TY - JOUR A1 - Müller, Frank A1 - Hummers, Eva A1 - Hillermann, Nele A1 - Dopfer, Christian A1 - Jablonka, Alexandra A1 - Friede, Tim A1 - Simmenroth, Anne A1 - Wetzke, Martin T1 - Factors influencing the frequency of airway infections in underage refugees: a retrospective, cross sectional study JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health N2 - Background: Infections are a leading cause of refugee morbidity. Recent data on the rate of airway infections and factors influencing their spread in refugee reception centers is scarce. Methods: A retrospective, cross-sectional study of de-identified medical records with a focus on respiratory infections in underage refugees was conducted at two large German refugee reception centers. Results: In total, medical data from n = 10,431 refugees over an observational period of n = 819 days was analyzed. Among pediatric patients (n = 4289), 55.3% presented at least once to the on-site medical ward with an acute respiratory infection or signs thereof. In 38.4% of pediatric consultations, acute airway infections or signs thereof were present. Airway infections spiked during colder months and were significantly more prevalent amongst preschool and resettled children. Their frequency displayed a positive correlation with the number of refugees housed at the reception centers. Conclusions: We show that respiratory infections are a leading cause for morbidity in young refugees and that their rate is influenced age, season, status, and residential density. This illustrates the need to protect refugee children from contracting airway infections which may also reduce the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during the current pandemic. KW - refugees KW - migrants KW - respiratory infection KW - children KW - adolescents KW - seasonality KW - crowded housing KW - COVID-19 KW - containment Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-213134 SN - 1660-4601 VL - 17 IS - 18 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Leschzyk, Dinah T1 - Corona-Kommunikation. Wie Jair Bolsonaro die Wissenschaft diskreditiert und Verschwörungstheorien befeuert JF - promptus - Würzburger Beiträge zur Romanistik N2 - This article deals with discursive and argumentative strategies used by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro to bring science in discredit during the 2020’s COVID-19-pandemic. Based on official statements and Tweets launched over the crisis the Discourse-Historical Approach is applied to make strategies brought into play by Bolsonaro visible. While the President declares scientific advice such as distancing and quarantine as ineffective, he recommends the use of hydroxychloroquine as well as old fashioned prayers for staying safe and healthy. He evokes that there are «fake news» and «partners of paralysis», to which he responds by demasking and bringing the one and only truth towards «the people». The analysis points out that Bolsonaro is downplaying the virus and the risk of transmission and puts the economy ahead of health. His supporters as a consequence tend to ignore the WHO recommendations how to behave during the pandemic. KW - COVID-19 KW - Coronavirus KW - Jair Bolsonaro KW - anti-science KW - discursive strategy Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-244271 VL - 6 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schön, Michael P. A1 - Berking, Carola A1 - Biedermann, Tilo A1 - Buhl, Timo A1 - Erpenbeck, Luise A1 - Eyerich, Kilian A1 - Eyerich, Stefanie A1 - Ghoreschi, Kamran A1 - Goebeler, Matthias A1 - Ludwig, Ralf J. A1 - Schäkel, Knut A1 - Schilling, Bastian A1 - Schlapbach, Christoph A1 - Stary, Georg A1 - von Stebut, Esther A1 - Steinbrink, Kerstin T1 - COVID‐19 and immunological regulations – from basic and translational aspects to clinical implications JF - JDDG: Journal der Deutschen Dermatologischen Gesellschaft N2 - The COVID‐19 pandemic caused by SARS‐CoV‐2 has far‐reaching direct and indirect medical consequences. These include both the course and treatment of diseases. It is becoming increasingly clear that infections with SARS‐CoV‐2 can cause considerable immunological alterations, which particularly also affect pathogenetically and/or therapeutically relevant factors. Against this background we summarize here the current state of knowledge on the interaction of SARS‐CoV‐2/COVID‐19 with mediators of the acute phase of inflammation (TNF, IL‐1, IL‐6), type 1 and type 17 immune responses (IL‐12, IL‐23, IL‐17, IL‐36), type 2 immune reactions (IL‐4, IL‐13, IL‐5, IL‐31, IgE), B‐cell immunity, checkpoint regulators (PD‐1, PD‐L1, CTLA4), and orally druggable signaling pathways (JAK, PDE4, calcineurin). In addition, we discuss in this context non‐specific immune modulation by glucocorticosteroids, methotrexate, antimalarial drugs, azathioprine, dapsone, mycophenolate mofetil and fumaric acid esters, as well as neutrophil granulocyte‐mediated innate immune mechanisms. From these recent findings we derive possible implications for the therapeutic modulation of said immunological mechanisms in connection with SARS‐CoV‐2/COVID‐19. Although, of course, the greatest care should be taken with patients with immunologically mediated diseases or immunomodulating therapies, it appears that many treatments can also be carried out during the COVID‐19 pandemic; some even appear to alleviate COVID‐19. KW - COVID-19 KW - SARS-CoV-2 KW - immunology Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-218205 VL - 18 IS - 8 SP - 795 EP - 807 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Buhl, Timo A1 - Beissert, Stefan A1 - Gaffal, Evelyn A1 - Goebeler, Matthias A1 - Hertl, Michael A1 - Mauch, Cornelia A1 - Reich, Kristian A1 - Schmidt, Enno A1 - Schön, Michael P. A1 - Sticherling, Michael A1 - Sunderkötter, Cord A1 - Traidl‐Hoffmann, Claudia A1 - Werfel, Thomas A1 - Wilsman‐Theis, Dagmar A1 - Worm, Margitta T1 - COVID‐19 and implications for dermatological and allergological diseases JF - JDDG: Journal der Deutschen Dermatologischen Gesellschaft N2 - COVID‐19, caused by the coronavirus SARS‐CoV‐2, has become pandemic. A further level of complexity opens up as soon as we look at diseases whose pathogenesis and therapy involve different immunological signaling pathways, which are potentially affected by COVID‐19. Medical treatments must often be reassessed and questioned in connection with this infection. This article summarizes the current knowledge of COVID‐19 in the light of major dermatological and allergological diseases. It identifies medical areas lacking sufficient data and draws conclusions for the management of our patients during the pandemic. We focus on common chronic inflammatory skin diseases with complex immunological pathogenesis: psoriasis, eczema including atopic dermatitis, type I allergies, autoimmune blistering and inflammatory connective tissue diseases, vasculitis, and skin cancers. Since several other inflammatory skin diseases display related or comparable immunological reactions, clustering of the various inflammatory dermatoses into different disease patterns may help with therapeutic decisions. Thus, following these patterns of skin inflammation, our review may supply treatment recommendations and thoughtful considerations for disease management even beyond the most frequent diseases discussed here. KW - COVID-19 KW - dermatology KW - allergies Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-217860 VL - 18 IS - 8 SP - 815 EP - 824 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Herrmann, Johannes A1 - Adam, Elisabeth Hannah A1 - Notz, Quirin A1 - Helmer, Philipp A1 - Sonntagbauer, Michael A1 - Ungemach-Papenberg, Peter A1 - Sanns, Andreas A1 - Zausig, York A1 - Steinfeldt, Thorsten A1 - Torje, Iuliu A1 - Schmid, Benedikt A1 - Schlesinger, Tobias A1 - Rolfes, Caroline A1 - Reyher, Christian A1 - Kredel, Markus A1 - Stumpner, Jan A1 - Brack, Alexander A1 - Wurmb, Thomas A1 - Gill-Schuster, Daniel A1 - Kranke, Peter A1 - Weismann, Dirk A1 - Klinker, Hartwig A1 - Heuschmann, Peter A1 - Rücker, Viktoria A1 - Frantz, Stefan A1 - Ertl, Georg A1 - Muellenbach, Ralf Michael A1 - Mutlak, Haitham A1 - Meybohm, Patrick A1 - Zacharowski, Kai A1 - Lotz, Christopher T1 - COVID-19 Induced Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome — A Multicenter Observational Study JF - Frontiers in Medicine N2 - Background: Proportions of patients dying from the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) vary between different countries. We report the characteristics; clinical course and outcome of patients requiring intensive care due to COVID-19 induced acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Methods: This is a retrospective, observational multicentre study in five German secondary or tertiary care hospitals. All patients consecutively admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) in any of the participating hospitals between March 12 and May 4, 2020 with a COVID-19 induced ARDS were included. Results: A total of 106 ICU patients were treated for COVID-19 induced ARDS, whereas severe ARDS was present in the majority of cases. Survival of ICU treatment was 65.0%. Median duration of ICU treatment was 11 days; median duration of mechanical ventilation was 9 days. The majority of ICU treated patients (75.5%) did not receive any antiviral or anti-inflammatory therapies. Venovenous (vv) ECMO was utilized in 16.3%. ICU triage with population-level decision making was not necessary at any time. Univariate analysis associated older age, diabetes mellitus or a higher SOFA score on admission with non-survival during ICU stay. Conclusions: A high level of care adhering to standard ARDS treatments lead to a good outcome in critically ill COVID-19 patients. KW - COVID-19 KW - ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome) KW - intensive care medicine KW - pandemia KW - Germany Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-219834 SN - 2296-858X VL - 7 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Flemming, S. A1 - Hankir, M. A1 - Ernestus, R.-I. A1 - Seyfried, F. A1 - Germer, C.-T. A1 - Meybohm, P. A1 - Wurmb, T. A1 - Vogel, U. A1 - Wiegering, A. T1 - Surgery in times of COVID-19 — recommendations for hospital and patient management JF - Langenbeck's Archives of Surgery N2 - Background The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2), has escalated rapidly to a global pandemic stretching healthcare systems worldwide to their limits. Surgeonshave had to immediately react to this unprecedented clinical challenge by systematically repurposing surgical wards. Purpose To provide a detailed set of guidelines developed in a surgical ward at University Hospital Wuerzburg to safelyaccommodate the exponentially rising cases of SARS-CoV-2 infected patients without compromising the care of emergencysurgery and oncological patients or jeopardizing the well-being of hospital staff. Conclusions The dynamic prioritization of SARS-CoV-2 infected and surgical patient groups is key to preserving life whilemaintaining high surgical standards. Strictly segregating patient groups in emergency rooms, non-intensive care wards andoperating areas prevents viral spread while adequately training and carefully selecting hospital staff allow them to confidentlyand successfully undertake their respective clinical duties. KW - SARS-CoV-2 KW - COVID-19 KW - Surgery Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-231766 SN - 1435-2443 VL - 405 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Riederer, Peter A1 - ter Meulen, Volker T1 - Coronaviruses: a challenge of today and a call for extended human postmortem brain analyses JF - Journal of Neural Transmission N2 - While there is abounding literature on virus-induced pathology in general and coronavirus in particular, recent evidence accumulates showing distinct and deleterious brain affection. As the respiratory tract connects to the brain without protection of the blood–brain barrier, SARS-CoV-2 might in the early invasive phase attack the cardiorespiratory centres located in the medulla/pons areas, giving rise to disturbances of respiration and cardiac problems. Furthermore, brainstem regions are at risk to lose their functional integrity. Therefore, long-term neurological as well as psychiatric symptomatology and eventual respective disorders cannot be excluded as evidenced from influenza-A triggered post-encephalitic Parkinsonism and HIV-1 triggered AIDS–dementia complex. From the available evidences for coronavirus-induced brain pathology, this review concludes a number of unmet needs for further research strategies like human postmortem brain analyses. SARS-CoV-2 mirroring experimental animal brain studies, characterization of time-dependent and region-dependent spreading behaviours of coronaviruses, enlightening of pathological mechanisms after coronavirus infection using long-term animal models and clinical observations of patients having had COVID-19 infection are calling to develop both protective strategies and drug discoveries to avoid early and late coronavirus-induced functional brain disturbances, symptoms and eventually disorders. To fight SARS-CoV-2, it is an urgent need to enforce clinical, molecular biological, neurochemical and genetic research including brain-related studies on a worldwide harmonized basis. KW - coronavirus KW - COVID-19 KW - SARS-CoV-2 brain disorders KW - cardiorespiratory centre KW - brain pathology KW - neurological symptoms/disorders KW - brain stem KW - Parkinson’s disease KW - Parkinsonism KW - Alzheimer’s disease KW - multiple sclerosis KW - movement disorders KW - neuroinvasion KW - therapy KW - neuroprotection KW - depression KW - cognitive dysfunction KW - brain bank KW - postmortem studies Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-314637 SN - 0300-9564 SN - 1435-1463 VL - 127 IS - 9 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gupta, Shishir K. A1 - Srivastava, Mugdha A1 - Minocha, Rashmi A1 - Akash, Aman A1 - Dangwal, Seema A1 - Dandekar, Thomas T1 - Alveolar regeneration in COVID-19 patients: a network perspective JF - International Journal of Molecular Sciences N2 - A viral infection involves entry and replication of viral nucleic acid in a host organism, subsequently leading to biochemical and structural alterations in the host cell. In the case of SARS-CoV-2 viral infection, over-activation of the host immune system may lead to lung damage. Albeit the regeneration and fibrotic repair processes being the two protective host responses, prolonged injury may lead to excessive fibrosis, a pathological state that can result in lung collapse. In this review, we discuss regeneration and fibrosis processes in response to SARS-CoV-2 and provide our viewpoint on the triggering of alveolar regeneration in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. KW - COVID-19 KW - SARS-CoV-2 KW - alveolar regeneration KW - alveolar fibrosis KW - signaling pathway KW - network biology Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-284307 SN - 1422-0067 VL - 22 IS - 20 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bartmann, Catharina A1 - Fischer, Leah-Maria A1 - Hübner, Theresa A1 - Müller-Reiter, Max A1 - Wöckel, Achim A1 - McNeill, Rhiannon V. A1 - Schlaiss, Tanja A1 - Kittel-Schneider, Sarah A1 - Kämmerer, Ulrike A1 - Diessner, Joachim T1 - The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on psychological stress in breast cancer patients JF - BMC Cancer N2 - Background: The majority of breast cancer patients are severely psychologically affected by breast cancer diagnosis and subsequent therapeutic procedures. The COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictions on public life have additionally caused significant psychological distress for much of the population. It is therefore plausible that breast cancer patients might be particularly susceptible to the additional psychological stress caused by the pandemic, increasing suffering. In this study we therefore aimed to assess the level of psychological distress currently experienced by a defined group of breast cancer patients in our breast cancer centre, compared to distress levels preCOVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Female breast cancer patients of all ages receiving either adjuvant, neoadjuvant, or palliative therapies were recruited for the study. All patients were screened for current or previous COVID-19 infection. The participants completed a self-designed COVID-19 pandemic questionnaire, the Stress and Coping Inventory (SCI), the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (R) (NCCN (R)) Distress Thermometer (DT), the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLQ C30, and the BR23. Results: Eighty-two breast cancer patients were included. Therapy status and social demographic factors did not have a significant effect on the distress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of the DT pre and during COVID-19 pandemic did not differ significantly. Using the self-designed COVID-19 pandemic questionnaire, we detected three distinct subgroups demonstrating different levels of concerns in relation to SARS-CoV-2. The subgroup with the highest levels of concern reported significantly decreased life quality, related parameters and symptoms. Conclusions: This monocentric study demonstrated that the COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected psychological health in a subpopulation of breast cancer patients. The application of a self-created "COVID-19 pandemic questionnaire"could potentially be used to help identify breast cancer patients who are susceptible to increased psychological distress due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and therefore may need additional intensive psychological support. KW - COVID-19 KW - breast cancer KW - psychological distress Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-265802 VL - 21 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Krist, Lilian A1 - Dornquast, Christina A1 - Reinhold, Thomas A1 - Icke, Katja A1 - Danquah, Ina A1 - Willich, Stefan N. A1 - Becher, Heiko A1 - Keil, Thomas T1 - Predictors of changes in physical activity and sedentary behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic in a Turkish migrant cohort in Germany JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health N2 - The new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the resulting response measures have led to severe limitations of people's exercise possibilities with diminished physical activity (PA) and increased sedentary behavior (SB). Since for migrant groups in Germany, no data is available, this study aimed to investigate factors associated with changes in PA and SB in a sample of Turkish descent. Participants of a prospective cohort study (adults of Turkish descent, living in Berlin, Germany) completed a questionnaire regarding COVID-19 related topics including PA and SB since February 2020. Changes in PA and SB were described, and sociodemographic, migrant-related, and health-related predictors of PA decrease and SB increase were determined using multivariable regression analyses. Of 106 participants, 69% reported a decline of PA, 36% reported an increase in SB. PA decrease and SB increase seemed to be associated with inactivity before the pandemic as well as with the female sex. SB increase appeared to be additionally associated with educational level and BMI. The COVID-19 pandemic and the response measures had persistent detrimental effects on this migrant population. Since sufficient PA before the pandemic had the strongest association with maintaining PA and SB during the crisis, the German government and public health professionals should prioritize PA promotion in this vulnerable group. KW - physical activity KW - sedentary behavior KW - COVID-19 KW - migrants KW - public health Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-246176 SN - 1660-4601 VL - 18 IS - 18 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hayden, Markus C. A1 - Limbach, Matthias A1 - Schuler, Michael A1 - Merkl, Steffen A1 - Schwarzl, Gabriele A1 - Jakab, Katalin A1 - Nowak, Dennis A1 - Schultz, Konrad T1 - Effectiveness of a three-week inpatient pulmonary rehabilitation program for patients after COVID-19: a prospective observational study JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health N2 - For COVID-19 patients who remain symptomatic after the acute phase, pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is recommended. However, only a few studies have investigated the effectiveness of PR, especially considering the duration between the acute phase of COVID-19 and the onset of rehabilitation, as well as the initial severity. This prospective observational study evaluated the efficacy of PR in patients after COVID-19. A total of 120 still-symptomatic patients referred for PR after overcoming acute COVID-19 were asked to participate, of whom 108 (mean age 55.6 ± 10.1 years, 45.4% female) consented. The patients were assigned to three groups according to the time of referral and initial disease severity (severe acute; severe after interval; mild after interval). The primary outcome was dyspnea. Secondary outcomes included other respiratory disease symptoms, physical capacity, lung function, fatigue, quality of life (QoL), depression, and anxiety. Furthermore, patients rated the overall effectiveness of PR and their subjective change in health status. At the end of PR, we detected improvements with large effect sizes in exertional dyspnea, physical capacity, QoL, fatigue, and depression in the overall group. Other parameters changed with small to medium effect sizes. PR was effective after acute COVID-19 in all three groups analyzed. KW - COVID-19 KW - pulmonary rehabilitation KW - course of recovery KW - inpatient rehabilitation Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-245170 SN - 1660-4601 VL - 18 IS - 17 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Holzmann-Littig, Christopher A1 - Braunisch, Matthias Christoph A1 - Kranke, Peter A1 - Popp, Maria A1 - Seeber, Christian A1 - Fichtner, Falk A1 - Littig, Bianca A1 - Carbajo-Lozoya, Javier A1 - Allwang, Christine A1 - Frank, Tamara A1 - Meerpohl, Joerg Johannes A1 - Haller, Bernhard A1 - Schmaderer, Christoph T1 - COVID-19 vaccination acceptance and hesitancy among healthcare workers in germany JF - Vaccines N2 - Vaccination hesitancy is a threat to herd immunity. Healthcare workers (HCWs) play a key role in promoting Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination in the general population. We therefore aimed to provide data on COVID-19 vaccination acceptance/hesitancy among German HCWs. For this exploratory, cross-sectional study, an online survey was conducted in February 2021. The survey included 54 items on demographics; previous vaccination behavior; trust in vaccines, physicians, the pharmaceutical industry and health politics; fear of adverse effects; assumptions regarding the consequences of COVID-19; knowledge about vaccines; and information seeking behavior. Odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were calculated and chi-square tests were performed. Four thousand five hundred surveys were analyzed. The overall vaccination acceptance was 91.7%. The age group ≤20 years showed the lowest vaccination acceptance. Factors associated with vaccination hesitancy were lack of trust in authorities and pharmaceutical companies. Attitudes among acquaintances were associated with vaccination hesitancy too. Participants with vaccination hesitancy more often obtained information about COVID-19 vaccines via messenger services or online video platforms and underperformed in the knowledge test. We found high acceptance amongst German HCWs. Several factors associated with vaccination hesitancy were identified which could be targeted in HCW vaccination campaigns. KW - COVID-19 KW - vaccine KW - vaccination KW - vaccination hesitancy KW - vaccine refusal KW - vaccination campaign Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-242627 SN - 2076-393X VL - 9 IS - 7 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wetzel, Britta A1 - Pryss, Rüdiger A1 - Baumeister, Harald A1 - Edler, Johanna-Sophie A1 - Gonçalves, Ana Sofia Oliveira A1 - Cohrdes, Caroline T1 - “How come you don’t call me?” Smartphone communication app usage as an indicator of loneliness and social well-being across the adult lifespan during the COVID-19 pandemic JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health N2 - Loneliness and lack of social well-being are associated with adverse health outcomes and have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Smartphone communication data have been suggested to help monitor loneliness, but this requires further evidence. We investigated the informative value of smartphone communication app data for predicting subjective loneliness and social well-being in a sample of 364 participants ranging from 18 to 78 years of age (52.2% female; mean age = 42.54, SD = 13.22) derived from the CORONA HEALTH APP study from July to December 2020 in Germany. The participants experienced relatively high levels of loneliness and low social well-being during the time period characterized by the COVID-19 pandemic. Apart from positive associations with phone call use times, smartphone communication app use was associated with social well-being and loneliness only when considering the age of participants. Younger participants with higher use times tended to report less social well-being and higher loneliness, while the opposite association was found for older adults. Thus, the informative value of smartphone communication use time was rather small and became evident only in consideration of age. The results highlight the need for further investigations and the need to address several limitations in order to draw conclusions at the population level. KW - loneliness KW - social well-being KW - passive data KW - app KW - smartphone communication KW - COVID-19 KW - social media use KW - age differences KW - public mental health KW - mental health monitoring Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-241033 SN - 1660-4601 VL - 18 IS - 12 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bleilevens, Christian A1 - Soppert, Josefin A1 - Hoffmann, Adrian A1 - Breuer, Thomas A1 - Bernhagen, Jürgen A1 - Martin, Lukas A1 - Stiehler, Lara A1 - Marx, Gernot A1 - Dreher, Michael A1 - Stoppe, Christian A1 - Simon, Tim-Philipp T1 - Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) plasma concentration in critically ill COVID-19 patients: a prospective observational study JF - Diagnostics N2 - Mortality in critically ill coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients is high and pharmacological treatment strategies remain limited. Early-stage predictive biomarkers are needed to identify patients with a high risk of severe clinical courses and to stratify treatment strategies. Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) was previously described as a potential predictor for the outcome of critically ill patients and for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a hallmark of severe COVID-19 disease. This prospective observational study evaluates the predictive potential of MIF for the clinical outcome after severe COVID-19 infection. Plasma MIF concentrations were measured in 36 mechanically ventilated COVID-19 patients over three days after intensive care unit (ICU) admission. Increased compared to decreased MIF was significantly associated with aggravated organ function and a significantly lower 28-day survival (sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score; 8.2 ± 4.5 to 14.3 ± 3, p = 0.009 vs. 8.9 ± 1.9 to 12 ± 2, p = 0.296; survival: 56% vs. 93%; p = 0.003). Arterial hypertension was the predominant comorbidity in 85% of patients with increasing MIF concentrations (vs. decreasing MIF: 39%; p = 0.015). Without reaching significance, more patients with decreasing MIF were able to improve their ARDS status (p = 0.142). The identified association between an early MIF response, aggravation of organ function and 28-day survival may open future perspectives for biomarker-based diagnostic approaches for ICU management of COVID-19 patients. KW - Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor (MIF) KW - COVID-19 KW - ICU treatment KW - acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) KW - SOFA Score KW - Horowitz Quotient Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-228967 SN - 2075-4418 VL - 11 IS - 2 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Dölken, Lars A1 - Stich, August A1 - Spinner, Christoph D. T1 - Remdesivir for Early COVID-19 Treatment of High-Risk Individuals Prior to or at Early Disease Onset — Lessons Learned JF - Viruses N2 - After more than one year of the COVID-19 pandemic, antiviral treatment options against SARS-CoV-2 are still severely limited. High hopes that had initially been placed on antiviral drugs like remdesivir have so far not been fulfilled. While individual case reports provide striking evidence for the clinical efficacy of remdesivir in the right clinical settings, major trials failed to demonstrate this. Here, we highlight and discuss the key findings of these studies and underlying reasons for their failure. We elaborate on how such shortcomings should be prevented in future clinical trials and pandemics. We suggest in conclusion that any novel antiviral agent that enters human trials should first be tested in a post-exposure setting to provide rapid and solid evidence for its clinical efficacy before initiating further time-consuming and costly clinical trials for more advanced disease. In the COVID-19 pandemic this might have established remdesivir early on as an efficient antiviral agent at a more suitable disease stage which would have saved many lives, in particular in large outbreaks within residential care homes. KW - COVID-19 KW - SARS-CoV-2 KW - antiviral treatment KW - remdesivir Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-239648 SN - 1999-4915 VL - 13 IS - 6 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Appel, Alexandra A1 - Hardaker, Sina T1 - Strategies in Times of Pandemic Crisis — Retailers and Regional Resilience in Würzburg, Germany JF - Sustainability N2 - Research on the COVID-19 crisis and its implications on regional resilience is still in its infancy. To understand resilience on its aggregate level it is important to identify (non)resilient actions of individual actors who comprise regions. As the retail sector among others represents an important factor in an urban regions recovery, we focus on the resilience of (textile) retailers within the city of Würzburg in Germany to the COVID-19 pandemic. To address the identified research gap, this paper applies the concept of resilience. Firstly, conducting expert interviews, the individual (textile) retailers’ level and their strategies in coping with the crisis is considered. Secondly, conducting a contextual analysis of the German city of Würzburg, we wish to contribute to the discussion of how the resilience of a region is influenced inter alia by actors. Our study finds three main strategies on the individual level, with retailers: (1) intending to “bounce back” to a pre-crisis state, (2) reorganising existing practices, as well as (3) closing stores and winding up business. As at the time of research, no conclusions regarding long-term impacts and resilience are possible, the results are limited. Nevertheless, detailed analysis of retailers’ strategies contributes to a better understanding of regional resilience. KW - resilience KW - COVID-19 KW - pandemic crisis KW - regional resilience KW - retail KW - owner-operated retailers KW - textile sector KW - Germany Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-233991 SN - 2071-1050 VL - 13 IS - 5 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Meintrup, David A1 - Borgmann, Stefan A1 - Seidl, Karlheinz A1 - Stecher, Melanie A1 - Jakob, Carolin E. M. A1 - Pilgram, Lisa A1 - Spinner, Christoph D. A1 - Rieg, Siegbert A1 - Isberner, Nora A1 - Hower, Martin A1 - Vehreschild, Maria A1 - Göpel, Siri A1 - Hanses, Frank A1 - Nowak-Machen, Martina T1 - Specific risk factors for fatal outcome in critically ill COVID-19 patients: results from a European multicenter study JF - Journal of Clinical Medicine N2 - (1) Background: The aim of our study was to identify specific risk factors for fatal outcome in critically ill COVID-19 patients. (2) Methods: Our data set consisted of 840 patients enclosed in the LEOSS registry. Using lasso regression for variable selection, a multifactorial logistic regression model was fitted to the response variable survival. Specific risk factors and their odds ratios were derived. A nomogram was developed as a graphical representation of the model. (3) Results: 14 variables were identified as independent factors contributing to the risk of death for critically ill COVID-19 patients: age (OR 1.08, CI 1.06–1.10), cardiovascular disease (OR 1.64, CI 1.06–2.55), pulmonary disease (OR 1.87, CI 1.16–3.03), baseline Statin treatment (0.54, CI 0.33–0.87), oxygen saturation (unit = 1%, OR 0.94, CI 0.92–0.96), leukocytes (unit 1000/μL, OR 1.04, CI 1.01–1.07), lymphocytes (unit 100/μL, OR 0.96, CI 0.94–0.99), platelets (unit 100,000/μL, OR 0.70, CI 0.62–0.80), procalcitonin (unit ng/mL, OR 1.11, CI 1.05–1.18), kidney failure (OR 1.68, CI 1.05–2.70), congestive heart failure (OR 2.62, CI 1.11–6.21), severe liver failure (OR 4.93, CI 1.94–12.52), and a quick SOFA score of 3 (OR 1.78, CI 1.14–2.78). The nomogram graphically displays the importance of these 14 factors for mortality. (4) Conclusions: There are risk factors that are specific to the subpopulation of critically ill COVID-19 patients. KW - COVID-19 KW - SARS-CoV-2 KW - risk factors KW - critically ill patients KW - comorbidities KW - lasso regression KW - nomogram Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-245191 SN - 2077-0383 VL - 10 IS - 17 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Riederer, P. A1 - Monoranu, C. A1 - Strobel, S. A1 - Iordache, T. A1 - Sian-Hülsmann, J. T1 - Iron as the concert master in the pathogenic orchestra playing in sporadic Parkinson's disease JF - Journal of Neural Transmission N2 - About 60 years ago, the discovery of a deficiency of dopamine in the nigro-striatal system led to a variety of symptomatic therapeutic strategies to supplement dopamine and to substantially improve the quality of life of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Since these seminal developments, neuropathological, neurochemical, molecular biological and genetic discoveries contributed to elucidate the pathology of PD. Oxidative stress, the consequences of reactive oxidative species, reduced antioxidative capacity including loss of glutathione, excitotoxicity, mitochondrial dysfunction, proteasomal dysfunction, apoptosis, lysosomal dysfunction, autophagy, suggested to be causal for ɑ-synuclein fibril formation and aggregation and contributing to neuroinflammation and neural cell death underlying this devastating disorder. However, there are no final conclusions about the triggered pathological mechanism(s) and the follow-up of pathological dysfunctions. Nevertheless, it is a fact, that iron, a major component of oxidative reactions, as well as neuromelanin, the major intraneuronal chelator of iron, undergo an age-dependent increase. And ageing is a major risk factor for PD. Iron is significantly increased in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) of PD. Reasons for this finding include disturbances in iron-related import and export mechanisms across the blood-brain barrier (BBB), localized opening of the BBB at the nigro-striatal tract including brain vessel pathology. Whether this pathology is of primary or secondary importance is not known. We assume that there is a better fit to the top-down hypotheses and pathogens entering the brain via the olfactory system, then to the bottom-up (gut-brain) hypothesis of PD pathology. Triggers for the bottom-up, the dual-hit and the top-down pathologies include chemicals, viruses and bacteria. If so, hepcidin, a regulator of iron absorption and its distribution into tissues, is suggested to play a major role in the pathogenesis of iron dyshomeostasis and risk for initiating and progressing ɑ-synuclein pathology. The role of glial components to the pathology of PD is still unknown. However, the dramatic loss of glutathione (GSH), which is mainly synthesized in glia, suggests dysfunction of this process, or GSH uptake into neurons. Loss of GSH and increase in SNpc iron concentration have been suggested to be early, may be even pre-symptomatic processes in the pathology of PD, despite the fact that they are progression factors. The role of glial ferritin isoforms has not been studied so far in detail in human post-mortem brain tissue and a close insight into their role in PD is called upon. In conclusion, "iron" is a major player in the pathology of PD. Selective chelation of excess iron at the site of the substantia nigra, where a dysfunction of the BBB is suggested, with peripherally acting iron chelators is suggested to contribute to the portfolio and therapeutic armamentarium of anti-Parkinson medications. KW - SARS-CoV-2 KW - iron in parkinsonism KW - parkinson’s disease KW - iiron transporter KW - neuromelanin KW - iron pathology KW - neuroinflammation KW - iron model KW - ferroptosis KW - ɑ-Synuclein and iron KW - virus–iron interaction KW - COVID-19 KW - hepcidin Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-268539 SN - 1435-1463 VL - 128 IS - 10 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Vollmuth, Christoph A1 - Muljukov, Olga A1 - Abu-Mugheisib, Mazen A1 - Angermeier, Anselm A1 - Barlinn, Jessica A1 - Busetto, Loraine A1 - Grau, Armin J. A1 - Günther, Albrecht A1 - Gumbinger, Christoph A1 - Hubert, Nikolai A1 - Hüttemann, Katrin A1 - Klingner, Carsten A1 - Naumann, Markus A1 - Palm, Frederick A1 - Remi, Jan A1 - Rücker, Viktoria A1 - Schessl, Joachim A1 - Schlachetzki, Felix A1 - Schuppner, Ramona A1 - Schwab, Stefan A1 - Schwartz, Andreas A1 - Trommer, Adrian A1 - Urbanek, Christian A1 - Volbers, Bastian A1 - Weber, Joachim A1 - Wojciechowski, Claudia A1 - Worthmann, Hans A1 - Zickler, Philipp A1 - Heuschmann, Peter U. A1 - Haeusler, Karl Georg A1 - Hubert, Gordian Jan T1 - Impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on stroke teleconsultations in Germany in the first half of 2020 JF - European Journal of Neurology N2 - Background and purpose The effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on telemedical care have not been described on a national level. Thus, we investigated the medical stroke treatment situation before, during, and after the first lockdown in Germany. Methods In this nationwide, multicenter study, data from 14 telemedical networks including 31 network centers and 155 spoke hospitals covering large parts of Germany were analyzed regarding patients' characteristics, stroke type/severity, and acute stroke treatment. A survey focusing on potential shortcomings of in-hospital and (telemedical) stroke care during the pandemic was conducted. Results Between January 2018 and June 2020, 67,033 telemedical consultations and 38,895 telemedical stroke consultations were conducted. A significant decline of telemedical (p < 0.001) and telemedical stroke consultations (p < 0.001) during the lockdown in March/April 2020 and a reciprocal increase after relaxation of COVID-19 measures in May/June 2020 were observed. Compared to 2018–2019, neither stroke patients' age (p = 0.38), gender (p = 0.44), nor severity of ischemic stroke (p = 0.32) differed in March/April 2020. Whereas the proportion of ischemic stroke patients for whom endovascular treatment (14.3% vs. 14.6%; p = 0.85) was recommended remained stable, there was a nonsignificant trend toward a lower proportion of recommendation of intravenous thrombolysis during the lockdown (19.0% vs. 22.1%; p = 0.052). Despite the majority of participating network centers treating patients with COVID-19, there were no relevant shortcomings reported regarding in-hospital stroke treatment or telemedical stroke care. Conclusions Telemedical stroke care in Germany was able to provide full service despite the COVID-19 pandemic, but telemedical consultations declined abruptly during the lockdown period and normalized after relaxation of COVID-19 measures in Germany. KW - COVID-19 KW - SARS-CoV- 2 KW - stroke KW - telemedicine KW - survey Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-259396 VL - 28 IS - 10 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hein, Grit A1 - Gamer, Matthias A1 - Gall, Dominik A1 - Gründahl, Marthe A1 - Domschke, Katharina A1 - Andreatta, Marta A1 - Wieser, Matthias J. A1 - Pauli, Paul T1 - Social cognitive factors outweigh negative emotionality in predicting COVID-19 related safety behaviors JF - Preventive Medicine Reports N2 - Emotion-motivation models propose that behaviors, including health behaviors, should be predicted by the same variables that also predict negative affect since emotional reactions should induce a motivation to avoid threatening situations. In contrast, social cognitive models propose that safety behaviors are predicted by a different set of variables that mainly reflect cognitive and socio-structural aspects. Here, we directly tested these opposing hypotheses in young adults (N = 4134) in the context of COVID-19-related safety behaviors to prevent infections. In each participant, we collected measures of negative affect as well as cognitive and socio-structural variables during the lockdown in the first infection wave in Germany. We found a negative effect of the pandemic on emotional responses. However, this was not the main predictor for young adults’ willingness to comply with COVID-19-related safety measures. Instead, individual differences in compliance were mainly predicted by cognitive and socio-structural variables. These results were confirmed in an independent data set. This study shows that individuals scoring high on negative affect during the pandemic are not necessarily more likely to comply with safety regulations. Instead, political measures should focus on cognitive interventions and the societal relevance of the health issue. These findings provide important insights into the basis of health-related concerns and feelings as well as behavioral adaptations. KW - social cognitive KW - negative affect KW - safety behavior KW - survey KW - COVID-19 Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-265008 VL - 24 ER -