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Life
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COVID-19 and Its Co-infection
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COVID-19 and Its Co-infection

A special issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729). This special issue belongs to the section "Epidemiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 September 2022) | Viewed by 7177

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Chih-Cheng Lai

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Tainan Branch, Tainan 710, Taiwan
Interests: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; infection; antibiotics; resistance; bacteria
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Yen-Hung Liu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Internal Medicine, Cardinal Tien Hospital, School of Medicine, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City 242062, Taiwan
Interests: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; infection; antibiotics; resistance; Neisseria gonorrhoeae

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Since the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 infection in China in the end of 2019, more than 456 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, including more than 6 million deaths, were reported to the WHO. In addition to infection control and prevention intervention to contain COVID-19, scientists have worked hard to develop effective treatment against SARS-CoV-2, and many studies investigated the clinical efficacy and safety of anti-COVID-19 treatment. However, the findings of these studies were not consistent. Moreover, the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants complicate the condition. We still urgently need updated evidence of appropriate management of COVID-19.

Because the clinical manifestation of SARS-CoV-2 infection can range from asymptomatic, mild disease to severe or critical COVID-19, we needed different treatment strategies according to the disease severity of COVID-19. For patients with mild disease, appropriate antiviral agents or neutralized monoclonal antibody may help to enhance clinical improvement and prevent disease progression. For patients with severe-to-critical COVID-19, anti-inflammatory agents are key to management for these stages with exaggerated inflammation. In addition, co-infection with bacteria, viruses, and fungi can develop in patients with COVID-19, especially those with severe diseases. Therefore, determining how to identify patients with co-infection and appropriately use antimicrobial agents should also be a topic of concern.

This Special Issue of Life (MDPI) will focus on the management of COVID-19 in three ways, including anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents, anti-inflammatory agents, and antimicrobial agents for COVID-19 co-infections. Studies covering these three issues will be welcome.

Dr. Chih-Cheng Lai
Dr. Yen-Hung Liu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Life is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • COVID-19
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • co-infection
  • treatment
  • antibiotics

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 268 KiB  
Article
Toxic Megacolon Burdened with COVID-19 Coinfection—Worsening of an Unfavorable Diagnosis: A Single-Center Retrospective Study
by Tomáš Řezáč, Dušan Klos, Martin Stašek, Radek Vrba, Pavel Zbořil and Petr Špička
Life 2022, 12(10), 1545; https://doi.org/10.3390/life12101545 - 5 Oct 2022
Viewed by 1551
Abstract
Introduction: This study primarily sought to evaluate the risk factors for toxic megacolon development and treatment outcomes in Clostridium difficile-positive COVID-19 patients, secondarily to determining predictors of survival. Methods: During the second COVID-19 wave (May 2020 to May 2021), we identified 645 patients [...] Read more.
Introduction: This study primarily sought to evaluate the risk factors for toxic megacolon development and treatment outcomes in Clostridium difficile-positive COVID-19 patients, secondarily to determining predictors of survival. Methods: During the second COVID-19 wave (May 2020 to May 2021), we identified 645 patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection, including 160 patients with a severe course in the intensive care unit. We selected patients with Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) (31 patients) and patients with toxic megacolon (9 patients) and analyzed possible risk factors. Results: Patients who developed toxic megacolon had a higher incidence (without statistical significance, due to small sample size) of cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a higher proportion of them required antibiotic treatment using cephalosporins or penicillins, and there was a higher rate of extracorporeal circulation usage. C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 values showed significant differences between the groups (CRP [median 126 mg/L in the non-toxic megacolon cohort and 237 mg/L in the toxic megacolon cohort; p = 0.037] and interleukin-6 [median 252 ng/L in the group without toxic megacolon and 1127 ng/L in those with toxic megacolon; p = 0.016]). As possible predictors of survival, age, presence of chronic venous insufficiency, cardiac disease, mechanical ventilation, and infection with Candida species were significant for increasing the risk of death, while corticosteroid and cephalosporin treatment and current Klebsiella infection decreased this risk. Conclusions: More than ever, the COVID-19 pandemic required strong up-to-date treatment recommendations to decrease the rate of serious in-hospital complications. Further studies are required to evaluate the interplay between COVID-19 and CDI/toxic megacolon. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue COVID-19 and Its Co-infection)
9 pages, 1219 KiB  
Article
Tuberculosis in the Russian Federation: Dynamics of the Epidemic Indicators before and after COVID-19 Pandemic
by Anna Starshinova, Irina Dovgalyk, Mikhail Beltukov, Yulia Zinchenko, Anzhela Glushkova, Anastasia Y. Starshinova, Natalia Doktorova and Dmitry Kudlay
Life 2022, 12(10), 1468; https://doi.org/10.3390/life12101468 - 21 Sep 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1876
Abstract
The measures taken against tuberculosis (TB) in recent years in the Russian Federation have been highly effective. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic may seriously undermine the progress that has been made in the fight against TB. The aim of this study was to assess [...] Read more.
The measures taken against tuberculosis (TB) in recent years in the Russian Federation have been highly effective. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic may seriously undermine the progress that has been made in the fight against TB. The aim of this study was to assess changes in the epidemiological rates of tuberculosis in the Russian Federation before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and methods. The analysis was conducted by considering the main epidemiological indicators of tuberculosis, according to the federal statistics for the period from 2017 to 2021. The parameters were estimated according to the data received from 11 areas in the North-Western region. Statistical analysis was carried out using the free software computing environment R (v.3.5.1) and the commercial software package Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 24.0, IBM Corp., 2016). Research results. We found a positive correlation between the incidence among the overall population and the incidence among children aged 0–17, inclusively (r = 0.55 in 2017, r = 0.60 in 2020, and r = 0.53 in 2021). Along with the received regularities, a different trend is shown in the data analysis of general incidence and health X-ray examination for tuberculosis among the general population. The correlation has decreased threefold from 2017 (r = 0.72) to 2020 (r = 0.32); this negative trend might be the result of factors such as the quality of X-ray screening examinations among the general population, and the reduced assessment objectivity of the tuberculosis incidence rate. Conclusions. In assessing the correlation between general incidence and incidence in children under 17 years of age, as well as between incidence and mortality in the Russian Federation, a positive correlation was found with an increasing trend. Such a discrepancy might be due to decreases in the occupational health examination coverage among the general population. Therefore, in the years ahead, we can expect epidemiological indicators to increase incidence and mortality, including child mortality, associated with the insufficient detection of tuberculosis among the population during the COVID-19 pandemic. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue COVID-19 and Its Co-infection)
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16 pages, 2746 KiB  
Article
Chronic Exposure to the Food Additive tBHQ Modulates Expression of Genes Related to SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza Viruses
by Krisztina Németh, Peter Petschner, Krisztina Pálóczi, Nóra Fekete, Éva Pállinger, Edit I. Buzás and Viola Tamási
Life 2022, 12(5), 642; https://doi.org/10.3390/life12050642 - 26 Apr 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3210
Abstract
Background. tert-butylhydroquinone (tBHQ) is an antioxidant commonly used as a food additive. Studies suggest that tBHQ could modulate immune responses to influenza and SARS-CoV-2 infection. In our transcriptomic analysis we explored the molecular mechanisms behind tBHQ’s modulatory properties and the relationships to [...] Read more.
Background. tert-butylhydroquinone (tBHQ) is an antioxidant commonly used as a food additive. Studies suggest that tBHQ could modulate immune responses to influenza and SARS-CoV-2 infection. In our transcriptomic analysis we explored the molecular mechanisms behind tBHQ’s modulatory properties and the relationships to respiratory viral infections. Methods. tBHQ was administered per os to BALB/c mice (1.5% [w/w]) for 20 days. Splenic T cells were isolated with magnetic separation and subjected to transcriptomic analysis. Gene-set enrichment analysis and g:Profiler was conducted to provide a functional interpretation of significantly changed genes. Further analysis for AHR/NRF2 binding sites was performed with GeneHancer. Results. In CD4+ cells, we found significantly altered expression of 269 genes by tBHQ. Of them, many had relevance in influenza infection such as genes responsible for virus entry (Anxa1/2, Cd14), interferon signaling (Dusp10, Tnfsf13), or prostaglandin synthesis (Ptgs1/2). In SARS-CoV-2 infections, interferon signaling (Ifitm1), proteolytic enzymes (CtsB), and also cell-surface proteins (Cd14, Cd151) were among the prominent alterations after tBHQ exposure. Of these genes, many had one or more binding sites for AHR and NRF2, two major xenosensors triggered by tBHQ. Conclusions. Our results strongly suggest that a common food additive, tBHQ, can modulate virus-dependent processes in both influenza and SARS-CoV-2 infections. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue COVID-19 and Its Co-infection)
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