The association of antiviral drugs with COVID-19 morbidity: The retrospective analysis of a nationwide COVID-19 cohort.

Background and objectives: Although several repurposed antiviral drugs have been used for the treatment of COVID-19, only a few such as remdesivir and molnupiravir have shown promising effects. The objectives of our study were to investigate the association of repurposed antiviral drugs with COVID-19 morbidity. Methods: Patients admitted to 26 different hospitals located in 16 different provinces between March 11-July 18, 2020, were enrolled. Case definition was based on WHO criteria. Patients were managed according to the guidelines by Scientific Board of Ministry of Health of Turkey. Primary outcomes were length of hospitalization, intensive care unit (ICU) requirement, and intubation. Results: We retrospectively evaluated 1,472 COVID-19 adult patients; 57.1% were men (mean age = 51.9 ± 17.7years). A total of 210 (14.3%) had severe pneumonia, 115 (7.8%) were admitted to ICUs, and 69 (4.7%) were intubated during hospitalization. The median (interquartile range) of duration of hospitalization, including ICU admission, was 7 (5-12) days. Favipiravir (n = 328), lopinavir/ritonavir (n = 55), and oseltamivir (n = 761) were administered as antiviral agents, and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ, n = 1,382) and azithromycin (n = 738) were used for their immunomodulatory activity. Lopinavir/ritonavir (ß [95% CI]: 4.71 [2.31-7.11]; p = 0.001), favipiravir (ß [95% CI]: 3.55 [2.56-4.55]; p = 0.001) and HCQ (ß [95% CI]: 0.84 [0.02-1.67]; p = 0.046) were associated with increased risk of lengthy hospital stays. Furthermore, favipiravir was associated with increased risks of ICU admission (OR [95% CI]: 3.02 [1.70-5.35]; p = 0.001) and invasive mechanical ventilation requirement (OR [95% CI]: 2.94 [1.28-6.75]; p = 0.011). Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated that antiviral drugs including lopinavir, ritonavir, and favipiravir were associated with negative clinical outcomes such as increased risks for lengthy hospital stay, ICU admission, and invasive mechanical ventilation requirement. Therefore, repurposing such agents without proven clinical evidence might not be the best approach for COVID-19 treatment.

The association of antiviral drugs with COVID-19 morbidity: The retrospective analysis of a nationwide COVID-19 cohort

Background and objectives Although several repurposed antiviral drugs have been used for the treatment of COVID-19, only a few such as remdesivir and molnupiravir have shown promising effects. The objectives of our study were to investigate the association of repurposed antiviral drugs with COVID-19 morbidity. Methods Patients admitted to 26 different hospitals located in 16 different provinces between March 11–July 18, 2020, were enrolled. Case definition was based on WHO criteria. Patients were managed according to the guidelines by Scientific Board of Ministry of Health of Turkey. Primary outcomes were length of hospitalization, intensive care unit (ICU) requirement, and intubation. Results We retrospectively evaluated 1,472 COVID-19 adult patients;57.1% were men (mean age = 51.9 ± 17.7years). A total of 210 (14.3%) had severe pneumonia, 115 (7.8%) were admitted to ICUs, and 69 (4.7%) were intubated during hospitalization. The median (interquartile range) of duration of hospitalization, including ICU admission, was 7 (5–12) days. Favipiravir (n = 328), lopinavir/ritonavir (n = 55), and oseltamivir (n = 761) were administered as antiviral agents, and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ, n = 1,382) and azithromycin (n = 738) were used for their immunomodulatory activity. Lopinavir/ritonavir (β [95% CI]: 4.71 [2.31–7.11];p = 0.001), favipiravir (β [95% CI]: 3.55 [2.56–4.55];p = 0.001) and HCQ (β [95% CI]: 0.84 [0.02–1.67];p = 0.046) were associated with increased risk of lengthy hospital stays. Furthermore, favipiravir was associated with increased risks of ICU admission (OR [95% CI]: 3.02 [1.70–5.35];p = 0.001) and invasive mechanical ventilation requirement (OR [95% CI]: 2.94 [1.28–6.75];p = 0.011). Conclusion Our findings demonstrated that antiviral drugs including lopinavir, ritonavir, and favipiravir were associated with negative clinical outcomes such as increased risks for lengthy hospital stay, ICU admission, and invasive mechanical ventilation requirement. Therefore, repurposing such agents without proven clinical evidence might not be the best approach for COVID-19 treatment.

COVID-19 Olgularının Postmortem Biyopsi Örneklerinin Değerlendirilmesi

Amaç: Bu prospektif çalışmada Koronavirüs hastalığı-2019 (COVID-19) nedeniyle yaşamını yitiren 12 olgunun akciğer, karaciğer, kalp ve böbrek biyopsi bulgularının paylaşması amaçlanmıştır. Gereç ve Yöntem: Çalışma, Sağlık Bakanlığı ve yerel etik komite (26.06.2020/520-SBKAEK) izni sonrasında yazılı onam alınan COVID-19 tanılı 12 olgu (≥18 yaş) dahil edilerek, Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Bilimsel Araştırma Projeleri Koordinasyon Birimi desteği ile gerçekleştirilmiştir. Olguların klinik ve laboratuvar verileri, patolojik incelemeler, immünohistokimyasal değerlendirmeler ve doku gerçek zamanlıpolimeraz zincir reaksiyonu (RT-PCR) test pozitifliği kaydedilmiştir. Örneklemeler, postmortem ilk 1 saat içerisinde tru-cut veya transtrakeal punch biyopsi şeklinde gerçekleştirilmiştir. Bulgular: Olguların %50’si kadındı. Ortalama yaş 70 (49-88) yıldı. Olguların klinik ve laboratuvar verileri sırasıyla Tablo 1 ve 2’de özetlenmiştir. Bir kalp, dört akciğer biyopsisi patolojik inceleme için uygun bulunmadı. Tüm olguların akciğerinde alveolar epitel hücre hasarı saptandı. Fibrin birikimi, fibroblastik proliferasyon, diffüz alveolar hasar ve tip 2 pnömosit hiperplazisi diğer yaygın bulgulardı. Hyalin membran formasyonu yalnızca 7. hastada izlendi. Kardiyak incelemelerde 2. hastadaki lenfositik infiltrasyon dışında bulgu saptanmadı. Böbrek biyopsilerinde en sık izlenen bulgular, pigmente cast, non-izometrik vakuolar dejenerasyon ve kapiller tıkaç idi. Glomeruloskleroz ve hemosiderin birikimi 6 ve 11 numaralı olgularda izlendi. Rutin hemodiyaliz hastası olan 7. hastada kronik böbrek yetmezliğine uygun bulgular saptandı. Ayrıca, 8 numaralı hastada, interstisyel enflamasyon, hemoraji ve vaskülit saptandı. Karaciğer incelemelerinde, lobüler lenfositik infiltrasyon, sentrilobüler sinüzoidal dilatasyon en sık gözlenen bulgulardı. Hasta 8’de nekroz ve fibrozis diğer dikkat çekici bulguydu. Ímmünohistokimyasal incelemelerde, şiddetli akut solunum sendromu-koronavirüs-2 (SARS-CoV-2) nükleoprotein antikor pozitifliği 3 hastada izlendi. Bu hastalardan, hasta 5’te ve 6’da akciğerde RT-PCR testi pozitif saptandı. Hasta 7’de de akciğer RT-PCR testi pozitifti. Akciğerde ACE2 reseptör pozitifliği yalnızca hasta 5’te saptandı. Hastaların yarısından fazlasında böbrekte ACE2 reseptör pozitifliği izlendi. Hasta 5’te ve 12’de böbreklerde SARS-CoV-2 nükleoprotein antikoru saptandı. Hasta 5’in böbrek dokusunda RT-PCR test pozitifliği de izlendi. Sonuç: Bulgular, literatürde sepsis nedeniyle tedavi edilen olgulardaki biyopsi sonuçlarıyla benzer bulunmuş olup, daha kapsamlı tanımlamalar için yeni çalışmalara ihtiyaç vardır. (Turkish) [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Turkish Journal of Intensive Care is the property of Galenos Yayinevi Tic. LTD. STI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

COVID-19 Pandemic Action Plan of a University Hospital.

In December 2019, in Wuhan, China, scientists observed a sudden and sharp increase in the number of cases of pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome of an unknown origin. By the end of January 2020, the outbreak had spread to Asia, Europe, America, and Australia. In this article, we have outlined the pandemic action plan of our university hospital.

The predictors of COVID-19 mortality in a nationwide cohort of Turkish patients.

The COVID-19-related death rate varies between countries and is affected by various risk factors. This multicenter registry study was designed to evaluate the mortality rate and the related risk factors in Turkey. We retrospectively evaluated 1500 adults with COVID-19 from 26 centers who were hospitalized between March 11 and July 31, 2020. In the study group, 1041 and 459 cases were diagnosed as definite and highly probable cases, respectively. There were 993 PCR-positive cases (66.2%). Among all cases, 1144 (76.3%) were diagnosed with non-severe pneumonia, whereas 212 (14.1%) had severe pneumonia. Death occurred in 67 patients, corresponding to a mortality rate of 4.5% (95% CI:3.5-5.6). The univariate analysis demonstrated that various factors, including male sex, age ≥65 years and the presence of dyspnea or confusion, malignity, chronic obstructive lung disease, interstitial lung disease, immunosuppressive conditions, severe pneumonia, multiorgan dysfunction, and sepsis, were positively associated with mortality. Favipiravir, hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin were not associated with survival. Following multivariate analysis, male sex, severe pneumonia, multiorgan dysfunction, malignancy, sepsis and interstitial lung diseases were found to be independent risk factors for mortality. Among the biomarkers, procalcitonin levels on the 3rd-5th days of admission showed the strongest associations with mortality (OR: 6.18; 1.6-23.93). This study demonstrated that the mortality rate in hospitalized patients in the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic was a serious threat and that those patients with male sex, severe pneumonia, multiorgan dysfunction, malignancy, sepsis and interstitial lung diseases were at increased risk of mortality; therefore, such patients should be closely monitored.