Correlation between hyponatremia and the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 / 中华危重病急救医学

Objective:To investigate the correlation between hyponatremia and the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).Methods:Clinical data of 12 patients with COVID-19 admitted to Shantou Central Hospital from January 23 to February 5 in 2020 were retrospectively analyzed, including gender, age, symptoms, lab test and clinical outcomes, to analyze the change trend of blood Na + level in the patients with COVID-19. Results:Among the 12 patients with COVID-19, there were 8 males and 4 females with the mean age of (38.0±16.3) years old, most of them were admitted to the hospital with cough and/or fever. All patients had a positive nucleic acid test for 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), and were discharged after clinical treatment with oxygen therapy, antiviral, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and nutritional support. All patients were of ordinary type when they were admitted to the hospital. Among them, 1 patient turned into a severe case during the course of the disease, and 1 patient showed a tendency to become severe case. It was found that 10 patients without severe conversion had an average blood Na + of (138.3±1.3) mmol/L at admission, and the lowest blood Na + during the course of disease was (135.9±3.1) mmol/L. However, 2 patients who became severe and had a tendency to become severe disease (Na + levels at admission were 140.0 mmol/L and 138.0 mmol/L, respectively) experienced hyponatremia during the course of the disease (the lowest blood Na + levels were 129.0 mmol/L and 122.0 mmol/L). Further analysis showed that the lower serum Na + level, the higher level of white blood cell count (WBC) and C-reactive protein (CRP), but serum Na + level was consistent with the change trend of lymphocytes, suggesting that hyponatremia was closely correlated with severe inflammation reaction. Conclusions:Serum Na + showed decreasing tendency during the development of COVID-19, and hyponatremia was closely related to the severity of COVID-19. It was necessary to pay great attention to the change trend of blood Na + level. However, further research was needed to obtain more reliable conclusions and explorer the pathophysiological mechanisms.

Predictive value of red blood cell distribution width for acute kidney injury in children with sepsis / 中国当代儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the clinical value of red blood cell distribution width (RDW) in the early prediction of acute kidney injury (AKI) in children with sepsis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 126 children with sepsis were divided into an AKI group (n=66) and a non-AKI group (n=60) according to the presence or absence of AKI. These patients were also classified into high-RDW and low-RDW groups according to the mean RDW. The groups were compared in terms of age, male-to-female ratio, body mass index (BMI), Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) score, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score, serum blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine (Cr), uric acid (UA), serum C-reactive protein (CRP), and routine blood test results. Independent factors associated with RDW were analyzed by multiple linear regression.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Age, male-to-female ratio, BMI, CRP, SOFA score, and APACHE II score did not differ significantly between the AKI and non-AKI groups (P>0.05), but the AKI group had significantly higher BUN, Cr, UA, and RDW levels than the non-AKI group (P<0.05). Age, male-to-female ratio, and BMI did not differ significantly between the high-RDW and low-RDW groups (P>0.05), but the high-RDW group had significantly higher BUN, Cr, UA, CRP, SOFA score, APACHE II score, Hb, and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) than the low-RDW group (P<0.05). The multiple linear regression analysis showed that age, sex, APACHE II score, Cr, Hb, and MCV were independent factors associated with RDW.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>RDW has a certain clinical value in the early prediction of AKI in children with sepsis.</p>

Role of procalcitonin in the diagnosis of acute pyelonephritis in children / 中国当代儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the role of procalcitonin (PCT) in the diagnosis of acute pyelonephritis (APN) in children.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical records of children aged under 3 years who were diagnosed with primary urinary tract infection (UTI) from September 2011 to February 2012. These children were divided into those with upper UTI (UUTI) (APN) and those with lower UTI (LUTI) (non-APN) based on 99mTc-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) renal scan results as a gold standard. The UUTI and LUTI groups were compared in terms of serum levels of PCT and C-reactive protein (CRP). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were drawn to evaluate the diagnostic values of serum PCT and CRP.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Sixty-five children with UTI, including 39 cases of APN and 26 cases of LUTI, were included in this study. The APN cases had significantly higher serum levels of PCT (3.08 ng/mL vs 0.37 ng/Ml; P<0.01) and CRP (6.25 mg/L vs 3.01 mg/L; P<0.01) than the LUTI cases. The sensitivity and specificity of serum PCT level for APN were 84.6% and 88.5%, respectively, with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.873 (95%CI=0.781-0.965) and an optimal threshold point of 1.03 ng/mL. The sensitivity and specificity of serum CRP level for APN were 71.8% and 69.2%, respectively, with an AUC of 0.735 (95%CI=0.612-0.858) and an optimal threshold point of 3.91 mg/L.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>As a result of its high sensitivity and specificity for the disease, serum PCT can be used as a marker in the early diagnosis of APN in children.</p>