ABSTRACT
The aim of our study was to describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pneumonia who underwent elective tracheostomies. We investigated all COVID-19 patients who underwent elective tracheostomies in intensive care units (ICUs) of 23 hospitals in Hubei Province, China, from January 8, 2020 to March 25, 2020. Demographic information, clinical characteristics, treatment, details of the tracheostomy procedure, successful weaning after tracheostomy, and living status were collected and analyzed. A total of 80 patients were included. The median duration from endotracheal intubation to tracheostomy was 17.5 [IQR 11.3-27.0] days. Most tracheotomies were performed by ICU physicians (62 (77.5%)) and using percutaneous techniques (63 (78.8%)) at the ICU bedside (76 (95.0%)). At 60 days after intubation, 31 (38.8%) patients experienced successful weaning from the ventilator, 17 (21.2%) patients were discharged from the ICU, and 43 (53.8%) patients had died. Higher 60-day mortality (22 (73.3%) vs 21 (42.0%)) was identified in patients who underwent early tracheostomy. In patients with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia, tracheostomies were feasible to conduct by ICU physicians at bedside with few major complications. However, tracheostomies within 14 days of endotracheal intubation should be avoided.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Severe Acute Respiratory SyndromeABSTRACT
Multiorgan injuries are a major complication of severe COVID-19; however, its pathogenesis is barely understood. Herein, we profiled the host responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection by performing quantitative proteomics of COVID-19 postmortem samples, and provided a comprehensive proteome map covering the protein alterations in eight different organs/tissues. Our results revealed that lung underwent the most abundant protein alterations mainly enriched in immune-/inflammation-related or morphology-related processes, while surprisingly, other organs/tissues exhibited significant protein alterations mainly enriched in processes related with organ movement, respiration, and metabolism. These results indicate that the major cause of lung injury was excessive inflammatory response, and subsequent intravascular thrombosis and pulmonary architecture/function destruction, while other organs/tissues were mainly injured by hypoxia and functional impairment. Therefore, our findings demonstrate the significant pathophysiological alternations of host proteins/pathways associated with multiorgan injuries of COVID-19, which provides invaluable knowledge about COVID-19-associated host responses and sheds light on the pathogenesis of COVID-19.
Subject(s)
Pulmonary Embolism , Lung Diseases , Thrombosis , Hypoxia , COVID-19 , InflammationABSTRACT
The pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a global public health crisis. COVID-19 is marked by its rapid progression from mild to severe conditions, particularly in the absence of adequate medical care. However, the physiological changes associated with COVID-19 are barely understood. In this study, we performed untargeted metabolomic and lipidomic analyses of plasma from a cohort of COVID-19 patients who had experienced different symptoms. We found the metabolite and lipid alterations exhibit apparent correlation with the course of disease in these COVID-19 patients, indicating that the development of COVID-19 affected patient metabolism. Moreover, many of the metabolite and lipid alterations, particularly ones associated with hepatic functions, have been found to align with the progress and severity of COVID-19. This work provides valuable knowledge about blood biomarkers associated with COVID-19 and potential therapeutic targets, and presents important resource for further studies of COVID-19 pathogenesis.