From: COVID-19’s impact on care practice for alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency patients
Positive efects of COVID-19 on AATD treatment |
Breakdown of existing administrative barriers, thus facilitating home delivery of medication and home-based therapy |
Positive change of attitude and convincement for both patients and healthcare professionals with respect to auto-administration of replacement treatment |
Lower incidence of influenza and other respiratory viruses because of the lockdown and COVID-19-related measures |
Increase in smoking cessation |
Negative efects of COVID-19 on AATD treatment |
Decline in blood donations due to the security measures adopted by hospitals, redistribution of resources, high pressure of critical patient care and reluctance to donate blood, among other reasons |
Delays on treatment due to healthcare services saturation, leading some patients to follow a suboptimal treatment regimen |
Increased difficulties in instructing patients to change inhalers and escalate treatments |
Increased difficulty in assessing lung transplantations |
Changes in lifestyle related to lockdown measures which have resulted in problems for patients keeping a healthy lifestyle and a good diet. These changes have also impacted negatively patients’ mental health |