Case Report: Complex Treatment Using Vibroacoustic Therapy in a Patient With Co-Infection and COVID-19

Vibroacoustic therapy in the treatment of patients with COVID-19 complicated by respiratory failure: a pilot randomized controlled trial

Introduction

Coronavirus infection is a dangerous airborne disease that can lead to serious lung damage. Data on the effectiveness of low-frequency chest vibrations in the treatment of lung diseases are available; however, not so many of them exist. Vibroacoustic pulmonary therapy is a component of physiotherapy that improves lung perfusion and drainage without requiring active patient participation. This study aimed to increase statistical efficiency through maximizing the relevant information obtained from the clinical data. Calculating the sample size to determine the power of subsequent studies was also necessary.

Research methods

A pilot randomized parallel trial involving 60 patients was conducted. The patients were divided into two equal groups, where they received sessions of vibroacoustic pulmonary therapy using the "VibroLung" device in two modes "acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)" and "Pneumonia," with identical treatment. The patients were > 18 years old with detected COVID-19 by PCR and grade 2 and 3 lung lesions detected by computer tomography (CT). Blood sampling was performed in the morning at the same time before and after the hardware massage to determine PaO2, PaCO2, and P/F.

Results

As a result of the test, the following data were obtained: on the first day in the group using the "ARDS" mode, PaO2 indicators averaged 65, CI 95% [58.6-73.2] and on average 77.5, CI 95% [69.8-85.2], "before" and "after," respectively, which indicates improved oxygenation after the procedure. However, in the second group with the "Pneumonia" mode after its use, PaCO2 was higher after the session, on average 48.7, CI 95% [40.8-56.6], whereas before that, the following indicators had, on average 43.6, CI 95% [37.2-50].

Conclusion

Thus, the data obtained yielded ambiguous results, which are the basis for further study in future randomized controlled trials. As the treatment of coronavirus infection has no etiological treatment, even small shifts in the therapy of this category of patients can be significant.

Clinical trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT05143372.

Non-Invasive Pulsatile Shear Stress Modifies Endothelial Activation; A Narrative Review

The monolayer of cells that line both the heart and the entire vasculature is the endothelial cell (EC). These cells respond to external and internal signals, producing a wide array of primary or secondary messengers involved in coagulation, vascular tone, inflammation, and cell-to-cell signaling. Endothelial cell activation is the process by which EC changes from a quiescent cell phenotype, which maintains cellular integrity, antithrombotic, and anti-inflammatory properties, to a phenotype that is prothrombotic, pro-inflammatory, and permeable, in addition to repair and leukocyte trafficking at the site of injury or infection. Pathological activation of EC leads to increased vascular permeability, thrombosis, and an uncontrolled inflammatory response that leads to endothelial dysfunction. This pathological activation can be observed during ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI) and sepsis. Shear stress (SS) and pulsatile shear stress (PSS) are produced by mechanical frictional forces of blood flow and contraction of the heart, respectively, and are well-known mechanical signals that affect EC function, morphology, and gene expression. PSS promotes EC homeostasis and cardiovascular health. The archetype of inducing PSS is exercise (i.e., jogging, which introduces pulsations to the body as a function of the foot striking the pavement), or mechanical devices which induce external pulsations to the body (Enhanced External Pulsation (EECP), Whole-body vibration (WBV), and Whole-body periodic acceleration (WBPA aka pGz)). The purpose of this narrative review is to focus on the aforementioned noninvasive methods to increase PSS, review how each of these modify specific diseases that have been shown to induce endothelial activation and microcirculatory dysfunction (Ischemia reperfusion injury-myocardial infarction and cardiac arrest and resuscitation), sepsis, and lipopolysaccharide-induced sepsis syndrome (LPS)), and review current evidence and insight into how each may modify endothelial activation and how these may be beneficial in the acute and chronic setting of endothelial activation and microvascular dysfunction.

[Capacity of vibroacoustic therapy for correction of respiratory manifestations of post COVID-19 syndrome]

The search for therapeutic strategies for the correction of post COVID-19 syndrome is an urgent task of medicine. One of the frequent manifestations of post COVID-19 syndrome is the prolonged persistence of respiratory syndromes - dyspnea and cough. Vibroacoustic therapy is promising methods in the complex effect on broncho-pulmonary symptoms of COVID-19.

OBJECTIVE

To study the effect of vibroacoustic pulmonary therapy implemented through the BARK VibroLUNG apparatus on the clinical and instrumental parameters of patients undergoing COVID-19 with residual respiratory symptoms.

MATHERIAL AND METHODS

The effect of vibroacoustic therapy (5-day course of 2 sessions) on dyspnea and cough and respiratory function in 60 patients aged 18 to 75 years who underwent COVID-19 of varying severity for more than 12 weeks before the start of the study, with the presence of distant respiratory symptoms, was investigated. Patients were divided into two equal and age-matched groups - without (1^st) and with (2^nd) chronic bronchopulmonary pathology.

RESULTS

Analysis of comorbidity of patients with respiratory phenotype of post COVID-19 syndrome showed frequent presence of concomitant cardiovascular pathology (76.7%). The predominant patient complaint was dyspnea (93.3% in both groups): 29 patients (96.7%) in the non-lung group, and 27 patients (90%) in the chronic lung group. The mean mMRC dyspnea score for all patients was 1.1±0.49 points (1.2±0.5 points in the first group and 1.0±0.45 points in the second group). Cough was observed less often - in 18 patients of both groups (30%), mainly in the second group. During the course of vibroacoustic therapy in the 1^st group, the number of patients with dyspnea decreased from 96.7 to 30%, in the 2^nd group - from 90 to 10%, the total mean mMRC dyspnea score decreased to 0.2±0.4 (Δ 82%), and a complete regression of cough syndrome was achieved in both groups. Also, an increase in forced expiratory volume in 1^st second and peak expiratory flow indicators was revealed both in the general group of patients and in the group of patients without chronic lung pathology.

CONCLUSION

The results obtained during the study of the use of vibroacoustic therapy in patients with respiratory manifestations of post-COVID syndrome, including the presence of chronic bronchopulmonary pathology, allow us to conclude on the effective correction of dyspnea and cough during treatment. Vibroacoustic therapy is a promising non-drug method of exposure to bronchopulmonary manifestations of post-COVID syndrome in patients during rehabilitation.