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Background@#The Fleischner Society established consensus guidelines for imaging in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We investigated the prevalence of pneumonia and the adverse outcomes by dividing groups according to the symptoms and risk factors of patients and assessed the suitability of the Fleischner society imaging guidelines in evaluating chest radiographs of COVID-19 patients. @*Methods@#From February 2020 to May 2020, 685 patients (204 males, mean 58 ± 17.9 years) who were diagnosed with COVID-19 and hospitalized were included. We divided patients into four groups according to the severity of symptoms and presence of risk factors (age > 65 years and presence of comorbidities). The patient groups were defined as follows: group 1 (asymptomatic patients), group 2 (patients with mild symptoms without risk factors), group 3 (patients with mild symptoms and risk factors), and group 4 (patients with moderate to severe symptoms). According to the Fleischner society, chest imaging is not indicated for groups 1–2 but is indicated for groups 3–4. We compared the prevalence and score of pneumonia on chest radiographs and compare the adverse outcomes (progress to severe pneumonia, intensive care unit admission, and death) between groups. @*Results@#Among the 685 COVID-19 patients, 138 (20.1%), 396 (57.8%), 102 (14.9%), and 49 (7.1%) patients corresponded to groups 1 to 4, respectively. Patients in groups 3–4 were significantly older and showed significantly higher prevalence rates of pneumonia (group 1–4: 37.7%, 51.3%, 71.6%, and 98%, respectively, P < 0.001) than those in groups 1-2. Adverse outcomes were also higher in groups 3–4 than in groups 1–2 (group 1–4: 8.0%, 3.5%, 6.9%, and 51%, respectively, P < 0.001). Patients with adverse outcomes in group 1 were initially asymptomatic but symptoms developed during follow-up. They were older (mean age, 80 years) and most of them had comorbidities (81.8%). Consistently asymptomatic patients had no adverse events. @*Conclusion@#The prevalence of pneumonia and adverse outcomes were different according to the symptoms and risk factors in COVID-19 patients. Therefore, as the Fleischner Society recommended, evaluation and monitoring of COVID-19 pneumonia using chest radiographs is necessary for old symptomatic patients with comorbidities.
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Thousands of new patients are diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) daily worldwide. We reviewed the role of chest imaging in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with COVID-19.Current Concepts: Chest imaging is not recommended as a primary diagnostic tool for COVID-19. However, when real-time polymerase chain reaction is difficult to perform or when COVID-19 is strongly suspected, chest imaging can assist in the diagnosis. Thus, chest imaging is recommended for high-risk patients and patients with worsening respiratory symptoms, but not for asymptomatic patients. Bilateral peripheral pneumonia is a typical imaging finding in patients with COVID-19. However, there are cases where chest imaging shows atypical findings or appears normal. The extent of COVID-19 pneumonia on chest imaging is related to the severity of the disease. The presence and extent of pneumonia on chest imaging can help monitor patients, select appropriate treatment agents, determine whether the patient should be hospitalized, and predict the prognosis.Discussion and Conclusion: Appropriate use of chest imaging is needed for clinicians to help triage patients with COVID-19 and decide on the treatment plan.
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Objective@#We investigated the prevalence of pneumonia in novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients using chest radiographs to identify the characteristics of those with initially negative chest radiographs, who were positive for pneumonia on follow-up. @*Materials and Methods@#Retrospective cohort data of 236 COVID-19 patients were reviewed. Chest radiography was performed on admission, with serial radiographs obtained until discharge. The ‘positive conversion group’ was defined as patients whose initial chest radiographs were negative but were positive for pneumonia during follow-up. Patients with initially positive chest radiographs were defined as the ‘initial pneumonia group.’ Patients with negative initial and follow-up chest radiographs were defined as the ‘non-pneumonia group.’ Clinical and laboratory findings were compared between groups, and predictors of positive conversion were investigated. @*Results@#Among 236 patients, 108 (45.8%) were in the non-pneumonia group, 69 (29.2%) were in the initial pneumonia group, and 59 (25%) were in the positive conversion group. The patients in the ‘initial pneumonia group’ and ‘positive conversion group’ were older, had higher C-reactive protein (CRP) and lactate dehydrogenase levels, and lower absolute lymphocyte counts than those in the ‘non-pneumonia group’ (all p 0.5 mg/dL (OR: 3.91, 95% CI: 1.54–9.91, p = 0.004) were independent predictors for future development of pneumonia. @*Conclusion@#More than a half of COVID-19 patients initially had normal chest radiographs; however, elderly patients (≥ 45 years of age) with abnormal laboratory findings (elevated CRP and low absolute lymphocyte counts) developed pneumonia on follow-up radiographs.
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We retrospectively reviewed patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections who wereadmitted to an intensive care unit in Daegu, South Korea. The outcomes of patients who did (cases) or did not (controls) receivedarunavir-cobicistat (800–150 mg) therapy were compared. Fourteen patients received darunavir-cobicistat treatment, and 96 receivedother antiviral therapy (controls). Overall, the darunavir-cobicistat group comprised patients with milder illness, and thecrude mortality rate of all patients in the darunavir-cobicistat group was lower than that in the controls [odds ratio (OR) 0.20, 95%confidence interval (CI) 0.04–0.89, p=0.035]. After 1:2 propensity-score matching, there were 14 patients in the darunavir-cobicistatgroup, and 28 patients in the controls. In propensity score-matched analysis, the darunavir-cobicistat group had lower mortalitythan the controls (OR 0.07, 95% CI 0.01–0.52, p=0.009). In conclusion, darunavir-cobicistat therapy was found to be associatedwith a significant survival benefit in critically ill patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection.
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Background@#Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global pandemic that had affected more than eight million people worldwide by June 2020. Given the importance of the presence of diabetes mellitus (DM) for host immunity, we retrospectively evaluated the clinical characteristics and outcomes of moderate-to-severe COVID-19 in patients with diabetes. @*Methods@#We conducted a multi-center observational study of 1,082 adult inpatients (aged ≥18 years) who were admitted to one of five university hospitals in Daegu because of the severity of their COVID-19-related disease. The demographic, laboratory, and radiologic findings, and the mortality, prevalence of severe disease, and duration of quarantine were compared between patients with and without DM. In addition, 1:1 propensity score (PS)-matching was conducted with the DM group. @*Results@#Compared with the non-DM group (n=847), patients with DM (n=235) were older, exhibited higher mortality, and required more intensive care. Even after PS-matching, patients with DM exhibited more severe disease, and DM remained a prognostic factor for higher mortality (hazard ratio, 2.40; 95% confidence interval, 1.38 to 4.15). Subgroup analysis revealed that the presence of DM was associated with higher mortality, especially in older people (≥70 years old). Prior use of a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor or a renin-angiotensin system inhibitor did not affect mortality or the clinical severity of the disease. @*Conclusion@#DM is a significant risk factor for COVID-19 severity and mortality. Our findings imply that COVID-19 patients with DM, especially if elderly, require special attention and prompt intensive care.
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Background@#s: The severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread worldwide. Cardiac injury after SARS-CoV-2 infection is a major concern. The present study investigated impact of the biomarkers indicating cardiac injury in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on patients' outcomes. @*Methods@#This study enrolled patients who were confirmed to have COVID-19 and admitted at a tertiary university referral hospital between February 19, 2020 and March 15, 2020. Cardiac injury was defined as an abnormality in one of the following result markers: 1) myocardial damage marker (creatine kinase-MB or troponin-I), 2) heart failure marker (N-terminal-pro B-type natriuretic peptide), and 3) electrical abnormality marker (electrocardiography). The relationship between each cardiac injury marker and mortality was evaluated. Survival analysis of mortality according to the scoring by numbers of cardiac injury markers was also performed. @*Results@#A total of 38 patients with COVID-19 were enrolled. Twenty-two patients (57.9%) had at least one of cardiac injury markers. The patients with cardiac injuries were older (69.6 ± 14.9 vs. 58.6 ± 13.9 years old, P = 0.026), and were more male (59.1% vs. 18.8%, P = 0.013).They showed lower initial oxygen saturation (92.8 vs. 97.1%, P = 0.002) and a trend toward higher mortality (27.3 vs. 6.3%, P = 0.099). The increased number of cardiac injury markers was significantly related to a higher incidence of in-hospital mortality which was also evidenced by Kaplan-Meier survival analysis (P = 0.008). @*Conclusion@#The increased number of cardiac injury markers is related to in-hospital mortality in patients with COVID-19.
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There is still a paucity of studies on real-world outcome of screening clinic for hospital protection from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). As the number of COVID-19 cases was growing rapidly in Daegu, Korea, we started operating an active screening clinic outside the hospital premises. Over two weeks, 2,087 patients were screened using real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction testing for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, with 42 confirmed cases. Before the screening clinic period, an average of 36 beds (maximum 67 beds) per day were closed due to unrecognized COVID-19 patients entering the hospital. In contrast, after the screening clinic operated well, only one event of closing emergency room (25 beds) occurred due to a confirmed COVID-19 case of asymptomatic patient. We report the operational process of screening clinic for COVID-19 and its effectiveness in maintaining the function of tertiary hospitals.
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BACKGROUND: Long-term administration of ethambutol (EMB) for Mycobacterium avium complex lung disease (MAC-LD) sometimes leads to permanent discontinuation of EMB due to various adverse events. This study aimed to investigate treatment outcomes after discontinuation of EMB.METHODS: Among patients diagnosed with MAC-LD between January 2001 and December 2014, 508 patients whose treatment was initiated with standard regimen until May 2018 were enrolled at a tertiary referral center in Korea. Of these 508 patients, 60 (11.8%) discontinued EMB due to various adverse effects. Among these 60 patients, treatment outcomes were analyzed for 44 patients by comparing their outcomes with those of matched subjects who received the standard treatment regimen without EMB discontinuation.RESULTS: The mean age of the 60 patients who discontinued EMB was 64.4 years. Ocular toxicity was the most common cause of discontinuation of EMB (75.0%, 45/60). The mean duration of EMB administration before its discontinuation was 7.0 ± 4.6 months. The treatment failure rate of the 44 patients with EMB discontinuation analyzed for treatment outcome was 29.6%, which was higher than that of the matched patients who received the standard regimen (18.3%), although the difference was not significant (P = 0.095). Of these 44 patients, EMB was substituted with later-generation fluoroquinolone in 23 patients, and the treatment failure rate of these 23 patients was significantly higher than that of the matched patients who received the standard regimen (39.1% vs. 19.3%, P = 0.045).CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that treatment outcomes are unsatisfactory in patients with MAC-LD who discontinue EMB owing to adverse events. Notably, there was a statistically significant high failure rate in patients who were prescribed fluoroquinolone to replace EMB.
Subject(s)
Humans , Ethambutol , Fluoroquinolones , Korea , Lung Diseases , Mycobacterium avium Complex , Mycobacterium avium , Mycobacterium , Tertiary Care Centers , Treatment Failure , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
BACKGROUND@#Long-term administration of ethambutol (EMB) for Mycobacterium avium complex lung disease (MAC-LD) sometimes leads to permanent discontinuation of EMB due to various adverse events. This study aimed to investigate treatment outcomes after discontinuation of EMB.@*METHODS@#Among patients diagnosed with MAC-LD between January 2001 and December 2014, 508 patients whose treatment was initiated with standard regimen until May 2018 were enrolled at a tertiary referral center in Korea. Of these 508 patients, 60 (11.8%) discontinued EMB due to various adverse effects. Among these 60 patients, treatment outcomes were analyzed for 44 patients by comparing their outcomes with those of matched subjects who received the standard treatment regimen without EMB discontinuation.@*RESULTS@#The mean age of the 60 patients who discontinued EMB was 64.4 years. Ocular toxicity was the most common cause of discontinuation of EMB (75.0%, 45/60). The mean duration of EMB administration before its discontinuation was 7.0 ± 4.6 months. The treatment failure rate of the 44 patients with EMB discontinuation analyzed for treatment outcome was 29.6%, which was higher than that of the matched patients who received the standard regimen (18.3%), although the difference was not significant (P = 0.095). Of these 44 patients, EMB was substituted with later-generation fluoroquinolone in 23 patients, and the treatment failure rate of these 23 patients was significantly higher than that of the matched patients who received the standard regimen (39.1% vs. 19.3%, P = 0.045).@*CONCLUSION@#These findings suggest that treatment outcomes are unsatisfactory in patients with MAC-LD who discontinue EMB owing to adverse events. Notably, there was a statistically significant high failure rate in patients who were prescribed fluoroquinolone to replace EMB.
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BACKGROUND@#Long-term administration of ethambutol (EMB) for Mycobacterium avium complex lung disease (MAC-LD) sometimes leads to permanent discontinuation of EMB due to various adverse events. This study aimed to investigate treatment outcomes after discontinuation of EMB.@*METHODS@#Among patients diagnosed with MAC-LD between January 2001 and December 2014, 508 patients whose treatment was initiated with standard regimen until May 2018 were enrolled at a tertiary referral center in Korea. Of these 508 patients, 60 (11.8%) discontinued EMB due to various adverse effects. Among these 60 patients, treatment outcomes were analyzed for 44 patients by comparing their outcomes with those of matched subjects who received the standard treatment regimen without EMB discontinuation.@*RESULTS@#The mean age of the 60 patients who discontinued EMB was 64.4 years. Ocular toxicity was the most common cause of discontinuation of EMB (75.0%, 45/60). The mean duration of EMB administration before its discontinuation was 7.0 ± 4.6 months. The treatment failure rate of the 44 patients with EMB discontinuation analyzed for treatment outcome was 29.6%, which was higher than that of the matched patients who received the standard regimen (18.3%), although the difference was not significant (P = 0.095). Of these 44 patients, EMB was substituted with later-generation fluoroquinolone in 23 patients, and the treatment failure rate of these 23 patients was significantly higher than that of the matched patients who received the standard regimen (39.1% vs. 19.3%, P = 0.045).@*CONCLUSION@#These findings suggest that treatment outcomes are unsatisfactory in patients with MAC-LD who discontinue EMB owing to adverse events. Notably, there was a statistically significant high failure rate in patients who were prescribed fluoroquinolone to replace EMB.
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BACKGROUND/AIMS@#Limited data are available regarding the efficacy of rivaroxaban for the treatment of cancer-associated venous thromboembolism (VTE). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of rivaroxaban for the treatment of VTE in active cancer patients.@*METHODS@#In this prospective, multicenter, open-label trial (NCT01989845), we enrolled patients with active cancer and objectively diagnosed lower-extremity deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism (PE), or both from November 2013 to June 2016. Active cancer was defined as a histologically confirmed malignancy, which was diagnosed or treated within the previous 6 months, or as a recurrent/metastatic cancer. Patients received oral rivaroxaban 15 mg twice daily for first 3 weeks, followed by 20 mg once daily for 6 months. The primary outcome was the symptomatic recurrent VTE and the secondary outcomes included any recurrent VTE, major or clinically relevant non-major (CRNM) bleeding events, and overall mortality. All study outcomes were validated by blinded central adjudication.@*RESULTS@#Of 124 patients enrolled, 110 (88.7%) had solid cancer, 93 (75.0%) had metastatic disease, and 110 (88.7%) were receiving chemotherapy or radiotherapy. During the 6-month study period, seven patients experienced symptomatic recurrent VTE (cumulative incidence, 5.9%), and two patients experienced incidental recurrent PE (cumulative incidence of any recurrent VTE, 7.6%). Major bleeding events occurred in six patients (cumulative incidence, 5.3%) and CRNM bleeding events in 11 patients (cumulative incidence, 10.2%). Twenty-eight patients (overall mortality, 24.0%) died.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Rivaroxaban is effective and safe for the treatment of VTE in patients with active cancer.
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Sarcoidosis, a systemic granulomatous disease of unknown etiology. The presentation of sarcoidal granuloma in neck nodes without typical manifestations of systemic sarcoidosis is difficult to diagnose. We describe the case of a 37-year-old woman with an increasing mass on the right side of neck. The excisional biopsy from the neck mass showed noncaseating epithelioid cell granuloma of the lymph nodes. No evidence of mycobacterial or fungal infection was noted. Thoracic evaluations did not show enlargement of mediastinal lymph nodes or parenchymal abnormalities. Immunohistochemistry showed abundant expression of tumor necrosis factor-alpha in the granuloma. However, transforming growth factor-beta was not expressed, although interleukin-1beta was focally expressed. These immunohistochemical findings supported characterization of the granuloma and the diagnosis of sarcoidosis. Sarcoidosis can present with cervical lymph node enlargement without mediastinal or lung abnormality. Immunohistochemistry may support the diagnosis of sarcoidosis and characterization of granuloma.