Features, Transmission, Detection, and Case Studies in COVID-19

Dr Rajkumar Rajendram is a clinician scientist with a focus on internal medicine, anaesthesia, intensive care and peri-operative medicine. He graduated with distinctions from Guy’s, King’s and St. Thomas Medical School, King’s College London in 2001. As an undergraduate he was awarded several prizes, merits and distinctions in pre-clinical and clinical subjects. Dr Rajendram began his post-graduate medical training in general medicine and intensive care in Oxford. He attained membership of the Royal College of Physicians (MRCP) in 2004 and completed specialist training in acute and general medicine in Oxford in 2010. Dr Rajendram subsequently practiced as a Consultant in Acute General Medicine at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford. Dr Rajendram also trained in anaesthesia and intensive care in London and was awarded a fellowship of the Royal College of Anaesthetists (FRCA) in 2009. He completed advanced training in regional anaesthesia and intensive care. He was awarded a fellowship of the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine (FFICM) in 2013 and obtained the European diploma of intensive care medicine (EDIC) in 2014. He then moved to the Royal Free London Hospitals as a Consultant in Intensive Care, Anaesthesia and Peri-operative Medicine. He has been a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (FRCP Edin) and the Royal College of Physicians of London (FRCP Lond) since 2017 and 2019 respectively. He is currently a Consultant in Internal Medicine at King Abdulaziz Medical City, National Guard Heath Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Dr Rajendram’s focus on improving outcomes from Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has involved research on point of care ultrasound and phenotypes of COVID-19. Dr Rajendram also recognises that nutritional support is a fundamental aspect of medical care. This is particularly important for patients with COVID-19. As a clinician scientist he has therefore devoted significant time and effort into nutritional science research and education. He is an affiliated member of the Nutritional Sciences Research Division of King’s College London and has published over 400 textbook chapters, review articles, peer-reviewed papers and abstracts. Victor R. Preedy BSc, PhD, DSc, FRSB, FRSPH, FRSC, FRCPath graduated with an Honours Degree in Biology and Physiology with Pharmacology. After gaining his University of London PhD, he received his Membership of the Royal College of Pathologists. He was later awarded his second doctorate (DSc), for his contribution to protein metabolism in health and disease. He is Professor of Clinical Biochemistry (Hon) at King’s College Hospital and Emeritus Professor of Nutritional Biochemistry at King’s College London. He has Honorary Professorships at the University of Hull, and the University of Suffolk. Professor Preedy was the Founding Director and then long-term Director of the Genomics Centre at King’s College London from 2006 to 2020. Professor Preedy has been awarded fellowships of the Royal Society of Biology, the Royal College of Pathologists, the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health, the Royal Institute of Public Health, the Royal Society for Public Health, the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Royal Society of Medicine. He carried out research when attached to the National Heart Hospital (part of Imperial College London), The School of Pharmacy (now part of University College London) and the MRC Centre at Northwick Park Hospital. He has collaborated with international research groups in Finland, Japan, Australia, USA, and Germany. To his credit, Professor Preedy has published over 750 articles, which includes peer-reviewed manuscripts based on original research, abstracts and symposium presentations, reviews and edited books. Vinood B. Patel, BSc, PhD, FRSC, is currently Professor in Clinical Biochemistry at the University of Westminster. In 2014 Dr Patel was elected as a Fellow to The Royal Society of Chemistry. Dr Patel graduated from the University of Portsmouth with a degree in Pharmacology and completed his PhD in protein metabolism from King’s College London in 1997. His postdoctoral work was carried out at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical School, NC, USA studying structural-functional alterations to mitochondrial ribosomes, where he developed novel techniques to characterize their biophysical properties. Research is being undertaken to study the role of nutrients, antioxidants, phytochemicals, iron, alcohol and fatty acids in the pathophysiology of liver disease. Other areas of interest are identifying new biomarkers that can be used for the diagnosis and prognosis of disease and understanding mitochondrial oxidative stress in neurological disorders and iron dysregulation in diabetes. Dr Patel is a nationally and internationally recognized researcher and has several edited biomedical books related to the use or investigation of active agents or components. These books include The Handbook of Nutrition, Diet, and Epigenetics, Branched Chain Amino Acids in Clinical Nutrition, Cancer: Oxidative Stress and Dietary Antioxidants, Toxicology: Oxidative Stress and Dietary Antioxidants, Molecular Nutrition: Vitamins, The Neuroscience of Pain, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. He is Editor of the ten-volume series Biomarkers in Disease: Methods, Discoveries and Applications

Section A: SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19: Introductory chapters and setting the scene

1. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in context: Systemic effects

2. Early warning of SARS-CoV-2 infection

3. Mobile phones and their use to study dynamics of the COVID-19 pandemic

Section B: Structure, transmission and avoidance

4. Cis regulatory elements: A novel communication route between the host cell and the SARS-CoV-2 genome

5. SARS-CoV-2 ORF8: Structure, evolution, molecular function, and its contribution to the
pathogenicity of the virus

6. SARS-CoV-2 spike protein binding ligands and its application in COVID-19 therapeutics

7. SARS-CoV-2 bulldozes the autophagy pathway and unhinges mitochondrial quality control
thereby driving neurodegeneration—A hypothesis

8. The Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2

9. Monitoring SARS-CoV-2 spread in hospitals

10. Computational analysis of mutations in SARS-CoV-2 variants spike protein and protein
interactions

11. Airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2

12. Reducing transmission of SARS-CoV-2 with face masks: Its potential protective effects

13. Digital twin of ventilation system against COVID-19 transmission and infection risk

14. Pets and SARS-CoV-2: What is their role in the epidemiology of the disease?

15. SARS-CoV-2 transmission in dental practice

16. SARS-CoV-2 compared with influenza and respiratory syncytial virus in terms of vertical
transmission

17. Reducing droplets and aerosols in the surgical setting and applications to the COVID-19
pandemic

18. SARS-CoV motion dynamics: Linking in droplet size

19. Ventilation and airborne particles in classrooms: Implications for the COVID-19 pandemic

20. Indoor transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus through aerosols emitted by e-cigarettes

Section C: Impact and effects

21. The Impact of COVID-19 on first responders

22. COVID-19 and suspected drug-induced liver injury

23. Pulmonary fibrosis in COVID-19

24. The effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection on cancer: Clinical correlation and
potential pathological mechanism

25. Severe SARS-CoV-2, plateletendothelium interactions, and cardiovascular injury

26. Cardiometabolic syndrome and COVID-19: Pathophysiological aspects

27. COVID-19 and type 1 and 2 diabetes: An overview

28. COVID-19 and older adults: An overview

29. COVID-19 and male fertility

30. COVID-19 and obesity: An overview

Section D: Treatments, strategies, and vaccines

31. COVD-19 vaccines and their impact: An overview

32. Exploring the promise of COVID-19 vaccines: A review of preclinical studies

33. Drugs actively being investigated for use in COVID-19

34. The biology of neutralizing antibody therapy with REGEN-COV

35. The intensive care unit and percutaneous tracheostomy in patients with coronavirus disease
2019

36. Cardiac effects of drugs and vaccines used to treat and prevent COVID-19

37. COVID-19 pandemic and isolation: Impact on sleep

38. Strategies in the COVID-19 pandemic: Disinfection of gloved hands

39. In silico studies on established antivirals on SARS-CoV-2 RNAdependent RNA polymerase

40. The COVID-19 cytokine storm and its immunomodulatory treatment

41. Safety and efficacy of nebulization for reducing the intensity of viral load and clinical manifestations in patients with COVID-19

Section E: Detection and biomarkers

42. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and use in detection of SARS-CoV-2

43. SARS-CoV-2 testing and vaccination among people who use drugs

44. Homocysteine as a biomarker in COVID-19

45. Assessment of smell and taste in COVID-19

46. S-gene analysis: RT-PCR and Sanger sequencing applied to SARS-CoV-2 virus

47. False-negative results in screening for SARS-CoV-2

48. Sample pooling and SARS-CoV-2 assays

49. Biomarkers of invasive mechanical ventilation in obesity and metabolic syndrome in patients
with COVID-19

Section F: Case studies with mini review

50. Hypoxia and heart-lung interactions in COVID-19: The significance of right heart dysfunction and shunt

51. Ulnar nerve dysfunction as COVID-19 sequelae

52. Case study: Coronavirus disease 2019 and acute kidney injury

53. Case study: The detection and treatment of a pneumothorax in a patient with coronavirus disease 2019 pneumonia

54. Proposal and demonstration of a survey method for the prevention of airborne transmission: Case studies in healthcare and welfare facilities

Section G: Resources

55. Recommended resources for the features, transmission, and detection of coronavirus disease
2019 (COVID-19)