Review
The Impact of COVID-19 On Comorbidities: A Review Of Recent Updates For Combating It

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sjbs.2022.02.006Get rights and content
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open access

Highlights

  • SARS-CoV-2 can also affect organs other than the lungs, including the brain, heart, and gastrointestinal system.

  • Patients with Cancer, HIV, COPD, neurological, and CVDs are more prone to the COVID-19 associated complications, leading to a drastic rise in morbidity and mortality.

  • Elderly and pre-existing polypharmacy patients have worsened COVID-19 associated complications. When a person with comorbidity is infected with SARS-CoV-2, it becomes more dangerous, and managing these patients with adequate medical care is critical to their survival.

  • A co-morbid person should adhere to preventive measures to reduce mortality, including regular handwashing with soap or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, minimizing in person contact and practicing social distance, wearing a face mask in public places, and avoiding going to public places unless essential are among the precautional measures.

Abstract

Coronavirus disease is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The virus first appeared in Wuhan (China) in December 2019 and has spread globally. Till now, it affected 269 million people with 5.3 million deaths in 224 countries and territories. With the emergence of variants like Omicron, the COVID-19 cases grew exponentially, with thousands of deaths. The general symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, sore throat, cough, lung infections, and, in severe cases, acute respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis, and death. SARS-CoV-2 predominantly affects the lung, but it can also affect other organs such as the brain, heart, and gastrointestinal system. It is observed that 75 % of hospitalized COVID-19 patients have at least one COVID-19 associated comorbidity. The most common reported comorbidities are hypertension, NDs, diabetes, cancer, endothelial dysfunction, and CVDs. Moreover, older and pre-existing polypharmacy patients have worsened COVID-19 associated complications. SARS-CoV-2 also results in the hypercoagulability issues like gangrene, stroke, pulmonary embolism, and other associated complications. This review aims to provide the latest information on the impact of the COVID-19 on pre-existing comorbidities such as CVDs, NDs, COPD, and other complications. This review will help us to understand the current scenario of COVID-19 and comorbidities; thus, it will play an important role in the management and decision-making efforts to tackle such complications.

Keywords

Comorbidities
SARS-CoV-2
Complications
Variants
Mortality

Abbreviations

AD
Alzheimer’s Disease
ACE-2
Angiotensin-converting enzyme-2
AMI
Acute Myocardial Infarction
AIA
Avian Influenza A
HCQ
Hydroxychloroquine
ANE
Acute Necrotizing Encephalopathy
ARBs
Angiotensin receptors blockers
COPD
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
CAP
Community-Acquired Pneumonia
CVS
Cardiovascular
CVDs
cardiovascular diseases
CDCP
Centres for Disease Control and Prevention
CF
Cardiac failure
CHD
Coronary heart disease
DM
Diabetes Mellitus
DIC
Disseminated intravascular coagulation
FLAIR
Fluid-Attenuated Inversion Recovery
GBS
Guillain-Barre Syndrome
G+C
Guanine + Cytosine
HLH
Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis
HT
Hypertension
ICUs
Intensive care units
IVIG
Intravenous immunoglobin, KIMII-Kawasaki-identical to multisystem inflammatory illness
KMS
Kasabach-Merritt Syndrome
MI
Myocardial infarction
NDs
Neurological disorders
NSTEMI
Non-ST-elevated myocardial infarction
PCI
Percutaneous Coronary Intervention
PPE
Personal protective equipment
pRb
Retinoblastoma protein
RNS
Reactive Nitrogen Species
BP
Blood pressure
ROS
Reactive oxygen species
SEM
Scanning electronic microscope
SARS-CoV-2
severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
SIRS
Systemic inflammatory response syndrome
STEMI
ST-elevated myocardial infarction
PD
Parkinson’s Disease

Cited by (0)

Peer review under responsibility of King Saud University.

1

These authors contributed equally.