Blurblogs
Global
Popular
Log in
sarcozona's blurblog
plant lover, cookie monster, shoe fiend
17416 stories
·
21 followers

THE ELECTROCARDIOGRAPHIC CHANGES IN PATIENTS WITH VIRAL RESPIRATORY INFECTION IN SARS COV 19 VERSUS OTHER RESPIRATORY VIRUSES A SINGLE CENTER RETROSPECTIVE COHORT | Journal of the American College of Cardiology
Monday July 1st, 2024 at 6:56 AM

1 Share

Background

The heart is one of the principal targets of SARS-CoV-2 infection, given the abundance of ACE-2 receptors in myocytes as the gate of entry for the virus. Cardiac involvement confers a worse prognosis and higher in-hospital mortality. EKG is a low-cost, accessible tool for cardiac assessment. The current literature lacks comparative studies investigating the differences among the EKG findings associated with respiratory viral infections (RVI) due to SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses. We aimed to compare these two groups.

Methods

This single-center retrospective cohort was conducted in a community-based hospital. Data extracted from hospital's EMR of 1100 patients (Pts) admitted with RVI (2018-21). Study population was grouped into two categories: positive for SARS-CoV-2 (COV-G) vs. positive for other viruses (non-COV-G including Flu-A, Flu-B, Corona OC43, Corona HKU1, Corona NL63, hMPV, RSV, or RVs). Pts with no EKG on admission, no baseline EKG, and those with pacer were excluded. Chi-square was used for analysis.

Results

We included 553 Pts in the analysis, 287 Pts (51.9%) in COV-G, and 266 Pts (48.1%) in non-COV-G. Females accounted for 51.9% of COV-G vs. 55.3% in non-COV-G. Pts above 65 years old comprised 86.8% in COV-G vs. 85.3% in non-COV-G (p=0.06). Racially, 80.5% were White, 11.9% were African American, and 7.7% were Asian (p=0.02). Pertinent EKG findings included 38.6% new ischemic ABNLs (ST-segment elevation/depression, T-wave inversion) in COV-G vs. 25.6% in non-COV-G in Pts with no underlying ischemic EKG ABNLs (P=0.033), 38.7% new rhythm ABNLs (sinus bradycardia/tachycardia, atrial fibrillation/flutter) in COV-G vs. 25.9% in non-CoV-G in Pts without underlying rhythm abnormality in prior EKGs (P=0.041), 12.7% new conduction delay (AV/bi-fascicular/right bundle branch blocks) in COV-G vs. 16% in non-COV-G in Pts with no underlying conduction ABNLs (P=0.426).

Conclusion

This comparative study of 553 patients with RVI showed a statistically significant increase in ischemic findings and arrhythmias in patients with COV vs. non-COV infections. This study did not show a statistically significant difference in conduction delay between these two groups.

Footnotes

Read the whole story
sarcozona
5 minutes ago
reply
Epiphyte City
Share this story
Delete

Brain hypoxia, neurocognitive impairment, and quality of life in people post-COVID-19 | Journal of Neurology
Monday July 1st, 2024 at 6:55 AM

1 Comment

  1. Østergaard L (2021) SARS CoV-2 related microvascular damage and symptoms during and after COVID-19: consequences of capillary transit-time changes, tissue hypoxia and inflammation. Physiol Rep 9(3):e14726

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  2. Dennis A et al (2021) Multiorgan impairment in low-risk individuals with post-COVID-19 syndrome: a prospective, community-based study. BMJ Open 11(3):e048391

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Taquet M et al (2021) 6-month neurological and psychiatric outcomes in 236 379 survivors of COVID-19: a retrospective cohort study using electronic health records. Lancet Psychiatry 8(5):416–427

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  4. Huang C et al (2021) 6-month consequences of COVID-19 in patients discharged from hospital: a cohort study. Lancet 397(10270):220–232

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. Tenforde MW, Kim SS, Lindsell CJ, Rose EB, Shapiro NI, Files CD, Gibbs KW, Erickson HL, Steingrub JS, Smithline HA, Gong MN, Aboodi MS, Exline MC, Henning DJ, Wilson JG, Khan A, Qadir N, Brown SM, Peltan ID, Rice TW, Hager DN, Ginde AA, Stubblefield WB, Patel MM, Self WH, Feldstein LR, Hart KW, McClellan R, Dorough L, Dzuris N, Griggs EP, Kassem AM, Marcet PL, Ogokeh CE, Sciarratta CN, Siddula A, Smith ER, Wu MJ (2020) Symptom duration and risk factors for delayed return to usual health among outpatients with COVID-19 in a Multistate Health Care Systems Network — United States, March–June 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 69:993–998

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Carfì A et al (2020) Persistent Symptoms in Patients After Acute COVID-19. JAMA 324(6):603–605

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. WHO (2021) A clinical case definition of post COVID-19 condition by a Delphi consensus, 6 October 2021. pp 1–27

  8. Spudich S, Nath A (2022) Nervous system consequences of COVID-19. Science 375(6578):267–269

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Corlier F et al (2018) Systemic inflammation as a predictor of brain aging: contributions of physical activity, metabolic risk, and genetic risk. Neuroimage 172:118–129

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Heneka MT et al (2015) Neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s disease. Lancet Neurol 14(4):388–405

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  11. Almeria M et al (2020) Cognitive profile following COVID-19 infection: clinical predictors leading to neuropsychological impairment. Brain Behav Immun Health 9:100163

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  12. Ellul MA et al (2020) Neurological associations of COVID-19. Lancet Neurol 19(9):767–783

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  13. Jahani M, Dokaneheifard S, Mansouri K (2020) Hypoxia: a key feature of COVID-19 launching activation of HIF-1 and cytokine storm. J Inflamm (Lond) 17:33

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Yang R, Dunn JF (2019) Multiple sclerosis disease progression: contributions from a hypoxia-inflammation cycle. Mult Scler 25(13):1715–1718

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Yang R, Dunn JF (2015) Reduced cortical microvascular oxygenation in multiple sclerosis: a blinded, case-controlled study using a novel quantitative near-infrared spectroscopy method. Sci Rep 5(1):16477

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  16. Duszynski CC et al (2020) Near-infrared spectroscopy reveals brain hypoxia and cerebrovascular dysregulation in primary biliary cholangitis. Hepatology 71(4):1408–1420

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Highton D et al (2016) Near infrared light scattering changes following acute brain injury. Adv Exp Med Biol 876:139–144

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. De Blasi RA et al (1995) Cerebral and muscle oxygen saturation measurement by frequency-domain near-infra-red spectrometer. Med Biol Eng Comput 33(2):228–230

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Gatto R et al (2006) Frequency domain near-infrared spectroscopy technique in the assessment of brain oxygenation: a validation study in live subjects and cadavers. J Neurosci Methods 157(2):274–277

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Fantini S et al (1999) Non-invasive optical monitoring of the newborn piglet brain using continuous-wave and frequency-domain spectroscopy. Phys Med Biol 44(6):1543–1563

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Hammer SM et al (2019) Effect of assuming constant tissue scattering on measured tissue oxygenation values during tissue ischemia and vascular reperfusion. J Appl Physiol (1985) 127(1):22–30

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Mitrushina MN (2005) Handbook of normative data for neuropsychological assessment. Vol, 2nd edn. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  23. Smith A (1982) Symbol digit modalities test (SDMT). Manual (Revised). Western Psychological Services, Los Angeles

    Google Scholar 

  24. Rosti E et al (2006) The PASAT performance among patients with multiple sclerosis: analyses of responding patterns using different scoring methods. Mult Scler 12(5):586–593

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Ware JE Jr (2000) SF-36 health survey update. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 25(24):3130–3139

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Yellen SB et al (1997) Measuring fatigue and other anemia-related symptoms with the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT) measurement system. J Pain Symptom Manage 13(2):63–74

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Sacco R et al (2016) Psychometric properties and validity of Beck Depression Inventory II in multiple sclerosis. Eur J Neurol 23(4):744–750

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Twomey R, DeMars J, Franklin K, Culos-Reed SN, Weatherald J, Wrightson JG (2022) Chronic fatigue and postexertional Malaise in people living with long COVID: an observational study. Phys Ther 102(4)

  29. Webster K, Cella D, Yost K (2003) The Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy (FACIT) measurement system: properties, applications, and interpretation. Health Qual Life Outcomes 1:79

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  30. Van Belle S et al (2005) Comparison of proposed diagnostic criteria with FACT-F and VAS for cancer-related fatigue: proposal for use as a screening tool. Support Care Cancer 13(4):246–254

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Cella D et al (1998) Progress toward guidelines for the management of fatigue. Oncology (Williston Park) 12(11A):369–377

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Minton O, Stone P (2009) A systematic review of the scales used for the measurement of cancer-related fatigue (CRF). Ann Oncol 20(1):17–25

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Butt Z et al (2013) Measurement of fatigue in cancer, stroke, and HIV using the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-fatigue (FACIT-F) scale. J Psychosom Res 74(1):64–68

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Kosinski M et al (2013) Qualitative validation of the FACIT-fatigue scale in systemic lupus erythematosus. Lupus 22(5):422–430

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Cella D et al (2005) Validation of the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy Fatigue Scale relative to other instrumentation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. J Rheumatol 32(5):811–819

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Chandran V et al (2007) Functional assessment of chronic illness therapy-fatigue scale is valid in patients with psoriatic arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis 66(7):936–939

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  37. Al-shair K et al (2012) Examining fatigue in COPD: development, validity and reliability of a modified version of FACIT-F scale. Health Qual Life Outcomes 10:100

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  38. Hagell P et al (2006) Measuring fatigue in Parkinson’s disease: a psychometric study of two brief generic fatigue questionnaires. J Pain Symptom Manage 32(5):420–432

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Tennant KF et al (2012) A preliminary study of symptomatic fatigue in rural older adults. Aging Clin Exp Res 24(4):324–330

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Acaster S et al (2015) Qualitative and quantitative validation of the FACIT-fatigue scale in iron deficiency anemia. Health Qual Life Outcomes 13:60

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  41. Rutkai I et al (2022) Neuropathology and virus in brain of SARS-CoV-2 infected non-human primates. Nat Commun 13(1):1745

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  42. Augustin M et al (2021) Post-COVID syndrome in non-hospitalised patients with COVID-19: a longitudinal prospective cohort study. Lancet Reg Health Eur 6:100122

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  43. Romero Starke K et al (2021) The isolated effect of age on the risk of COVID-19 severe outcomes: a systematic review with meta-analysis. BMJ Glob Health 6(12):e006434

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. Proal AD, VanElzakker MB (2021) Long COVID or Post-acute Sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC): an overview of biological factors that may contribute to persistent symptoms. Front Microbiol. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.698169

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  45. Tian M et al (2021) HIF-1α promotes SARS-CoV-2 infection and aggravates inflammatory responses to COVID-19. Signal Transduct Target Ther 6(1):308

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  46. Solomon IH et al (2020) Neuropathological features of Covid-19. N Engl J Med 383(10):989–992

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  47. Lee M-H et al (2020) Microvascular Injury in the Brains of Patients with Covid-19. N Engl J Med 384(5):481–483

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  48. Douaud G, Lee S, Alfaro-Almagro F, Arthofer C, Wang C, McCarthy P, Lange F, Andersson JLR, Griffanti L, Duff E, Jbabdi S, Taschler B, Keating P, Winkler AM, Collins R, Matthews PM, Allen N, Miller KL, Nichols TE, Smith SM (2022) SARS-CoV-2 is associated with changes in brain structure in UK Biobank. Nature 604(7907):697–707

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  49. Wenzel J et al (2021) The SARS-CoV-2 main protease Mpro causes microvascular brain pathology by cleaving NEMO in brain endothelial cells. Nat Neurosci 24(11):1522–1533

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  50. Qin Y et al (2021) Long-term microstructure and cerebral blood flow changes in patients recovered from COVID-19 without neurological manifestations. J Clin Invest. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI147329

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  51. Yang R et al (2015) Studying cerebral hemodynamics and metabolism using simultaneous near-infrared spectroscopy and transcranial Doppler ultrasound: a hyperventilation and caffeine study. Physiol Rep 3(4):e12378

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  52. Lee MH et al (2022) Neurovascular injury with complement activation and inflammation in COVID-19. Brain 145(7):2555–2568

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  53. Mason MG, Nicholls P, Cooper CE (2014) Re-evaluation of the near infrared spectra of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase: implications for non invasive in vivo monitoring of tissues. Biochim Biophys Acta 1837(11):1882–1891

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  54. Tian F et al (2017) Regional cerebral abnormalities measured by frequency-domain near-infrared spectroscopy in pediatric patients during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Asaio j 63(5):e52–e59

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  55. Goodall S, Twomey R, Amann M (2014) Acute and chronic hypoxia: implications for cerebral function and exercise tolerance. Fatigue 2(2):73–92

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  56. Marcinkowska AB et al (2022) Impact of hyperbaric oxygen therapy on cognitive functions: a systematic review. Neuropsychol Rev 32(1):99–126

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Page 2

Read the whole story
sarcozona
7 minutes ago
reply
Dealing with my own variable cognition due to chronic migraine has been pretty difficult. Watching people around me get noticeably dumber after repeated Covid infections is terrifying and heartbreaking.
Epiphyte City
Share this story
Delete

Why Job Training Doesn’t Work - The Atlantic
Monday July 1st, 2024 at 6:44 AM

The Atlantic
1 Share
Read the whole story
sarcozona
18 minutes ago
reply
Epiphyte City
Share this story
Delete

Banks Are Finally Realizing What Climate Change Will Do to Housing | WIRED
Monday July 1st, 2024 at 6:40 AM

Wired
1 Share

Clean energy firms are reaping the rewards of this emerging shift. Aira, a Swedish firm that carries out heat pump installations, recently announced that it had struck a deal valued at €200 million ($214 million) for loan commitments from the bank BNP Paribas. This will allow Aira customers in Germany to pay for their heat pumps in installments.

“Banks and financial institutions have a huge responsibility to accelerate the energy transition,” says Eirik Winter, BNP Paribas’ CEO in the Nordic region. That the financing arrangement could also boost property values is a “positive side effect,” he adds.

Home renovations and energy retrofits are not cheap. Loans are often necessary to lower the barrier to entry sufficiently for consumers. Lisa Cooke works for MCS, a body that accredits heat pumps and installers in the UK. She was able to afford a heat pump herself, she says, thanks only to a government grant and just under £5,000 ($6,300) of financing from Aira. “That’s really what has made it achievable for me,” she says. “Even with savings, I wouldn’t have been able to do it otherwise.”

Luca Bertalot, secretary general of the European Mortgage Federation—European Covered Bond Council, says there are huge risks to economic productivity if people can’t secure homes that protect them from the worst effects of climate change. In heat waves, he notes, worker productivity falls, meaning a negative impact on GDP. Conversely, he speaks of a kind of energy retrofit butterfly effect. If people make their home cheaper to cool or heat, perhaps they will save money, which they may spend on other things—their children’s education, say, which in turn improves their children’s chances of a comfortable life (and maybe of buying a climate-safe home themselves) in the future.

But there is still, perhaps, a sluggishness to recognize the storm that is coming. Energy efficiency does little to protect properties from the sharper effects of climate change—stronger storms, rising seas, wildfires, and floods. As governments become unable to cover the costs of these disasters, lenders and insurers will likely end up exposed to the risks. The US National Flood Insurance Program, for instance, is already creaking under the weight of rising debt.

“As the damages pile up, it could well be that the markets will become more efficient and the incentives [to harden properties] become stronger—because nobody’s bailing you out anymore,” says Ralf Toumi at Imperial College London, who consults for insurance firms.

Ultimately, climate change impacts on housing will force some to move elsewhere, suggests Burt. Given the irrevocability of some scenarios, such as coastal villages that could be lost to the sea, or communities that become doomed to endless drought, there are some assets that no amount of hardening or retrofit will ever save. The structural utility of these properties will, like water in a drying oasis, simply evaporate.

To lessen the burden on people who are most at risk of losing their home to climate change, affordable loans might one day be targeted at consumers in these areas to help them move to safer places, says Burt. Lenders who don’t take this approach, and who continue offering mortgages on homes destined to succumb to climate change, may soon rue the day. “If you’re trying to support those markets,” Burt says, “you’re throwing good money after bad.”

Read the whole story
sarcozona
22 minutes ago
reply
Epiphyte City
Share this story
Delete

A 5:2 Intermittent Fasting Meal Replacement Diet and Glycemic Control for Adults With Diabetes: The EARLY Randomized Clinical Trial | Diabetes and Endocrinology | JAMA Network Open | JAMA Network
Monday July 1st, 2024 at 6:35 AM

JAMA Network Open New Online
1 Share
[Skip to Navigation]
Read the whole story
sarcozona
26 minutes ago
reply
Epiphyte City
Share this story
Delete

Close encounters
Monday July 1st, 2024 at 6:31 AM

1 Share

Read the whole story
sarcozona
31 minutes ago
reply
Epiphyte City
Share this story
Delete
Next Page of Stories