hospitalization risk was also increased for them (OR = 5.14, 95% CI = 2.02-13.07). Moreover, if they had HTN along with DM+CVD, they were found with even higher odds (OR = 6.82, 95% CI = 2.37-19.58) for hospitalization. Conclusion: Our study indicates that people who are aged, females, living in urban area and have comorbid conditions are at a higher risk for developing COVID-19 severity. Clinicians and health management authorities should prioritize these high-risk groups to reduce mortality attributed to the disease.