(Reuters) – The following is a summary of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find cures and vaccines for COVID-19, the disease that caused the virus.
COVID-19 heart problems may appear months later
Symptoms of heart injury in hospitalized COVID-19 patients may precede prolonged heart problems, researchers have found. They studied 148 survivors of COVID-19 mumps who had elevated levels of troponin – a protein released when the heart was injured – while in hospital. On average two months after leaving hospital, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) still showed a type of heart issue in 48% of patients, including heart attacks, heart muscle swelling , improper blood flow, or a combination of these problems, the researchers reported Thursday in the European Heart Journal. Among patients with cardiac arrest or inappropriate heart blood flow, two-thirds had no history of coronary heart disease. “Ultimately, we certainly cannot establish a link between the disorders detected on these cardiovascular magnetic resonance scans and the infectious COVID-19 infection,” the authors said. the high frequency of the anomalies “suggests a similar connection. Dr. Matthew Toomey, director of cardiac ICU at Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital in New York City who was not involved in the study, said: “We do not benefit from long-term follow-up to see what it improves. “He said he was hopeful that most patients with heart failure would not be protected. (Bit.ly/3u92cZj)
Samsung smartphone oxygen meters could help in COVID-19
Devices in Samsung S9 and S10 smartphones that measure blood oxygen levels meet US Food and Drug Administration standards and could be used to monitor COVID-19 patients, researchers said. Oxygen absorption levels are usually monitored by devices called pulse oximeters that tap on a finger. Fall rates can indicate severe disease and need for intervention. Pulse oximeters used in hospitals are expensive, and cheap versions sold in drug stores with variable accuracy, the researchers said in a report posted Thursday on medRxiv ahead of a review peers. The phones they researched have pulse oximetry sensors, and Samsung’s proprietary algorithms that interpret the signals are “excellent,” said coauthor Sara Browne of the University of California, San Diego. “We’re not aware of any other smartphone that has clinical-grade pulse oximetry. Samsung has done a tremendous job on this,” she said. Samsung released the sensors from their phones for 2020 and 2021, Browne said. “As health care practitioners, we would like to see them put back,” she said. Her team estimates that more than 100 million S9 and S10 phones are still in circulation and said they could be particularly useful in countries where access to circular pulse oximetry is limited. (bit.ly/3sdQESD)
PTSD is often followed by severe COVID-19
Italian doctors who interviewed survivors of COVID-19 found up to four months after they found that nearly one in three had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Their study included 381 adult survivors, about 80% of whom were hospitalized. In addition to PTSD, which was seen in 30% of study participants, other psychiatric issues included depressive events (diagnosed in 17%) and generalized anxiety disorder ( 7%), according to a report published Thursday in JAMA Psychiatry. Patients with PTSD were more likely to be female, to be embarrassed or ashamed while in hospital, and to suffer from persistent COVID-19 symptoms. The researchers reveal that they only studied patients from one hospital and did not compare them with patients with other serious illnesses, so they cannot say whether PTSD is more common after COVID. -19. They note, however, that the frequency of PTSD in their patients is “according to findings … reported after other types of traumatic events.” (Bit.ly/3dtjx9j)
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Reciting with Nancy Lapid and Linda Carroll; Edited by Bill Berkrot