RESUMEN
Background: Respiratory symptoms may persist for several weeks following the initial coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. The aims and objectives were to assess the clinical symptoms, pulmonary functions, and radiological changes and to assess the cardio-vascular complications in post-COVID-19 patients. Methods: This observational study was conducted in the Department of Pulmonary Medicine in collaboration with the Department of Cardiology, SCBMCH, Cuttack, from March 2021 to August 2022 on 75 post-COVID-19 patients with respiratory symptoms from 4 weeks to 2 years after treatment for COVID-19 infection. Post-COVID patients having previous respiratory diseases were excluded from the study. Results: Among 75 patients, the most common age group was 18-30 years with a male-to-female ratio of 2.5:1. Based on O2 requirement, patients were divided into the mild symptomatic group and moderate to severe pneumonia group. The most common respiratory symptom was dyspnea, followed by cough with expectoration. Bilateral crepitations were found in 17% of cases. C-reactive protein (CRP) and D-dimer were increased in 38.6% and 32% of patients, respectively. 42.6% had abnormal chest X-ray, and the most common abnormal finding was reticular thickening. In spirometry, the restrictive pattern and mixed pattern were the predominant types documented in 49.3% and 13.3% of cases, respectively, which were significant in the moderate-severe group. Diffusion capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide (DLCO) was performed in only 19 patients (mild group 13 and moderate-severe group 6). Twelve (63.2%) patients had abnormal DLCO. P- values were significant for RV (0.0482) and RV/TLC (0.0394). High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) of the thorax was abnormal in 55.7% with the most common abnormalities as inter- and intra-lobular septal thickening. The left ventricular ejection fraction was preserved in all patients, with right atrium and right ventricle enlargement in 2.6% and pulmonary hypertension in 4.0% of participants. Conclusion: All post-COVID-19 patients having respiratory symptoms after recovery from acute COVID-19 may be referred by family care physicians to a dedicated post-COVID center for further evaluation, management, and early rehabilitation to decrease the morbidity in recovered patients. Persistent increased blood parameters like TLC, N/L ratio, RBS, CRP, and D-dimer seen in recovered post-COVID-19 patients. The long-term impact of CT findings on respiratory symptoms, pulmonary functions, and quality of life is unknown. Cardiovascular abnormalities in post-COVID-19 patients are infrequent.
RESUMEN
The current energy challenges in agriculture, industry, and transportation are aggravated by insufficient liquid petroleum fuels, strained by rapid depletion, and higher demand in the international market. Existing environmental pollution due to higher fossil fuel consumption, certainly draws the attention of many researchers to identify a better alternative fuel concerning engine efficiency and exhaust emissions. Waste plastic oil (WPO) derived by thermo-catalytic pyrolysis is found to be a promising alternative fuel due to it's similar fuel properties to diesel. WPO contains long-chain hydrocarbons and high-molecular-weight aromatics which can be eliminated by fractional distillation, resulting in the production of distilled waste plastic oil (DPO). Ethanol is added in addition to DPO in the diesel fuel mixture in order to improve combustion for better performance and reduce emissions. The current study focused on the preparation of homogenous fuel mixtures (DPO/ethanol/diesel) to evaluate it's engine efficiency and exhaust emissions as compared to pure diesel and confirmed that it has the potential to be an alternate fuel for the CI engine. Test engine trials were performed to determine the potential engine characteristics, for instance, thermal efficiency, specific fuel consumptions, and exhaust temperature, by using various fuel mixtures (80D10DPO10E, 70D15DPO15E, 60D20DPO20E, 50D25DPO25E) under different loading conditions of the test engine. Major pollutants including unburned hydrocarbon, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxides were measured by a standard emission analyzer. The BTE was increased by 3.7%, and the BSFC was 16.67% less for the 60D20DPO20E mixture so as to diesel at full load. CO emission was found to comparatively increase at higher concentrations and decrease at higher loads. Compared to diesel, the NOx and HC emission were shown to be lowered at low loads and increased at higher loads. The study concluded that the fuel mixture of 60D20DPO20E showed the best engine performance and reduced emissions as compared to diesel.