Le Nancy Lapid
(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.
Intense COVID-19-linked gut bacteria, immune response
The microscopic organisms that live inside us could affect the severity of COVID-19 and the body’s immune response to it, and could account for lingering symptoms, researchers said Monday in Gut magazine. They found that the gut microorganisms in COVID-19 patients were significantly different from those in unprotected individuals. “COVID patients do not have specific bacteria that are known to regulate our immune system,” said Dr. Siew Ng of the University of China in Hong Kong. The presence of an abnormal combination of gut bacteria, or “dysbiosis,” persists after the virus has gone away and could play a part in the long-term symptoms that plague some patients, she said. . Her team has developed an oral formula of live bacteria called probiotics and a special capsule to protect the organisms from reaching the gut. “Compared to patients on routine care, our pilot clinical study showed that more COVID patients who received our microbiome immunosuppressive formula achieved a full symptom solution,” Ng said, adding that those who received it had symptoms significantly reduced inflammation in their blood, a favorable increase. bacteria in their stool and developed neutral antibodies to the virus. (https://bit.ly/3q9u1hb)
Pandemic stresses the mental health of ICU workers
Nearly half of staff working in intensive care units (ICUs) in England have severe anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder, with some feeling they would be better off dead, researchers said Wednesday in Occupational Medicine. The study was carried out in June and July – before Britain began its latest increase in hospitals. Among more than 700 health care workers in nine ICUs, 45% met the threshold for clinical susceptibility for at least one of four true mental health problems: depression (6%), PTSD (40 %), severe anxiety (11%) or trouble drinking (7%). More than one in eight had reported frequent suicidal thoughts or suicides in the previous two weeks. Poor mental health among ICU staff caring for critically ill and dying COVID-19 patients not only harms their quality of life but also impairs hindering their ability to function effectively, the researchers said. The findings show that there is an urgent need for mental health services to be immediately accessible to all health care workers. (https://bit.ly/2LN5SOQ; https://reut.rs/38GlzAn)
Cooling vests help COVID-19 nurses tolerate PPE
Nurses in COVID-19 wards who wear a cooling vest under their personal protective equipment (PPE) feel less stressed when moving, a small study suggests. Seventeen nurses wore a light weight cooling vest under their PPE on one day, and PPE only on another day. On both days, participants swallowed an electronic capsule that provides a continuous reading of the body’s heart temperature. The vests caused some improvement in body temperature but a much greater improvement in the perception of being overheated, researchers said in the journal Temperature. Only 18% of nurses reported thermal discomfort and 35% slightly warm thermal sensation at the end of the day with the vest. That compared with 81% and 94%, respectively, on the day without the vest. “PPE is known to promote heat stress, which increases obesity and sensory dissatisfaction, and it is known to weaken effective decision-making,” said study coauthor Thijs Eijsvogels from Radboud University Medical Center in the Netherlands . The CoolOver vests made by Dutch company Inuteq are easy to disinfect and reactivate in a refrigerator, he said, and could extend labor tolerance time and improve the involvement of involved clinicians. in the care of COVID-19. (https://bit.ly/2K9sXe5)
Diabetes increases the risks of COVID-19 for Black patients
New data show black patients with Type 1 diabetes (T1D) who are infected with the new coronary heart disease, suffering from life-threatening diabetes called ketoacidosis. T1D usually develops in children or young adults and requires daily insulin to survive. Researchers studied 180 patients from across the United States with T1D and COVID-19, including 31% who were black and 26% who were Hispanic. There were nearly four times as many black patients developing diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) compared to white patients, the researchers reported in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. Hispanics had a slightly higher risk than white patients. Blacks and Hispanics were significantly more likely to use new diabetes technology such as continuous glucose monitoring and insulin pumps, and had significantly worse blood sugar control compared to white patients. That suggested the higher risk would be driven by structural and systemic inequalities, coauthor Dr. Osagie Ebekozien of the nonprofit T1D Exchange in Boston told Reuters. Especially during the pandemic, healthcare providers need to screen patients with T1D for socioeconomic factors that increase the risk of DKA such as food insecurity, affordable insulin availability, and access to disease supply. the sugar, the researchers said. (http://bit.ly/3hWJZs8)
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(Reporting by Nancy Lapid and Megan Brooks; Editing by Bill Berkrot)