Clinical characteristics and high-resolution computed tomography findings of 805 patients with mild or moderate infection from SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariant BA.2.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 is a global pandemic. Currently, the predominant strain is SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariant BA.2 in many countries. Understanding its infection characteristics can facilitate clinical management. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to characterize the clinical, laboratory, and high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) findings in patients with mild or moderate infection from SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariant BA.2. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study on patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariant BA.2 between April 4th and April 17th, 2022. The clinical characteristics, laboratory features, and HRCT images were reviewed. RESULTS: A total of 805 patients were included (411 males and 394 females, median age 33 years old). The infection was mild, moderate, severe, and asymptomatic in 490 (60.9%), 37 (4.6%), 0 (0.0%), and 278 (34.5%) patients, respectively. Notably, 186 (23.1%), 96 (11.9%), 265 (32.9%), 11 (3.4%), 7 (0.9%), and 398 (49.4%) patients had fever, cough, throat discomfort, stuffy or runny nose, fatigue, and no complaint, respectively. Furthermore, 162 (20.1%), 332 (41.2%), and 289 (35.9%) patients had decreased white blood cell counts, reduced lymphocytes, and elevated C-reactive protein levels, respectively. HRCT revealed pneumonia in 53 (6.6%) patients. The majority of the lung involvements were ground-glass opacity (50, 94.3%) mostly in the subpleural area. The grade of lung injury was mainly mild (90.6%). Short-term follow-ups showed that most patients with pneumonia recovered. CONCLUSION: Most patients with mild or moderate infection from SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariant BA.2 were adults, with fever and upper respiratory symptoms as the main clinical presentations. Lower respiratory infection was mild, with ground-glass opacity in the subpleural area as the main finding.

Clinical features and effectiveness of Chinese medicine in patients with COVID-19 from overseas: A retrospective study in Xiamen, China.

COVID-19, referred to as new coronary pneumonia, is an acute infectious disease caused by a new type of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. To evaluate the effect of integrated Chinese medicine and Western medicine in patients with COVID-19 from overseas. Data were collected from 178 COVID-19 patients overseas at First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University from April 1, 2021 to July 31, 2021. These patients received therapy of integrated Chinese medicine and western medicine. Demographic data and clinical characteristics were extracted and analyzed. In addition, the prescription which induced less length of PCR positive days and hospitalization days than the median value was obtained. The top 4 frequently used Chinese medicine and virus-related genes were analyzed by network pharmacology and bioinformatics analysis. According to the chest computed tomography (CT) measurement, abnormal lung findings were observed in 145 subjects. The median length of positive PCR/hospitalization days was 7/7 days for asymptomatic subjects, 14/24 days for mild subjects, 10/15 days for moderate subjects, and 14/20 days for severe subjects. The most frequently used Chinese medicine were Scutellaria baicalensis (Huangqin), Glycyrrhiza uralensis (Gancao), Bupleurum chinense (Chaihu), and Pinellia ternata (Banxia). The putative active ingredients were baicalin, stigmasterol, sigmoidin-B, cubebin, and troxerutin. ACE, SARS-CoV-2 3CL, SARS-CoV-2 Spike, SARS-CoV-2 ORF7a, and caspase-6 showed good binding properties to active ingredients. In conclusion, the clinical results showed that integrated Chinese medicine and Western medicine are effective in treating COVID-19 patients from overseas. Based on the clinical outcomes, the putative ingredients from Chinese medicine and the potential targets of SARS-CoV-2 were provided, which could provide a reference for the clinical application of Chinese medicine in treating COVID-19 worldwide.

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices toward COVID-19 and Vaccines among Chinese Small-Town Residents: A Cross-sectional Study.

China has basically controlled the COVID-19 epidemic as a result of widespread vaccination and other containment strategies, despite localized outbreaks, as of September 2021. This study investigates the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines among Chinese small-town residents to provide suggestions for public health policy. Residents who were vaccinated against COVID-19 were asked to complete a paper questionnaire on KAP in Xidian, Zhejiang. The knowledge questionnaire consisted of 12 questions regarding COVID-19 and 12 questions regarding COVID-19 vaccines. Attitude and practice evaluation included agreement on the eventual control of COVID-19 and having recently worn a mask outside. Of 405 survey responders, 52.3% were male, 71.4% had middle school education or less, and 59.0% engaged in physical labor as an occupation. The correct answer rates of the COVID-19 section and the vaccine section were 79.2% and 71.7%, respectively. Age groups of 18 to 29 years and > 50 years, occupations of physical labor and unemployment, and primary school education and less were associated with lower knowledge scores. The majority of participants (91.6%) believed that COVID-19 will eventually be controlled, whereas women, students, and patients with chronic held relatively negative attitudes toward epidemic control. Most participants (87.4%) wore masks outside recently. In conclusion, Chinese small-town residents have a medium level of knowledge regarding COVID-19 and vaccines, hold positive attitudes, and have appropriate practices. Health education should be provided to the target populations to enrich their knowledge of COVID-19 and vaccines, and to improve their attitudes toward epidemic control.

The Effect of Reading Leaflets During the Observation Period After Vaccination on Knowledge of COVID-19 and Vaccines Among Chinese Small Town Residents: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Public health education is essential for epidemic prevention and control in the post-COVID-19 era. This randomized controlled trial (RCT) aims to evaluate the effect of reading leaflets during the observation period after vaccination on knowledge of COVID-19 disease and vaccines in Chinese small town residents and to provide suggestions for public health education. Methods: Residents were recruited during the observation period after getting vaccinated against COVID-19 in Xidian and were randomly divided into an education group and a control group. The education group was asked to complete the questionnaire after reading a leaflet, whereas the control group directly completed the questionnaire. The questionnaire comprised two sections on COVID-19 knowledge and vaccine knowledge, and the scores were used to assess the resident's knowledge. Results: A total of 142 participants in the education group and 154 participants in the control group were enrolled. The rates of correct knowledge in the education group and the control group were 90.7 and 83.1%, respectively. The scores of the two sections and the aggregate knowledge score of the education group were significantly higher than those of the control group (P < 0.001). The rates of correct responses to questions on clinical manifestations and transmission routes of COVID-19 and indications and contraindications of vaccines significantly increased after reading the leaflets (P < 0.05). Knowledge of different groups of genders, ages, marital statuses, education levels and occupations all improved (P < 0.05), and the 18-29-year-old and never-married group revealed a higher growth rate of correct responses. Conclusion: Chinese small town residents have a median level of knowledge regarding COVID-19 disease and vaccines. Reading leaflets during the observation period after vaccination effectively improved their knowledge. This low-cost and efficient health education approach can be widely applied.

Differential diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 pneumonia or influenza A pneumonia by clinical characteristics and laboratory findings.

BACKGROUND: Pneumonia caused by the 2019 novel Coronavirus (COVID-2019) shares overlapping signs and symptoms, laboratory findings, imaging features with influenza A pneumonia. We aimed to identify their clinical characteristics to help early diagnosis. METHODS: We retrospectively retrieved data for laboratory-confirmed patients admitted with COVID-19-induced or influenza A-induced pneumonia from electronic medical records in Ningbo First Hospital, China. We recorded patients' epidemiological and clinical features, as well as radiologic and laboratory findings. RESULTS: The median age of influenza A cohort was higher and it exhibited higher temperature and higher proportion of pleural effusion. COVID-19 cohort exhibited higher proportions of fatigue, diarrhea and ground-glass opacity and higher levels of lymphocyte percentage, absolute lymphocyte count, red-cell count, hemoglobin and albumin and presented lower levels of monocytes, c-reactive protein, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, serum creatinine. Multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that fatigue, ground-glass opacity, and higher level of albumin were independent risk factors for COVID-19 pneumonia, while older age, higher temperature, and higher level of monocyte count were independent risk factors for influenza A pneumonia. CONCLUSIONS: In terms of COVID-19 pneumonia and influenza A pneumonia, fatigue, ground-glass opacity, and higher level of albumin tend to be helpful for diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia, while older age, higher temperature, and higher level of monocyte count tend to be helpful for the diagnosis of influenza A pneumonia.

Dynamic change process of target genes by RT-PCR testing of SARS-Cov-2 during the course of a Coronavirus Disease 2019 patient.

We report the dynamic change process of target genes by RT-PCR testing of SARS-Cov-2 during the course of a COVID-19 patient: from successive negative results to successive single positive nucleocapsid gene, to two positive target genes (orf1ab and nucleocapsid) by RT-PCR testing of SARS-Cov-2, and describe the diagnosis, clinical course, and management of the case. In this case, negative results of RT-PCR testing was not excluded to diagnose a suspected COVID-19 patient, clinical signs and symptoms, other laboratory findings, and chest CT images should be taken into account for the absence of enough positive evidence. This case highlights the importance of successive sampling and testing SARS-Cov-2 by RT-PCR as well as the increased value of single positive target gene from pending to positive in two specimens to diagnose laboratory-confirmed COVID-19.