Clinical standards for diagnosis, treatment and prevention of post-COVID-19 lung disease

BACKGROUND: The aim of these clinical standards is to provide guidance on 'best practice' care for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of post-COVID-19 lung disease.METHODS: A panel of international experts representing scientific societies, associations and groups active in post-COVID-19 lung disease was identified; 45 completed a Delphi process. A 5-point Likert scale indicated level of agreement with the draft standards. The final version was approved by consensus (with 100% agreement).RESULTS: Four clinical standards were agreed for patients with a previous history of COVID-19: Standard 1, Patients with sequelae not explained by an alternative diagnosis should be evaluated for possible post-COVID-19 lung disease; Standard 2, Patients with lung function impairment, reduced exercise tolerance, reduced quality of life (QoL) or other relevant signs or ongoing symptoms ≥4 weeks after the onset of first symptoms should be evaluated for treatment and pulmonary rehabilitation (PR); Standard 3, The PR programme should be based on feasibility, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness criteria, organised according to local health services and tailored to an individual patient's needs; and Standard 4, Each patient undergoing and completing PR should be evaluated to determine its effectiveness and have access to a counselling/health education session.CONCLUSION: This is the first consensus-based set of clinical standards for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of post-COVID-19 lung disease. Our aim is to improve patient care and QoL by guiding clinicians, programme managers and public health officers in planning and implementing a PR programme to manage post-COVID-19 lung disease.CONTEXTE : L’objectif de ces normes cliniques est de fournir des conseils sur les « meilleures pratiques » en matière de diagnostic, de traitement et de prévention des maladies pulmonaires post-COVID-19. MÉTHODES : Un groupe d’experts internationaux représentant des sociétés scientifiques, des associations et des groupes actifs dans le domaine des maladies pulmonaires post-COVID-19 a été constitué ; 45 d’entre eux ont participé à un processus Delphi. Une échelle de Likert en 5 points a permis d’indiquer le niveau d’accord avec les projets de normes. La version finale a été approuvée par consensus (100% d’accord). RÉSULTATS : Quatre normes cliniques ont été approuvées pour les patients ayant des antécédents de COVID-19 : Norme 1, les patients présentant des séquelles non expliquées par un autre diagnostic doivent être évalués en vue d’une éventuelle maladie pulmonaire post-COVID-19 ; Norme 2, les patients présentant une altération de la fonction pulmonaire, une diminution de la tolérance à l’effort, une réduction de la qualité de vie (QoL) ou d’autres signes pertinents ou des symptômes persistants, quatre semaines ou plus après l’apparition des premiers symptômes, doivent être évalués en vue d’un traitement et d’une réadaptation pulmonaire (PR, de l’anglais ‘pulmonaire rehabilitation’) ; Norme 3, le programme de PR doit être basé sur des critères de faisabilité, d’efficacité et de rentabilité, organisé en fonction des services de santé locaux et adapté aux besoins individuels des patients ; et Norme 4, chaque patient qui suit et termine un programme de PR doit être évalué pour déterminer son efficacité et avoir accès à une session de conseil/éducation à la santé. CONCLUSION : Il s’agit du premier ensemble consensuel de normes cliniques pour le diagnostic, le traitement et la prévention des maladies pulmonaires post-COVID-19. Notre objectif est d’améliorer les soins et la qualité de vie des patients en guidant les cliniciens, les responsables de programmes et les responsables de la santé publique dans la planification et la mise en œuvre d’un programme de relations publiques pour la prise en charge des maladies pulmonaires post-COVID-19

Assessment of Air Pollution Impacts on Population Health in Bejaia City, Northern Algeria.

To assess the health impact of air pollution on Bejaia population in the north of Algeria, we carried out a descriptive epidemiologic inquiry near the medical establishments of three areas.From hospital admissions registers, we collected data on the hospital mortality and admissions relating to the various cardiorespiratory pathologies generated by this type of pollution. In parallel, data on the automobile fleet of Bejaia and other measurements were exploited to show that the pollutants concentrations are strongly correlated with the urban traffic concentration.This study revealed that the whole of the population is touched, but the sensitivity to pollution can show variations according to the age, the sex and the residence place. Population of Bejaia town marked the most raised death and morbidity rates, followed by that of Kherrata. Weak rates are recorded for the rural population of Feraoun. Stronger correlation (>0.9) is evident amongst CO and deaths due to asthma and COPD in Béjaia city.This approach enables us to conclude that the population of Béjaia could not escape the urban pollution generated by her old automobile fleet. Installation of a monitoring and measuring site of air pollution in this city could provide a beneficial tool to protect its inhabitants by informing on air quality they breathe and the measures to following order to minimize the impacts on their health and by alerting the authorities during the critical situations

Chapter 5. Health consequences in the Mediterranean region

The Mediterranean basin is highly vulnerable to climate change, and a warming trend with changes in rainfall patterns with more heavy rains has already been observed. The frequency of dust storm and wildfire has also increased. Both non-communicable and communicable diseases will be seriously impacted by climate change since climate modification or air pollution influence the development of the former and weather conditions the latter. Different socioeconomic characteristics within the Mediterranean basin will also exacerbate or on the contrary reduce health outcomes. Surprisingly few quantitative studies have explored the impacts of climate change on health in the Mediterranean region, and the few are geographically limited to specific areas of the basin. Here we review the scientific literature on this topic and make some recommendations for the development of national and regional research, preparedness and adaptation policy in the Mediterranean region.La zone méditerranéenne est très exposée aux changements climatiques, et un réchauffement régional de la température avec une modification du régime des pluies, généralement plus fortes, est actuellement observé. Les tempêtes de sable et les incendies non contrôlés sont en augmentation. Les maladies infectieuses et chroniques humaines peuvent être affectées par ces bouleversements de façon directe ou indirecte; les conditions bioclimatiques conditionnent le développement des agents pathogènes et de leurs hôtes vecteurs ou réservoirs; les modifications du climat ou la pollution atmosphérique qui en dérive ont une influence sur le développement de certaines maladies chroniques. Des déterminants, en particulier socio-économiques, prévalant ou en évolution dans la zone méditerranéenne affecteront aussi la santé de la population. Curieusement, peu de travaux scientifiques ont étudié les effets des changements climatiques sur la santé humaine dans la région, et les quelques rares études restent géographiquement limitées à des zones particulières du bassin méditerranéen. Dans ce chapitre, nous synthétisons la recherche réalisée dans le domaine, et proposons des recommandations en termes de recherches scientifiques nationales et régionales, et de stratégies de préparation et d’adaptation à ce nouveau contexte

The impact of cold on the respiratory tract and its consequences to respiratory health

Abstract The increasing use, and sometimes the abuse, particularly in industrialized countries of air conditioning at home, in car, hotel and shopping centres has highlighted new emerging public health issues, resulting from exposure of the airways to cool air or, more properly, resulting from sudden temperature changes. This is part of a wider problem, relating to air quality in indoor environment, such as homes or offices, where people spend more than 90% of their time. In particular, if indoor exposure occurs quickly and without any gradual adaptation to a temperature 2°–3° lower than the external temperature and especially with a 5° difference (avoiding indoor temperature below 24°) and an humidity between 40 and 60%, there is a risk of negative consequences on the respiratory tract and the patient risks to be in a clinical condition characterized by an exacerbation of the respiratory symptoms of his chronic respiratory disease (asthma and COPD) within a few hours or days. Surprisingly, these effects of cold climate remain out of the focus of the media unless spells of unusually cold weather sweep through a local area or unstable weather conditions associated with extremely cold periods of increasing frequency and duration. Moreover, the energy consumed by air conditioning induces an increase of CO2 in atmosphere with increase of global warming. There is a need to better define the consequences of repeated exposure to cold air and the mechanisms by which such exposure could modify airway function and affect the outcomes of patients with pre-existing airway disease. This could help to promote adequate policy and public health actions to face the incoming challenges induced by climate change and global warming

The Effect of Fire Smoke Exposure on Firefighters' Lung Function: A Meta-Analysis

Firefighters are exposed to a range of harmful substances during firefighting. Exposure to fire smoke has been associated with a decrease in their lung function. However, the cause-effect relationship between those two factors is not yet demonstrated. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the potential associations between firefighters' occupational exposure and their lung function deterioration. Studies were identified from PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and Science Direct databases (August 1990-March 2021). The studies were included when reporting the lung function values of Forced Expiratory Volume in 1 s (FEV1) or Forced Vital Capacity (FVC). The meta-analyses were performed using the generic inverse variance in R software with a random-effects model. Subgroup analysis was used to determine if the lung function was influenced by a potential study effect or by the participants' characteristics. A total of 5562 participants from 24 studies were included. No significant difference was found between firefighters' predicted FEV1 from wildland, 97.64% (95% CI: 91.45-103.82%; I-2 = 99%), and urban fires, 99.71% (95% CI: 96.75-102.67%; I-2 = 98%). Similar results were found for the predicted FVC. Nevertheless, the mean values of firefighters' predicted lung function varied significantly among studies, suggesting many confounders, such as trials' design, statistical methods, methodologies applied, firefighters' daily exposure and career length, hindering an appropriate comparison between the studies

Concentration and determinants of molds and allergens in indoor air and house dust of French dwellings

International audienceMolds and allergens are common indoor biocontaminants. The aims of this study were to assess the concentrations of common molds in indoor air and floor dust and the concentrations of house dust mite, cat and dog allergens in mattress dust in French dwellings, and to assess predictors of these concentrations. A sample of 150 houses in Brittany (western France) was investigated. Airborne Cladosporium and Penicillium were detected in more than 90% of the dwellings, Aspergillus in 46% and Alternaria in only 6% of the housings. Regarding floor dust samples, Cladosporium and Penicillium were detected in 92 and 80% of the housings respectively, Aspergillus in 49% and Alternaria in 14%. House dust mite allergens Der p1 and Der f1 were detected in 90% and 77% of the mattress dust samples respectively and Can f1 and Fel d1 in 37% and 89% of the homes. Airborne and dustborne mold concentrations, although not statistically correlated (except for Aspergillus) shared most of their predictors. Multivariate linear models for mold levels, explaining up to 62% of the variability, showed an influence of the season, of the age of the dwelling, of aeration habits, presence of pets, smoking, signals of dampness, temperature and relative humidity. Allergens in the dust of the mattress were strongly related to the presence of pets and cleaning practices of bedsheets, these factors accounting for 60% of the variability. This study highlights ubiquitous contamination by molds and underlines complex interaction between outdoor and indoor sources and factor

919 Thunderstorm asthma in the mediterranean area: seasonal weather and effect on health for outdoor workers

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[Thunderstorm and asthma outbreaks during pollen season]

An increasing body of evidence shows the occurrence of asthma epidemics, sometimes also severe, during thunderstorms in the pollen season in various geographical zones. The main hypothesis explaining association between thunderstorms and asthma claims that thunderstorms can concentrate pollen grains at ground level; these grains may then release allergenic particles of respirable size in the atmosphere after their rupture by osmotic shock. During the first 20-30 minutes of a thunderstorm, patients suffering from pollen allergy may inhale a high concentration of the allergenic material dispersed into the atmosphere, which can, in turn, induce asthmatic reactions, often severe. Subjects without asthma symptoms but affected by seasonal rhinitis can also experience an asthma attack. All subjects affected by pollen allergy should be alerted to the danger of being outdoors during a thunderstorm in the pollen season, as such events may be an important cause of severe bronchial obstruction. Considering this background, it is useful to predict thunderstorms during pollen season and, thus, to prevent thunderstorm-related clinical event. However, it is also important to focus on therapy, and it is not sufficient that subjects at risk of asthma follow a correct therapy with bronchodilators, but they also need to inhale corticosteroids, using both in case of emergency

Establishing a sorting protocol for healthcare databases

Background: Health information records in many countries, especially developing countries, are still paper based. Compared to electronic systems, paper-based systems are disadvantageous in terms of data storage and data extraction. Given the importance of health records for epidemiological studies, guidelines for effective data cleaning and sorting are essential. They are, however, largely absent from the literature. The following paper discusses the process by which an algorithm was developed for the cleaning and sorting of a database generated from emergency department records in Lebanon.Design and methods: Demographic and health related information were extracted from the emergency department records of three hospitals in Beirut. Appropriate categories were selected for data categorization. For health information, disease categories and codes were selected according to the International Classification of Disease 10th Edition.Results: A total of 16,537 entries were collected. Demographic information was categorized into groups for future epidemiological studies. Analysis of the health information led to the creation of a sorting algorithm which was then used to categorize and code the health data. Several counts were then performed to represent and visualize the data numerically and graphically.Conclusions: The article describes the current state of health information records in Lebanon and the associated disadvantages of a paper-based system in terms of storage and data extraction. Furthermore, the article describes the algorithm by which health information was sorted and categorized to allow for future data analysis using paper records