Acute respiratory distress syndrome due to COVID-19. Clinical and prognostic features from a medical Critical Care Unit in Valencia, Spain Síndrome de dificultad respiratoria aguda asociado a la COVID-19. Características clínicas y de pronóstico en una unidad de cuidados intensivos de Valencia, España

Objective Information from critically ill coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients is limited and in many cases coming from health systems approaches different from the national public systems existing in most countries in Europe. Besides, patient follow-up remains incomplete in many publications. Our aim is to characterize acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) patients admitted to a medical critical care unit (MCCU) in a referral hospital in Spain. Design Retrospective case series of consecutive ARDS COVID-19 patients admitted and treated in our MCCU. Setting 36-bed MCCU in referral tertiary hospital. Patients and participants SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed by real-time reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay of nasal/pharyngeal swabs. Interventions None Main variables of interest Demographic and clinical data were collected, including data on clinical management, respiratory failure, and patient mortality. Results Forty-four ARDS COVID-19 patients were included in the study. Median age was 61.50 (53.25 – 67) years and most of the patients were male (72.7%). Hypertension and dyslipidemia were the most frequent co-morbidities (52.3 and 36.4% respectively). Steroids (1mg/Kg/day) and tocilizumab were administered in almost all patients (95.5%). 77.3% of the patients needed invasive mechanical ventilation for a median of 16 days [11-28]. Prone position ventilation was performed in 33 patients (97%) for a median of 3 sessions [2-5] per patient. Nosocomial infection was diagnosed in 13 patients (29.5%). Tracheostomy was performed in ten patients (29.4%). At study closing all patients had been discharged from the CCU and only two (4.5%) remained in hospital ward. MCCU length of stay was 18 days [10-27]. Mortality at study closing was 20.5% (n 9);26.5% among ventilated patients. Conclusions The seven-week period in which our MCCU was exclusively dedicated to COVID-19 patients has been challenging. Despite the severity of the patients and the high need for invasive mechanical ventilation, mortality was 20.5%.

The who, what, and how of virtual participation in environmental research

As a group of social scientists supporting a large, national, multi-site project dedicated to studying ecosystem services in natural resource production landscapes, we were tasked with co-hosting kick-off workshops at multiple locations. When, due to project design and the Covid-19 pandemic, we were forced to reshape our plans for these workshops and hold them online, we ended up changing our objectives. This redesign resulted in a new focus for our team—on the process of stakeholder and rightsholder engagement in environmental and sustainability research rather than the content of the workshops. Drawing on participant observation, surveys, and our professional experience, this perspective highlights lessons learned about organizing virtual stakeholder workshops to support landscape governance research and practice. We note that procedures followed for initiating stakeholder and rightsholder recruitment and engagement depend on the convenors' goals, although when multiple research teams are involved, the goals need to be negotiated. Further, more important than the robustness of engagement strategies is flexibility, feasibility, managing expectations—and keeping things simple.

The who, what, and how of virtual participation in environmental research.

As a group of social scientists supporting a large, national, multi-site project dedicated to studying ecosystem services in natural resource production landscapes, we were tasked with co-hosting kick-off workshops at multiple locations. When, due to project design and the Covid-19 pandemic, we were forced to reshape our plans for these workshops and hold them online, we ended up changing our objectives. This redesign resulted in a new focus for our team-on the process of stakeholder and rightsholder engagement in environmental and sustainability research rather than the content of the workshops. Drawing on participant observation, surveys, and our professional experience, this perspective highlights lessons learned about organizing virtual stakeholder workshops to support landscape governance research and practice. We note that procedures followed for initiating stakeholder and rightsholder recruitment and engagement depend on the convenors' goals, although when multiple research teams are involved, the goals need to be negotiated. Further, more important than the robustness of engagement strategies is flexibility, feasibility, managing expectations-and keeping things simple.

Clinical Benefit of Oral sabizabulin for Hospitalized Adults with CoVID-19 on Supplemental Oxygen

Background. Sabizabulin is an oral, novel microtubule disruptor with dual antiviral and anti-inflammatory activities. A randomized, multicenter placebo-controlled Phase 3 clinical trial was conducted in hospitalized moderate-severe COVID-19 patients at high-risk for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and death. Patients were randomized (2:1) to sabizabulin 9mg or placebo oral daily dose (up to 21 days). In a planned interim analysis, sabizabulin treatment resulted in a 55.2% relative reduction in mortality compared to placebo. Methods. The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality up to day 60. Key secondary endpoints were days in intensive care unit (ICU), on mechanical ventilation, and in hospital. Randomization was stratified by oxygen requirement at baseline (WHO 4 = supplemental oxygen, WHO 5 = NIV/forced oxygen, WHO 6 = mechanical ventilation). TheWHO4 patients also were required to have at least one comorbidity (Asthma, Chronic Lung Disease, Diabetes, Hypertension, Severe Obesity (BMI >=40), >=65 years of age, in a nursing/long-term care facility, or immunocompromised). A post-hoc analysis of the key efficacy outcomes inWHO4 at baseline patients with a comorbidity was conducted. Results. A total of 88 patients classified as WHO 4 with a baseline comorbidity underwent randomization (59 sabizabulin/29 placebo). Baseline characteristics were similar. Sabizabulin treatment resulted in a 22.4 absolute percentage point and 81.2% relative reduction in deaths compared to the placebo (odds ratio 6.22, 95% CI [1.58 to 24.48], p=0.0090). Mortality rate was 5.2% (3 of 58) for sabizabulin versus 27.6% (8 of 29) for placebo. Key secondary endpoints: sabizabulin treatment resulted in relative reductions of 74.7% in days in ICU (p=0.0021), 80.7% in days on mechanical ventilation (p=0.0019), and 39.8% in days in hospital (p=0.0191) vs placebo. Conclusion. Statistically and clinically significant reductions in mortality, days in the ICU, on mechanical ventilation, and in the hospital were observed in the sabizabulin treated compared to placebo hospitalized COVID-19 WHO-4 patients with at least one comorbidity suggesting that the antiviral action of sabizabulin contributes early in the prevention of COVID-19 progression to ARDS and death. (Figure Presented).

Medical Treatment of Eosinophilic Esophagitis: A Cochrane Review

Background Current therapies for pediatric and adult eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) include dietary elimination, proton pump inhibitors, swallowed corticosteroids, and biologics. Our aim is to systematically assess the efficacy and safety of published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of medical therapies for EoE that compare active treatments to placebo or to an active comparator. We consider RCTs that target the induction and maintenance phases of therapy, separately. Methods A search was designed by a Cochrane information specialist and included Cochrane Gut Register, CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, and clinicaltrials.gov databases, from inception to May 2022. Studies that met our search criteria were imported into Covidence for title and review. All authors participated in study screening, and each study was independently evaluated by two authors. Reports of RCTs that met the inclusion criteria were selected for full text review. Multiple reports of the same RCT were collapsed into the parent study. Data from these studies was then extracted to RevMan Web to assess study characteristics, including study design, EoE definition, inclusion / exclusion criteria, age range, interventions, number of patients randomized, number of patients who completed the study, primary and secondary outcomes and conflicts of interest. Studies were also assessed for potential sources of bias including baseline imbalance, selection, performance, detection, attrition, and reporting biases. We used Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) to assess the overall certainty of evidence supporting the primary outcome. Results As of May 2022, we identified 2,638 reports that met our search criteria of which 14 were duplicates, giving a total of 2,624 reports that were imported into Covidence for further review. Following title and screening, 259 reports were selected for full text review, which were collapsed into 46 distinct RCTs that met the inclusion criteria. The primary outcomes for our systematic review were histological improvement, endoscopic improvement, and clinical symptom improvement, all as defined by the study at study endpoint, and withdrawals due to adverse events. The secondary outcomes of our analysis were serious adverse events, endocrine complications, growth concerns, infections, and health-related quality of life. Study outcomes were analyzed on an intention-to-treat basis. Risk ratios (RRs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) are reported for dichotomous outcomes, and mean difference and standard deviation are reported for continuous outcomes. The data will be presented in full. Conclusions Results of this analysis inform clinicians about the efficacy and potential side effects of different medical therapies for EoE in both pediatric and adult populations. Deficiencies in our current knowledge will be highlighted and will provide direction for design of future RCTs in the field. Future research should continue to explore factors that influence initial and subsequent medical therapy selection for people with EoE.

An Advanced Machine Learning Algorithm for Intensive Care Decisions of COVID-19 Patients

COVID-19, an infectious respiratory disease, is a global health crisis and severely taxed healthcare systems. The SARS-CoV-2 virus damages lungs and other vital organs and even causes acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Currently, intensive care, including supplemental oxygen and ventilation, is used to treat severe cases. In this project, a Machine Learning algorithm was developed to predict intensive care needs for patients in the early stage of Covid-19. An advanced convolutional neural network (CNN) model was trained for image classification based on patient chest x-rays. After studying and comparing the performance of several advanced models, including Inception V3,ResNet50, Xception, EfficientNetB0, EfficientNetB7 and VGG16, It is identified that Inception V3showed the highest accuracy of the prediction. Based on Inception V3,an algorithm that demonstrates the highest accuracy of over 99% on both validation and testing datasets has been developed. The algorithm accurately makes predictions for which patients need immediate intensive care, so as to help the COVID19 patients' recovery and save more lives. © 2021 IEEE.

PHYSICIAN SCIENTISTS OF YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW

While the separate roles of physicians and scientists are well defined, the role of a physician scientist is broad and variable. In today's society, physician scientists are seen as a hybrid between the two fields and they are, therefore, expected to be key to the translation of biomedical research into clinical care. This article offers a narrative review on physician scientists and endeavours to answer whether there is an ongoing need for physician scientists today. The historical role of physician scientists is discussed and compared with physician scientists of the 21st century. Fundamental differences and similarities between the separate roles of physicians and scientists are examined as well as the current state of bench to bedside research. Finally, the ability of 21st century physician scientists to impact their respective medical and scientific fields in comparison to non-physician scientists will be discussed. This paper speculates as to why numbers of physician scientists are dwindling and uses the COVID-19 pandemic as an example of rapid translational research. Ultimately, we suggest that physician scientists are important and may have the most impact on their field by working to connect bedside and bench rather than simply working separately in the bedside and bench. To do this, physician scientists may need to lead clinical research teams composed of individuals from diverse training backgrounds.

Rox index predicts intubation in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia and moderate to severe hypoxemic respiratory failure receiving high flow nasal therapy

Introduction Use of high flow nasal therapy (HFNT) to treat COVID-19 pneumonia has been greatly debated around the world due to concern for increased healthcare worker transmission and delays in invasive mechanical Ventilation (IMV). Herein we analyze the utility of the ROX index to predict the need and timing for IMV in a retrospective analysis of patients with COVID-19 with moderate to severe hypoxemic respiratory failure treated with HFNT. Methods This was a retrospective analysis of 129 consecutive patients with COVID-19 admitted to Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from March 10, 2020, to May 17, 2020 with moderate to severe hypoxemic respiratory failure treated with High Flow nasal therapy (HFNT). HFNT patients were divided into two groups: HFNT only and HFNT progressed to IMV. The primary outcome was the ability of the ROX index to predict the need of IMV. Secondary outcomes were mortality, rates of intubation, length of stay (LOS) and rates of nosocomial infections in our cohort treated with HFNT were also reported. Results 837 patients with COVID-19 were screened, 129 met inclusion criteria. The mean age was 60.8(+13.6) years, BMI 32.6(+8), 58(45 %) were female, 72(55.8%) were African American, 40 (31%) Hispanic. 48 (37.2%) were smokers. Of the 129, 89 were HFNT only group whereas 40 in the HFNT progressed to IMV group. Mean time to intubation was 2.5 days(+ 3.3). The 89 HFNT only patients had a significant improvement in ROX from initiation of HFNT at all recorded time points. In contrast, the ROX in HFNT progressed to IMV patients remained unchanged or decreased over time. ROX index of less than 5 at HFNT initiation was predictive of progression to IMV (OR = 2.137, p = 0,052). Any decrease in ROX index after HFNT initiation was predictive of intubation (OR= 14.67, p <0.0001). In multivariate analysis, ΔROX (<=0 versus >0), peak D-dimer >4000 and admission GFR < 60 ml/min were very strongly predictive of need for IMV (ROC = 0.86, p=0.001). Mortality was 11.2% in HFNT only group versus 47.5% in the HFNT progressed to IMV group (p = 0.0001). Mortality and need for pulmonary vasodilators were higher in the HNFT progressed to IMV group. Conclusion ROX index is a valuable, noninvasive tool to evaluate patients with moderate to severe hypoxemic respiratory failure in COVID-19 treated with HFNT. ROX helps predicts need for IMV and thus limiting morbidity and mortality associated with IMV.

Thromboelastography (TEG) in COVID-19 patients-not all hypercoagulable

Introduction COVID-19 can lead to a severe inflammatory response and cytokine storm, which is associated with activation of blood coagulation, platelets, and endothelium leading to a severe prothrombotic state. Recent studies have interpreted TEG parameters of increased maximum amplitude (MA) and alpha angle (AA) as indicating a hypercoagulable pattern in patients with COVID-19. The definition of hypercoagulability in literature has been variable while some have used increased MA, others used increased coagulation index (CI) as a surrogate for a hypercoagulable state. Here we report our center experience using TEG to evaluate coagulation in COVID-19 patients. Methods Retrospective analysis of 37 critically ill patients that were evaluated using TEG on a single occasion along with standard coagulation tests. We defined hypercoagulable pattern as CI > 3;hypocoagulable pattern was defined as CI <-3;and normal pattern if CI was between-3-3. Results TEG patterns were interpreted as hypercoagulable in 5 (13.5%), normal in 22 (59.5%) and hypocoagulable in 10 (27%) patients using the TEG coagulation index (CI). MA and AA were elevated in 13 (35.1%) and 10 (27%) patients, respectively, and both were elevated in 8 (21.6%). Discussion Our results show a normal TEG pattern in most of our critically ill COVID-19 patients based on CI (Figure 1);only 5 (13.5%) showed a hypercoagulable pattern. These findings differ from previous reports of TEG in COVID-19 patients, where a hypercoagulable TEG pattern was shown in 83-90% of patients, in these reports interpretation of hypercoagulability was based on AA or MA. We used the CI to define a hypercoagulable state, which has been used to define hypercoagulability in orthopedic surgery and during pregnancy. An elevated MA or AA was seen in only 15 (40%) of our patients. Plasma fibrinogen, an acute-phase reactant, is also elevated in COVID-19 patients. The mean fibrinogen level in our patients was 364 mg/dl, which is lower than those reported by Panigada and Mortus, where mean fibrinogen levels were 680 and 740 mg/dl, respectively. The high MA may reflect the high fibrinogen observed in COVID-19 patients and this may explain the differences in the number of patients considered as “hypercoagulable” in our cohort compared to others. Conclusion;Our study in COVID-19 patients advances a caution in the interpretation of TEG parameters and its use as an indicator of a hypercoagulable state in COVID-19 patients.

Obesity outcomes in acute respiratory distress syndrome due to COVID-19: A retrospective single center experience

Introduction: The “obesity paradox” has been reported in critically ill patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Obese patients with ARDS were shown to have more ventilator free days and lower mortality compared to non-obese patients. One proposed explanation was increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines creating a protective environment from acute inflammation. In COVID-19, BMI ≥ 30 increases risk of illness severity, need for critical care, respiratory failure requiring use of invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV), and mortality. It is unknown if the “obesity paradox” applies to patients with SARS-CoV2 who require IMV. We examined a cohort of patients with respiratory failure due to COVID-19 who required IMV and compared outcomes between obese and non-obese patients. Methods: Data was collected from patients treated in the COVID Intensive Care Unit (ICU) from March to June 2020. A total of 85 patients were identified. All patients were COVID nasopharyngeal swab positive. Results: There were 38 (44.7%) patients with BMI < 30, and 47 (55.3%) with BMI ≥ 30. The median BMI was 25.5 in the BMI < 30 group, and 37.5 in the BMI ≥ 30 group. In the BMI < 30 group, median age was 67 years, majority male (65.8%) and African American (50%). The BMI ≥ 30 group had a median age of 63.5, majority male (53.2%) and African American (63.8%). Median Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score on admission was higher in the BMI ≥ 30 group at 3 (1.5-4.5) vs. 2 (1.0-4.0). There was elevated creatinine on admission with higher percentage of diabetes, heart failure, and renal disease in the BMI ≥ 30 group. Inflammatory markers, such as CRP and IL-6 were lower in the higher BMI group at presentation. There was higher in-hospital mortality in the BMI ≥ 30 group at 57.5%, with longer ICU length of stay (12.35 vs. 7.6 days), longer days on ventilator (10.2 vs. 4 days), and lower PaO2/FiO2 ratio after intubation (146 vs 348). The higher BMI group had higher rates of prone ventilation, paralytic use, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support. Discussion: From our data, obesity did not appear to have better outcomes in ARDS due to COVID-19 infection. Higher BMI was associated with higher disease severity, severe respiratory failure, longer ventilator days, longer ICU length of stay, and higher mortality. Interestingly, inflammatory markers were initially lower in obese patients, suggesting a possible adaptive physiologic response to inflammation, but without effect on overall outcomes.

Utility of remote monitoring and telemedicine in lung transplant recipients during COVID19 pandemic restrictions

Introduction: COVID19 pandemic has led to a significant increase in telemedicine utilization due to risk of healthcare acquired infection. Lung transplant recipients are high risk for infection and have extraordinary health care needs. The HGE remote symptom monitoring has been shown to be beneficial in COPD patients to decrease exacerbations and time to treatment1-8. During peak pandemic restrictions we transitioned to a telemedicine only system and patients were encouraged to enroll in the “HGE COVIDCare” for reporting daily symptoms suspicious for COVID19. With a combination of remote symptom monitoring and telemedicine, we aimed to provide early intervention and necessary care, while decreasing the risk of infection. This study assesses the feasibility and short-term outcomes of using this combination in lung transplant recipients. Methods: Single center, retrospective study of lung transplant recipients of who were enrolled in the HGE COVIDCare symptoms tracker program in March 2020. Pre-pandemic data was collected prior to March 15 and post pandemic restriction data was collected after July 15th, 2020. Patients were asked to report daily symptoms via HGE-COVID website, which was triaged by transplant nurses. We recorded self-reported symptoms from the symptom tracker, details of tele medicine visits and hospitalizations, and changes in pulmonary function tests. Results: The first 50 lung transplant recipients enrolled were included in this short-term analysis with most patients within one-year post transplant (66%). During the four-month pandemic restriction, 6 patients (12%) had “symptom events” reported via the tracker. None of the symptoms were due to COVID19. Etiologies included pneumonia, bronchial stenosis, diarrhea due to C diff and medication or symptoms self-resolving prior to team outreach. 8 patients (16%) were admitted to the hospital for non COVID indications and 2 patients died during this period due to sepsis. Post pandemic limitation PFTs were available for 35 (70%) patients. None of the patients had a decline in PFTs, compared to the “pre pandemic” values. The incidence of hospitalization or acute rejection was similar in the months preceding the pandemic compared to the 4-month pandemic restriction period. Conclusions: In lung transplant recipients, a combination of telemedicine and remote symptom monitoring is feasible and safe. It did not lead to increased rate of hospitalization, acute rejection or worsening lung function in this short term follow up. This model could be potentially followed to help decrease risk of healthcare acquired infections, patient visits and health care costs without impacting outcomes. .

Who Gets the Last Bed? A Discrete-Choice Experiment Examining General Population Preferences for Intensive Care Bed Prioritization in a Pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the key patient attributes important to members of the Australian general population when prioritizing patients for the final intensive care unit (ICU) bed in a pandemic over-capacity scenario. METHODS: A discrete-choice experiment administered online asked respondents (N = 306) to imagine the COVID-19 caseload had surged and that they were lay members of a panel tasked to allocate the final ICU bed. They had to decide which patient was more deserving for each of 14 patient pairs. Patients were characterized by 5 attributes: age, occupation, caregiver status, health prior to being infected, and prognosis. Respondents were randomly allocated to one of 7 sets of 14 pairs. Multinomial, mixed logit, and latent class models were used to model the observed choice behavior. RESULTS: A latent class model with 3 classes was found to be the most informative. Two classes valued active decision making and were slightly more likely to choose patients with caregiving responsibilities over those without. One of these classes valued prognosis most strongly, with a decreasing probability of bed allocation for those 65 y and older. The other valued both prognosis and age highly, with decreasing probability of bed allocation for those 45 y and older and a slight preference in favor of frontline health care workers. The third class preferred more random decision-making strategies. CONCLUSIONS: For two-thirds of those sampled, prognosis, age, and caregiving responsibilities were the important features when making allocation decisions, although the emphasis varies. The remainder appeared to choose randomly.

Impacts of COVID-19 on agriculture and food systems in Pacific Island countries (PICs): Evidence from communities in Fiji and Solomon Islands.

CONTEXT: COVID-19 mitigation measures including border lockdowns, social distancing, de-urbanization and restricted movements have been enforced to reduce the risks of COVID-19 arriving and spreading across PICs. To reduce the negative impacts of COVID-19 mitigation measures, governments have put in place a number of interventions to sustain food and income security. Both mitigation measures and interventions have had a number of impacts on agricultural production, food systems and dietary diversity at the national and household levels. OBJECTIVE: Our paper conducted an exploratory analysis of immediate impacts of both COVID-19 mitigation measures and interventions on households and communities in PICs. Our aim is to better understand the implications of COVID-19 for PICs and identify knowledge gaps requiring further research and policy attention. METHODS: To understand the impacts of COVID-19 mitigation measures and interventions on food systems and diets in PICs, 13 communities were studied in Fiji and Solomon Islands in July-August 2020. In these communities, 46 focus group discussions were carried out and 425 households were interviewed. Insights were also derived from a series of online discussion sessions with local experts of Pacific Island food and agricultural systems in August and September 2020. To complement these discussions, an online search was conducted for available literature. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Identified impacts include: 1) Reduced agricultural production, food availability and incomes due to a decline in local markets and loss of access to international markets; 2) Increased social conflict such as land disputes, theft of high-value crops and livestock, and environmental degradation resulting from urban-rural migration; 3) Reduced availability of seedlings, planting materials, equipment and labour in urban areas; 4) Reinvigoration of traditional food systems and local food production; and 5) Re-emergence of cultural safety networks and values, such as barter systems. Households in rural and urban communities appear to have responded positively to COVID-19 by increasing food production from home gardens, particularly root crops, vegetables and fruits. However, the limited diversity of agricultural production and decreased household incomes are reducing the already low dietary diversity score that existed pre-COVID-19 for households. SIGNIFICANCE: These findings have a number of implications for future policy and practice. Future interventions would benefit from being more inclusive of diverse partners, focusing on strengthening cultural and communal values, and taking a systemic and long-term perspective. COVID-19 has provided an opportunity to strengthen traditional food systems and re-evaluate, re-imagine and re-localize agricultural production strategies and approaches in PICs.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome due to COVID-19. Clinical and prognostic features from a medical Critical Care Unit in Valencia, Spain.

OBJECTIVE: Information from critically ill coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients is limited and in many cases coming from health systems approaches different from the national public systems existing in most countries in Europe. Besides, patient follow-up remains incomplete in many publications. Our aim is to characterize acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) patients admitted to a medical critical care unit (MCCU) in a referral hospital in Spain. DESIGN: Retrospective case series of consecutive ARDS COVID-19 patients admitted and treated in our MCCU. SETTING: 36-bed MCCU in referral tertiary hospital. PATIENTS AND PARTICIPANTS: SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed by real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay of nasal/pharyngeal swabs. INTERVENTIONS: None MAIN VARIABLES OF INTEREST: Demographic and clinical data were collected, including data on clinical management, respiratory failure, and patient mortality. RESULTS: Forty-four ARDS COVID-19 patients were included in the study. Median age was 61.50 (53.25 - 67) years and most of the patients were male (72.7%). Hypertension and dyslipidemia were the most frequent co-morbidities (52.3 and 36.4% respectively). Steroids (1mg/Kg/day) and tocilizumab were administered in almost all patients (95.5%). 77.3% of the patients needed invasive mechanical ventilation for a median of 16 days [11-28]. Prone position ventilation was performed in 33 patients (97%) for a median of 3 sessions [2-5] per patient. Nosocomial infection was diagnosed in 13 patients (29.5%). Tracheostomy was performed in ten patients (29.4%). At study closing all patients had been discharged from the CCU and only two (4.5%) remained in hospital ward. MCCU length of stay was 18 days [10-27]. Mortality at study closing was 20.5% (n 9); 26.5% among ventilated patients. CONCLUSIONS: The seven-week period in which our MCCU was exclusively dedicated to COVID-19 patients has been challenging. Despite the severity of the patients and the high need for invasive mechanical ventilation, mortality was 20.5%.

Addressing the triple burden of malnutrition in the time of COVID-19 and climate change in Small Island Developing States: what role for improved local food production?

The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on food and nutrition insecurity are likely to be significant for Small Island Developing States due to their high dependence on foreign tourism, reliance on imported foods and underdeveloped local food production systems. SIDS are already experiencing high rates of nutrition-related death and disability, including double and triple burdens of malnutrition due to unhealthy diets. We consider the potential role for improved local food production to offset the severity of food system shocks in SIDS and identify the need for localized approaches to embrace systems thinking in order to facilitate communication, coordination and build resilience.