Studies have shown that probiotics can decrease the symptoms of respiratory tract infections as well as increase antibody responses following certain vaccinations. We examined the effect of probiotic supplementation on anti-SARS-CoV-2 specific antibody responses upon SARS-CoV-2 infection as well as after COVID-19 vaccination. In this randomized, triple-blinded, placebo-controlled intervention study with a parallel design, 159 healthy adults without prior SARS-CoV-2 infection or COVID-19 vaccination and any known risk factors for severe COVID-19 were randomly allocated into two study arms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: During the COVID-19 pandemic in The Netherlands, critically ill ventilated COVID-19 patients were transferred not only between hospitals by ambulance but also by the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS). To date, little is known about the physiological impact of helicopter transport on critically ill patients and COVID-19 patients in particular. This study was conducted to explore the impact of inter-hospital helicopter transfer on vital signs of mechanically ventilated patients with severe COVID-19, with special focus on take-off, midflight, and landing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCompared to free antigens, antigens immobilized on scaffolds, such as nanoparticles, generally show improved immunogenicity. Conventionally, antigens are conjugated to scaffolds through genetic fusion or chemical conjugation, which may result in impaired assembly or heterogeneous binding and orientation of the antigens. By combining two emerging technologies-i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in the Netherlands, the demand for intensive care beds exceeded availability within days. Initially, patients were redistributed regionally by ground transport. When transport over longer distances became necessary, we initiated a new Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) operation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Enteral nutrition is essential in the treatment of critically ill patients. Current methods to monitor enteral nutrition such as aspiration of residual volume may be inaccurate. Gastric ultrasonography estimates total gastric fluid volume using the Perlas model, but this model is validated for clear fluids only, and its accuracy for measuring thick fluids is unknown.
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