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Introduction
Published in Usva Seregina, Astrid Van den Bossche, Art-Based Research in the Context of a Global Pandemic, 2023
Usva Seregina, Astrid Van den Bossche
The early days of the pandemic urged a heightened awareness of health and disease, especially given the high suspected rate of asymptomatic cases, the variance in the severity of symptoms, and the fragility of the healthcare system. Patchy, incomplete, unreliable, or inconsistent data was used to monitor and understand the disease as well as its spread. Scientists and politicians disagreed about the effectiveness of medical measures, such as the compulsory wearing of masks (“Face Masks and Coverings for the General Public” 2020) and the safety of reopening of schools (Davis 2020). People with underlying conditions or above the age of 60 were instructed to be especially vigilant; patients undergoing or awaiting medical attention had to revisit their treatment schedules, as hospitals cancelled non-urgent procedures. Moreover, the long-term effects of infection are neither fully understood nor reliably diagnosed and treated, with “long Covid” potentially being a much more widespread and difficult ailment than initially thought (Perego et al., 2020; Sudre et al., 2021). Recent studies are also showing cognitive impairment in patients who were believed to have recovered from their initial illness (Becker et al., 2021). Even if one evaded or recovered from the virus, the various pressures (financial, familial, societal) caused by the pandemic have threatened mental health and wellbeing (World Health Organisation n.d.), especially in light of previously discussed issues such as isolation and economic hardship.
Ethics, care and dependence in a global pandemic
Published in Wendy A. Rogers, Jackie Leach Scully, Stacy M. Carter, Vikki A. Entwistle, Catherine Mills, The Routledge Handbook of Feminist Bioethics, 2022
Near the end of 2019 global health experts became aware of reports of a new coronavirus which (as soon became clearer) was more infectious and had more significant health impacts than seasonal influenza. In the absence of effective infection control or a vaccine, the virus (subsequently labeled SARS-CoV-2) developed into a pandemic with devastating global social, economic and health consequences, disrupting most aspects of life. To June 2021 there were nearly 176 million cases and more than 3.8 million deaths from COVID-19 (Johns Hopkins University 2021). Recent research suggests that 70% of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 will experience “long COVID,” understood as ongoing impairment of one or more organs more than four months after infection with the virus (Iacobucci 2020). While some have suggested that the pandemic may serve as “a great leveler,” equalizing economic conditions in a manner similar to the Black Death of the 1300s (Scheidel 2018; Hartog 2020), it is clear that those individuals and groups who are already most disadvantaged will suffer greater health, economic and social harms from the disease and the responses to it.
Chest
Published in Henry J. Woodford, Essential Geriatrics, 2022
COVID-19 pneumonia produces ground-glass opacities or consolidation on chest X-rays, which are usually bilateral and tend to affect lung peripheries and mid to lower zones.65 However, chest X-rays can appear normal in the early stages. Most people (70%) have an elevated serum CRP but rises may only be small.61 A lymphocyte count < 0.8 (109/L) is found in around 40% of cases.66 Hyponatraemia may be present. There is an increased risk of thromboembolism. The acute illness usually lasts two to three weeks. In people with severe disease, the median time from symptom onset to requiring ventilation is around 14 days and the median time from onset to death is around 18 days.66 ‘Long covid' is a term for symptoms persisting beyond the acute phase of infection. Prevalence estimates vary but it may affect around 22% of people at five weeks and 10% after 12 weeks.67 It affects people aged 35 to 69 more often than people aged over 70 years. Common symptoms include fatigue and breathlessness.
Fear of COVID-19 among patients with prior SARS-CoV-2 infection: A cross-sectional study in Estonian family practices
Published in European Journal of General Practice, 2023
Amanda Soomägi, Tatjana Meister, Sigrid Vorobjov, Kadri Suija, Ruth Kalda, Anneli Uusküla
To characterise COVID-19, three measures were used: (i) self-reported physical state during acute COVID-19 (classified into three groups: usual activity, limited activity, which meant being able to carry out vital household tasks, and bedridden); (ii) treatment setting (hospitalised vs. not); and (iii) assessment of long COVID. For long COVID, the WHO clinical case definition was used. Long COVID is defined as persistent or new onset symptoms in individuals with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 for at least 2 months within 3 months from the onset of COVID-19 that cannot be explained by an alternative diagnosis and that affect daily functioning [9]. Onset of at least one new symptom in combination with a perceived health-related limitation on usual activities was classified as long COVID.
Perceptions of COVID-19 risk during the pandemic: perspectives from people seeking medication for opioid use disorder
Published in Annals of Medicine, 2023
Sarah E. Clingan, Sarah J. Cousins, Chunqing Lin, Tram E. Nguyen, Yih-Ing Hser, Larissa J. Mooney
Vaccination against COVID-19 reduces the spread of the virus and lessens the severity of symptoms or post-condition complications (e.g. long-COVID) [16]. Yet vaccine hesitancy among individuals with SUDs is high [17]. A recent study showed that only 39.5% of individuals with SUDs in a residential treatment program trusted that a COVID-19 vaccine would be safe and effective. Thus, 60.5% were vaccine hesitant [17]. In comparison, a study conducted in 2020 found that 42.4% of U.S. adults were hesitant to obtain the vaccine [18]. This highlights the disparity in vaccine hesitancy among individuals with SUDs compared to the general population. Vaccine hesitancy tends to be higher among Black/African Americans and among individuals with lower income, whereas individuals of higher education levels and men have higher rates of vaccine acceptance [19]. Moreover, the same populations that are hesitant to vaccinate against COVID-19 also tend to experience severe consequences of OUD such as greater job loss, stigma, multiple morbidities, higher mortality rates, etc [20].
Experimental drugs in randomized controlled trials for long-COVID: what’s in the pipeline? A systematic and critical review
Published in Expert Opinion on Investigational Drugs, 2023
Shin Jie Yong, Alice Halim, Michael Halim, Long Chiau Ming, Khang Wen Goh, Mubarak Alfaresi, Bashayer M. AlShehail, Mona A. Al Fares, Mohammed Alissa, Tarek Sulaiman, Zainab Alsalem, Ameen S. S. Alwashmi, Faryal Khamis, Nawal A. Al Kaabi, Hawra Albayat, Ahmed Alsheheri, Mohammed Garout, Jameela Alsalman, Amal H. Alfaraj, Mashael Alhajri, Kuldeep Dhama, Lamees M. Alburaiky, Ahlam H. Alsanad, Abdelmunim T. AlShurbaji, Ali A. Rabaan
Only trials examining the efficacy of at least one drug in treating long-COVID patients compared to controls were included. Inclusion criteria were determined using the PICOS (patient, intervention, comparator, outcome, and study design) framework [22]. The patient group was long-COVID, i.e. COVID-19 survivors with at least one symptom or organ sequelae persisting for ≥12 weeks after COVID-19 symptom onset, diagnosis, or hospital discharge. Patients diagnosed with long-COVID but without specified symptomatic duration were also considered. Patients with symptoms or organ sequela lasting for <12 weeks at follow-up were considered as probable long-COVID. Organ sequelae are defined as organ abnormalities diagnosed via imaging scans or organ function tests. The intervention was the drug or pharmaceutical treatment examined. The comparator was placebo, standard care, or no treatment. The outcome was any change in long-COVID symptoms or organ sequelae. The study design was RCTs. Articles and records were excluded if they (i) were terminated or withdrawn; (ii) did not have the appropriate comparator; (iii) examined non-pharmaceutical drug treatments; (iv) investigated treatments for acute COVID-19 only; or (v) were observational studies, reviews, meta-analyses, or editorials.