[FEATURES OF THE USE OF ANTIBACTERIAL DRUGS IN PATIENTS WITH COVID-19]

The review traces the evolution of the section on the use of antibacterial drugs in the temporary guidelines of the Ministry of Health for the treatment of a new coronavirus infection. Diagnostic approaches that play an important role in deciding on the need and duration of antibacterial therapy are presented. Routine use of fluoroquinolones should be restricted due to the adverse safety spectrum. According to existing data, the tactic of short courses of antibacterial therapy for community-acquired pneumonia are not inferior in effectiveness to longer courses. Unjustified prescribing of antibiotics increases the cost of medical care, promotes the selection of resistant pathogens and leads to adverse side effects. Timely updating of clinical recommendations, implementation of programs to control the appointment of antibacterial agents in medical organizations and strengthening the role of the clinical pharmacology service can reduce these adverse events.

New SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant — clinical picture, treatment, prevention (literature review)

Despite the decrease in the incidence rate, today the problem of a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remains relevant on a global scale. Among the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoronaVirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants, the Omicron is currently dominant. The differentiating properties of the Omicron variant are a shorter incubation period (1-5 days), high contagiousness, and a relatively mild course of the disease, which is associated with the highest number of genome mutations among all SARS-CoV-2 variants. The new variant is characterized by upper respiratory tract symptoms: rhinorrhea, severe sore throat, sneezing, less commonly cough, headache, and weakness. Oral antiviral drugs Paxlovid and Molnupiravir are effective for treating mild to moderate COVID-19, including in outpatients. While corticosteroids and interleukin-6 receptor antagonists are still effective in treating patients with moderate to severe COVID-19, the effectiveness of anti-SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibodies has not yet been fully proven. Vaccination, especially booster doses, against SARS-CoV-2 is the most effective method of preventing COVID-19. The review purpose was to analyze the literature to determine the key aspects of prevention, clinical picture and treatment of a new SARSCoV-2 Omicron variant. The work used publications for the period from November 2021 to February 25, 2022, dedicated to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 caused by the Omicron variant from the following databases: PubMed, eLibrary, MedRxiv, Google Scholar. The following key words were used: “Omicron”, “SARS CoV-2”, “COVID-19”, “Omicron treatment”. The analysis showed that COVID-19 caused by the Omicron variant is characterized by a relatively mild course. However, due to high contagiousness, this variant poses a significant problem due to the excessive load on outpatient and inpatient healthcare, including intensive care units.

NEWS2, 4C Mortality Score, COVID-GRAM, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment Quick scales as outcomes assessment tools for severe COVID-19 (pilot retrospective cohort study)

Aim. To study the predictive ability of the NEWS2, 4C Mortality Score, COVID-GRAM and qSOFA scales in predicting clinical outcomes in patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) hospitalized in a multidisciplinary hospital.

Material and methods. The pilot retrospective cohort study used data from 90 patients (52 — intensive care unit subgroup, 38 — general unit subgroup) with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 hospitalized in the O.M. Filatov City Clinical Hospital № 15 (Moscow) from January to March 2021.

Results. The probability of a positive outcome of the disease significantly negatively correlates with the patient’s age (R=-0,514; p=0,0002). The best correlation with the COVID-19 outcome had a 4C Mortality Score (R=0,836; p=0,0001). Logistic regression revealed a significant dependence of the “outcome” and “age” parameters with the greatest accuracy in the form of age subgroups according to the World Health Organization classification with odds ratio (OR) of 4,29 (p=0,0001). As a result of ROC analysis, the best predictive ability of disease outcomes was shown for the 4C Mortality Score (area under curve (AUC)=0,878; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0,782- 0,975 (p=0,00001)) and COVID-GRAM (AUC=0,807; 95% CI: 0,720- 0,895 (p=0,00001)); taking into account the division of patients into age subgroups, optimal predictive tools were obtained: in subgroups 18-44 years old and 45-59 years old  — the 4С Mortality Score (AUC=0,892, 95% CI: 0,762-0,980 (p=0,002) and AUC=0,853, 95% CI: 0,784-0,961 (p=0,0014), respectively); in the subgroup 60-74 years old — the COVID-GRAM (AUC=0,833, 95% CI: 0,682-0,990 (p=0,038)); in subgroups 75-90 years and >90 years  — NEWS2 (AUC=0,958, 95% CI: 0,807-1,0 (p=0,002) and AUC=0,818, 95% CI: 0,713-0,996 (p=0,006), respectively). ROC analysis showed that the age of 70 years is the threshold value, above which the probability of an unfavorable COVID-19 outcome increases significantly (OR=11,63; 95% CI: 9,72- 12,06 (p=0,0052)).

Conclusion. The pilot study showed the significance of predicting the hospitalization outcome of patients with severe COVID-19. The 4C Mortality Score and COVID-GRAM scales had the best predictive accuracy. The specificity and sensitivity of the scores depended on the age of a patient. The age of 70 years was the threshold value at which the risk of an adverse outcome increased significantly. Based on the data obtained, it is planned to study the problem of predicting the disease course, taking into account the severity of COVID-19.

Association of HLA Class I Genotype with Mortality in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus and COVID-19

Numerous studies showed that diabetes mellitus (DM) increases the risk of death from COVID-19 by five times. It is generally accepted that the high lethality of COVID-19 against the background of DM is due to the main complications of this disease: micro- and macroangiopathies, as well as heart and kidney failure. In addition, it was shown that acute respiratory viral infection increases the production of interferon gamma, increases muscle resistance to insulin, and modulates the activity of effector CD8+ T cells. The ability of CD8+ T cells to recognize SARS-CoV-2-infected cells depends not only on humoral factors but also on individual genetic characteristics, including the individual set of major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) molecules. In this study, the relationship of the MHC-I genotype of patients with DM aged less than 60 years with the outcome of COVID-19 was studied using a sample of 222 patients. It was shown that lethal outcomes of COVID-19 in patients with DM are associated with the low affinity of the interaction of an individual set of MHC-I molecules with SARS-CoV-2 peptides.

Relationship of Covid-19 Severity with SARS-CoV-2 NS8 Protein Mutations Depending on Virus Strain

In mid-2021, the Delta strain of SARS-CoV-2 caused the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Huge efforts have been devoted to studying the effect of its mutations on the effectiveness of neutralizing antibodies. Much less attention was paid to the individual features of the presentation of its peptides by molecules of the major histocompatibility complex class I (MCHC-I). In this study, the correlation of the HLA-I genotype of patients under the age of 60 years with the severity of COVID-19 caused by the two most common variants of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta strain in the summer of 2021: AY.122 and B.1.617.2 was studied. Analysis of the severity of the course of COVID-19 revealed a more severe course of the disease caused by the AY.122 variant. Comparison of the mutation profile of the two most common variants of the Delta strain showed that that the G8R mutation in the NS8 protein makes the greatest contribution to the ability of MHC-I to present viral peptides. Given that the NS8 protein is able to suppress the maturation of MHC-I molecules, the appearance of a mutation in one of its immunogenic epitopes could make a significant contribution to the prevalence of the AY.122 variant in the Russian population.

Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification as a Promising Method for Mass COVID-19 Diagnostics

Real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is currently the most popular method for early COVID-19 diagnostics. However, loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is superior to real-time RT-PCR in rapidity and simplicity, since it does not require expensive laboratory equipment and trained personnel. LAMP-based diagnostic kits for COVID-19 testing already exist, but corresponding tests are not yet widely available. The method has great potential for mass application. Here, we discuss the technical and methodological aspects of its widespread adoption.

Diagnosis and treatment of acute surgical diseases in patients with COVID-19

Emergency surgery in the infectious diseases hospital is an urgent problem during the COVID-19 pandemic. Municipal Clinical Hospital No.15 named after O. M. Filatov has been providing emergency surgical care after conversion, from March 27, 2020 until now. The hospital’s medical staff has built up extensive experience: 194 surgical procedures were carried out in April, and 289 surgical procedures were carried out in May 2020. The paper reports the experience of emergency surgery at the stage of conversion to an infectious diseases hospital. Among all hospitalized patients, 482 (5.29%) people had acute surgical pathology requiring emergency surgery. Among patients who underwent urgent surgery, 472 (98%) people had the caused by COVID-19 community-acquired pneumonia of various degrees of severity. The paper discusses some features of acute surgical pathology and complications identified in patients with COVID-19. The surgical care features in the hospital after conversion are proper epidemiological regime implementation, minimization of the number of staff in the operating room, possible minimization of the number and reduction of the duration of surgical procedures. The most important challenge during the COVID-19 pandemic is medical staff safety.

IgM and IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in neonates born to mothers with COVID-19

Immunity against the novel coronavirus infection in neonates born to mothers with PCR-confirmed COVID-19 is an understudied field of research. The aim of this study was to analyze the levels of IgM and IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. The study was carried out in 20 mothers aged 19 to 39 years and 21 neonates (including a pair of twins). Babies born to mothers with elevated IgM and IgG against SARS-CoV-2 also had elevated IgG. There is a hypothesis that anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgM are not passed on to the child across the placenta. In all cases studied in this work, neonates were PCR-negative for the virus, which suggests the absence of vertical COVID-19 transmission. Further research is needed.

Role of ACE2/TMPRSS2 genes regulation by intestinal microRNA isoforms in the COVID-19 pathogenesis

Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the cause of the COVID-19 pandemic, enters the cell by binding the cell surface proteins: angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2). The expression of these proteins varies significantly in individual organs and tissues of the human body. One of the proteins’ expression regulation mechanisms is based on the activity of the microRNA (miRNA) molecules, small non-coding RNAs, the most important function of which is the post-transcriptional negative regulation of gene expression. The study was aimed to investigate the mechanisms of the interactions between miRNA isoforms and ACE2/TMPRSS2 genes in the colon tissues known for the high level of expression of the described enzymes. The search for interactions was performed using the correlation analysis applied to the publicly available paired mRNA/miRNA sequencing data of colon tissues. Among the others, such miRNAs as miR-30c and miR-200c were identified known for their involvement in the coronavirus infection and acute respiratory distress syndrome pathogenesis. Thus, new potential mechanisms for the ACE2 and TMPRSS2 enzymes regulation were ascertained, as well as their possible functional activity in a cell infected with coronavirus.

Factors and mechanisms of arterial hypertension development in patients with atherosclerosis of lower limb arteries

The article contains information about the frequency of development of arterial hypertension (AH), the features and causes of its development in patients with peripheral atherosclerosis. AH in patients with chronic atherosclerotic diseases of lower limb arteries and acute thrombotic occlusion complicates the course of this pathology. In most patients, the opinion that AH associated with atherosclerosis due to affection of renal arteries is generally accepted. Currently, an important practical question remains about the possible negative impact of intensive antihypertensive therapy with a significant reduction in blood pressure and aggravation of necrobiosis processes in the ischemic limb in a patient with acute arterial thrombosis.

[Randomized Comparison of Two Approaches to Initial Warfarin Dosing: Time in Therapeutic Range of International Normalized Ratio During Hospitalization]

AIM

To perform a randomized, open-label comparison of average time in therapeutic range (TTR) of international normalized ratio (INR) using two approaches to initial warfarin dosing during hospitalization: the standard method and the one using individual patient characteristics (clinical algorithm - the studied approach).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We randomly assigned 60 patients with different indications for vitamin K antagonist therapy to the studied approach (n=31, intervention group) or to the standard method (n=29, control group). А target INR range for all patients was 2.0 to 3.0.

RESULTS

The average TTR and portions of INR values within target range during the whole time of drug dosing turned out to be small. TTR was 22.4% with standard method and 21.4% with clinical algorithm, which was well below desired 60%.

CONCLUSION

The opportunities for achieving target INR in inpatient settings, regardless of warfarin dosing regimen, are limited.

Plasma Level of hsa-miR-619-5p microRNA Is Associated with Prostatic Cancer Dissemination beyond the Capsule

Profiles of circulating microRNA in the plasma of patients with prostate cancer with pathomorphological stages pT2, pT3, and pT4 are analyzed. The level of circulating microRNA hsa-miR-619-5p is elevated in patients with extracapsular spreading of the tumor, increasing significantly from stage pT2 to stage pT4.