Acta Medica Indonesiana – The Indonesian Journal of Internal Medicine
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COVID-19 Pandemic-to-Endemic Transition in Indonesia: What Does the Future Hold?
Get PDFSince first reported in December 2019, SARS-2 Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) infection has become a world-class pandemic, overwhelming every aspect of the global system. Globally, 526 billion confirmed cases with 6,3 billion death cases were reported by World Health Organization (WHO) by 31 May 2022. In that period, Indonesia has reported 6 billion confirmed cases with a case fatality rate reaching 2.58%. The number of new weekly cases and new weekly death have continued the declining trend observed since its peak in January 2022, i.e. 3% decrease of new weekly cases and 11% decrease of new weekly death as compared to the previous week. In response to the current epidemiology improvement, countries including Indonesia have relaxed some regulations on COVID-19 as the preparation for pandemic-to-endemic transition.Endemic is not equal to harmless. Commonly, endemic is falsely interpreted as the end of COVID-19, bringing to a false complacency. Endemic “label” on an infectious disease, such as malaria, HIV infection, tuberculosis in certain regions of the world, means the overall rates of infection are static — neither rising nor falling. Endemic “label” defines nothing about time duration to reach disease end or how many populations will still be susceptible to the disease. Therefore, transition for pandemic-to-endemic of COVID-19 could not simply translated into the end of either public and health service awareness, or research on COVID-19. It then should add new emerging perspective on COVID-19 research as was mandated by WHO. One example of which is evidence-based strategies for infection prevention control and personal protective equipment for infection control de-escalation in relation to COVID-19 pandemic scaling back.In the spirit of nurturing research and publication in this transition for pandemic-to-endemic era, the Indonesian Journal of Internal Medicine published various COVID-19 associated-original articles, systematic review, and case series across various COVID-19 condition. Atici, et. al. and Tunjungputri, et. al. report articles on factors and treatment that is associated with higher COVID-19 survival. Corticosteroids, Interleukin-6 inhibitors and anticoagulant administered to the proper subset of COVID-19 population are several beneficial treatments among limited evidence-based proven treatment available today. These supportive treatments, whenever indicated at the proper time, should be considered in managing every COVID-19 patient. In addition, high antibiotic use in COVID-19 patients despite low secondary bacterial infection has been widely reported. Chen, et. al. report a similar situation in Indonesia and should raise the awareness of antimicrobial resistance thread now and in the future. Together with proper diagnostic stewardship, the simple predictors of secondary bacterial infection that have been concluded could potentially be used to reduce liberal antibiotic use while optimizing the use in indicated patients. Prabowo, et al. enriched our understanding on usage of telemedicine to monitor post COVID-19 condition in Indonesian populations.High quality research has, and will again, save the livelihoods of people across the world. While future pandemics could not be completely prevented, the research infrastructures that have built during last 2 years could be used as a strong modality to be better prepared and coordinated in future outbreak/ pandemic response by detecting and preventing the emerging diseases at their very early stage. Waste in COVID-19 research and multiple COVID-19 associated research article retractions should caution researchers -as evidence-producer- and clinicians -as evidence-user- in prioritizing the scientific inquiry and questioning individual conflict of interest. Insightful articles addressing the multitude aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic-to-endemic transition related topics are still needed in the future
The Association between Plasma miRNA-21 Levels with Overall 1-year Survival Rate of Breast Cancer Patients at Various Stages
Get PDFBackground: miRNA 21 exhibits an increased expression in breast cancer (BC). However, its relationship with the 1-year survival of breast cancer patients is still disputable and under serious discussion. Methods: Cohort prospective study involving 49 breast cancer patients was done, comprising 26 in early stage and 23 in end-stage. We evaluated miRNA-21 values and observed its association with mortality within 1 year. Results: In general, there was a correlation between the increase in miRNA-21 levels and the mortality rate of breast cancer patients (r = 0.651; p <0.05). In the early stages, the increase in miRNA-21 values was not associated with breast cancer mortality (r= 0.25; p=0.218), but in the later stages, we found that the increase in miRNA-21 had a correlation with mortality (r=0.866; p=<0, 05). In advanced stage, high level of miRNA-21 had high asscociation with mortality rate (HR 17,27 95%CI 7,37-40,69). Conclusion: The increase in miRNA-21 values is associated with the 1-year survival of breast cancer patients
Prognostic Scoring System for Mortality of Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients in Resource-Limited Settings: A Multicenter Study from COVID-19 Referral Hospitals
Get PDFBackground: Many studies identified the risk factors and prognostic factors related to in-hospital COVID-19 mortality using sophisticated laboratory tests. Cost and the availability of supporting blood tests may be problematic in resource-limited settings. This multicenter cohort study was conducted to assess the factors associated with mortality of COVID-19 patients aged 18 years and older, based on history taking, physical examination, and simple blood tests to be used in resource-limited settings. Methods: The study was conducted between July 2020 and January 2021 in five COVID-19 referral hospitals in Indonesia. Among 1048 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 160 (15%) died during hospitalization. Results: Multivariate analysis showed eight predictors of in-hospital mortality, namely increased age, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, fatigue, dyspnea, altered mental status, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) ≥ 5.8, and severe-critical condition. This scoring system had an Area-under-the-curve (AUC) of 84.7%. With cut-off score of 6, the sensitivity was 76.3% and the specificity was 78.2%. Conclusion: The result of this practical prognostic scoring system may be a guide to decision making of physicians and help in the education of family members related to the possible outcome
Predicting Parameters of Renal Function Recoverability after Obstructive Uropathy Treatment in Adults
Get PDFObstructive uropathy can have many causes and can manifest as supravesical, vesical, or infravesical levels of obstruction. Treatment of obstructive uropathy, whether definitive or temporary, has a risk of complications or could worsen the patient’s quality of life. Thus, knowledge of the parameters that predict recoverability of renal function after obstructive uropathy treatment is essential for patients and their families. Several studies have evaluated many factors that might potentially predict recoverability of renal function after obstruction release and these essentially are divided into factors predicting unilateral or bilateral obstruction. Almost all unilateral obstruction studies used ureteropelvic junction obstruction cases as their subjects and utilized nuclear scan renography to evaluate kidney recoverability. Factors confirmed as predicting factors for recoverability of renal function were age, hemoglobin level, BUN-to-creatinine ratio, postoperative urine volume and sodium excretion, cortical thickness, type of renal pelvis, hydronephrosis grade, corticomedullary differentiation, parenchymal echogenicity, renal resistive index, and initial kidney function. Thus, these studies all had different criteria for defining the recovery of renal function, and this might explain the differences observed from study to study
The Use of Complementary Alternative Medicine in HIV-infected Patients during COVID-19 Pandemic: Its Related Factors and Drug Interactions with Antiretroviral Therapy
Get PDFBackground: The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is widespread among patients with chronic disease despite lack of supporting evidence for most CAM types. Concerned regarding higher risk of COVID-19 for HIV-infected patients, probably increase the use of CAM during COVID-19 pandemic in this population. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and factors related to CAM use among HIV-infected patients during COVID-19 pandemic, then identify drug- to-drug interaction (DDI) of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs with CAM that they used. Methods: The study was conducted in HIV Clinic Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital in September-October 2021, specifically targeting adults HIV-infected patients routinely using ARV. Demographic and clinical data, including COVID-19 and vaccine history, were taken from clinic survey and hospital medical records data. Results: 554 of 1275 patients (43.5%) reported using any type of ingested CAM during COVID-19 pandemic, mostly vitamins and/or minerals. Factors related to CAM use were history of COVID-19 infection (aOR 2.28; 95% CI 1.65-3.14) and 2-5 years ARV duration compared to more than 10 years (aOR 1.4; 95% CI 1.02–1.91). Five known potential interactions involving 20 patients and two potential weak interactions involving 8 patients were found, but many of other interactions categorized as unknown. Only limited number of patients (3.8%) were aware about the drug interaction between ARV and CAM that they used. Conclusion: CAM was commonly used by HIV-infected patients on ARV during the COVID-19 pandemics, but patient awareness related to CAM-ARV drug interactions was exteremely low
Elevation of Cardiac Biomarkers in COVID-19 As a Major Determinant for Mortality: A Systematic Review
Get PDFBackground: This study aimed to summarize the prognosis of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients with elevated troponin and N-terminal pro brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels and demonstrate the involvement of myocardial injury as a complication in COVID-19. Methods: A systematic literature search was performed using several databases (PubMed, MEDLINE, PROQUEST and SCOPUS ) for studies published up to August 2020. Observational studies about the mortality outcome of COVID-19 patients who experienced cardiac injury, as defined by the elevation of serum levels of troponin, brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), with NT-proBNP or only BNP or only NT-proBNP, were included. In addition, a critical appraisal was conducted for all included studies using the Critical Appraisal for Prognostic Studies checklist published by the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine by the University of Oxford. Results: Seven retrospective observational studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. This study found that there is a higher risk of death in COVID 19 patients with higher levels of troponin and NT-proBNP, indicating the importance of these biomarkers as determinant factors to predict in-hospital deaths. Conclusion: Based on the analysis, elevation of troponin and NT-proBNP levels plays an essential role in determining the patient prognosis because it is shown to be associated with in-hospital mortality. This also supports the involvement of myocardial injury as a prominent fatal complication in COVID-19
Anal Swab in COVID-19 Patients
Get PDFIn 2020, a new type of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) whose disease is called Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been reported. This virus was first discovered in Wuhan, China and has infected 90,308 people per March 2, 2020. As of the end of October 2020, more than 40 million people have been infected, with the death toll reaching 1,150,000 worldwide. Apart from respiratory tract infections, patients infected with this virus may exhibit other symptoms, such as diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea, or vomiting. This means that the virus can be found in feces and anus, hence the anal swab can be used as a diagnostic tool for COVID-19 infection. The results of the specimen test show that the sensitivity of the nasopharyngeal swab positive detection rate is the highest and remains the gold standard for diagnosis. This sensitivity can also be influenced by the course of the disease that can infect the gastrointestinal tract so that anal PCR is performed for the diagnosis to detect the COVID-19 virus in patients
Quality of Life in Patients with Renal Failure Undergoing Hemodialysis
Get PDFA good quality of life is one of the many indicators that determine the success of hemodialysis (HD) therapy. Factors that significantly affect the quality of life of patients with renal failure who undergo HD include sociodemographic condition, mental state (depression), severity of kidney disease, accompanying disorders, HD duration, non-adherence towards prescribed medication and nutritional problems. Among said factors, the metabolic and nutritional disorder commonly known as protein energy wasting (PEW), plays an important role in the clinical course of renal failure patients. The aim of nutrition management in patients with renal failure is to slow down the progression of kidney disease, improve quality of life, and reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality
The Relationship Between fragmented QRS Complexes (fQRS) and the Severity of Coronary Artery Lesion in Coronary Artery Disease: A Cross-sectional Study
Get PDFBackground: The severity of coronary artery lesion is commonly used as a predictor of mortality, major adverse cardiovascular event, and revascularization in coronary artery disease (CAD). Fragmented QRS complex (fQRS) is used as a marker of myocardial ischemia in patients with CAD. The relationship between the two should be studied further. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between fQRS and the severity of coronary lesion in patients with CAD. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital Jakarta. Secondary data were taken from 172 patients with CAD who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) from January to June 2018 with total sampling. Patients were divided into two groups based on the existence of fQRS. Demographic, clinical, and corangiography characteristics (Gensini score, total vascular lesion, and vascular lesion significance) were studied. Data were analyzed using agreement test and chi-square. Results: fQRS was present in 94 subjects (54.6%). Bivariate analysis showed a significant difference between fQRS with mild-moderate Gensini score as well as mild-severe Gensini score (kappa = 0.721 and 0.820; p<0.001), fQRS with significant CAD (kappa = 0.670; p<0.001), and fQRS with multivessel CAD (kappa = 0.787; p<0.001). Conclusion: There is a significant relationship between fQRS and the degree of severity of coronary lesion in CAD patients
Bedaquiline Effect on QT Interval of Drugs-Resistant Tuberculosis Patients: Real World Data
Get PDFBackground: Bedaquiline (BDQ) is effective as part of treatment regimen for drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB), but the cardiac safety profile of BDQ is not fully elucidated. This study aimed to analyse the cardiac safety of BDQ by examining its effect on the QT interval of DR-TB patients. Methods: This is a retrospective study cohort conducted in two DR-TB referral hospitals in Indonesia. The QT interval before and after therapy using BDQ was measured manually and corrected using the Fridericia formula (QTcF). The QT interval profile was analysed over time during BDQ treatment. Results: A total of 105 subjects participated in the study. The maximum mean difference (standard deviation) of QTcF after treatment with the baseline (∆QTcF) is 34,06 (52,92) ms after three months of therapy. During BDQ treatment, clinically significant QTcF prolongations was observed in 37.1% subjects with neither arrhythmia nor any other adverse cardiac event occurred. The interval QT prolongation led to BDQ discontinuation in 15.2% subjects temporarily and in 6.7% subjects permanently. There were seven deaths (6.7%) during the treatment. Conclusion: During BDQ treatment, maximum QT prolongation was observed after three months of BDQ therapy. Therefore, more intensive cardiac monitoring is recommended during this period and afterwards