Summary Background Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases are conditions characterized by a variable progression. Some individuals experience longer asymptomatic periods while others acute worsening periods and/or exacerbations triggered by symptom multiplication factors. Medications are adjusted to the patients’ respiratory function, self-assessment of health and emerging certain physical changes. A more effective treatment may be applied by real-time data registered during the patient’s everyday life. Aim and methods Introducing new modern digital technology in pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) to help tracking the patients’ medication, thus we systematically reviewed the latest publications on telemedicine and pulmonary telerehabilitation. Conclusion The use of the latest digital technologies in PR is very exciting and offers great opportunities while treating patients affected by specific conditions. On the one hand, adherence to medication can be improved in patients with chronic respiratory diseases by using these new state of the art devices; on the other hand, digital devices will also be able to monitor various physiological parameters of patients during their usual everyday activities. Data can be stored on a smartphone and shared with the provider. Relying on this information, physicians will be able to tailor medications and dosage to the specific needs of individual patients. Telerehabilitation may be a sustainable solution to the growing burden of chronic respiratory disease worldwide. However, PR must keep its cornerstones, such as education and motivations, which are most successful when conducted in person. Many issues remain to be resolved in the future, e.g. cybersecurity while using smart devices since they offer unique opportunities for PR.
Purpose The purpose of current review is to conduct a systematic overview of articles published between 2019 and 2021 on the relationship of comorbidities and mortality due to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) among the elderly population. Methods We conducted a systematic search on PubMed for articles published between 2019 and 2021 to identify any cohort and case-control studies that investigated the relationship of comorbidities and COVID-19 mortality among the elderly, defined as 60 years of age and above. Databases were searched independently by two authors. Disagreements were resolved by the inclusion of a third investigator. Reviews, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses were excluded from our systematic review. Results A total of 15 studies were selected for our systematic review. Of the included studies, 3 were case-control, 3 were prospective cohort studies and 9 were retrospective cohort studies. As for size, 10 studies were conducted on populations of <1000 participants, 3 ranging from 1001 to 10,000, and 2 on populations of >10,000 individuals. The included studies found that the presence of certain conditions, such as cardiovascular, respiratory, renal diseases, malignancies, diseases of the nervous system and diabetes are associated to increased mortality in populations that consisted of elderly patients. Conclusion Results of our systematic review suggest that comorbidities contribute to increased COVID-19 mortality among the elderly. The detrimental effect of comorbidities and advanced age on the immune response could lead to a more frequent occurrence of symptomatic and severe infections with COVID-19.
Background: An increasing number of studies suggest that diet plays an important role in regulating aging processes and modulates the development of the most important age-related diseases. Objective: The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the relationship between nutrition and critical age-associated diseases. Methods: A literature review was conducted to survey recent pre-clinical and clinical findings related to the role of nutritional factors in modulation of fundamental cellular and molecular mechanisms of aging and their role in prevention of the genesis of the diseases of aging. Results: Studies show that the development of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, cognitive impairment and dementia can be slowed down or prevented by certain diets with anti-aging action. The protective effects of diets, at least in part, may be mediated by their beneficial macro- (protein, fat, carbohydrate) and micronutrient (vitamins, minerals) composition. Conclusions: Certain diets, such as the Mediterranean diet, may play a significant role in healthy aging by preventing the onset of certain diseases and by improving the aging process itself. This latter can be strengthened by incorporating fasting elements into the diet. As dietary recommendations change with age, this should be taken into consideration as well, when developing a diet tailored to the needs of elderly individuals. Future and ongoing clinical studies on complex anti-aging dietary interventions translating the results of preclinical investigations are expected to lead to novel nutritional guidelines for older adults in the near future.
Purpose The goal of our review was to gather information on the most important community-acquired and hospital-acquired co-infections among coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients, and to examine not only the effect of these co-infections on disease outcomes but also to identify the possible risk factors that predispose COVID-19 patients to co-infections. Methods Medline (PubMed) and Google Scholar were searched for relevant articles published between January 1st, 2020, and September 31st, 2021, on the topic of co-infections among COVID-19 patients. Results Among community-acquired and hospital-acquired co-infections, bacterial and fungal co-infections are equally frequent, followed by viral co-infections that affected a relatively smaller portion of patients. Overall, co-infections were more frequent in the hospital than at the community level. Risk factors for acquiring co-infections include male gender, longer length of hospital stay, presence of supportive treatment, such as ventilation, the admission to intensive care units, the administration of medications, such as steroids or antibiotics, and certain blood parameters, such as high C-reactive protein or lymphopenia. The presence of co-infections could aggravate the COVID-19 disease severity, prolong the healing time of patients, and lead to worse disease outcomes overall. Conclusion Co-infections may increase the mortality of COVID-19 patients, especially in the hospital setting. Paying closer attention to hygiene, adhering to diagnostic and therapeutic protocols, implementing antimicrobial stewardship programs could decrease the occurrence of co-infections and lead to improved outcomes for COVID-19 patients.
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