Differencies between former smokers and non-smokers during post-Covid period

Previous studies comparing treatment outcomes and the recovery of smokers after COVID 19 infection have yielded contradictory results. The aim of this retrospective study was to compare recovery and the rate of posthospital complications of former long-term smokers (FS) with non-smoking (NS) controls observed in PostCovid out-clinic hospital. We compared 88 FS and 96 NS, who had suffered from moderate to severe Covid-19 pneumonia, and were observed during 1-year follow-up period. The inclusion criteria were positive PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 infection and hospitalization due to acute respiratory failure. We compared lung function tests, blood gas analyses, onset of new symptoms and incidence of thrombotic incidents. Mean age of participants was 64.8+/-11.4 years for NS and 63.8+/-8.8 years for FS. At the beginning of follow-up FS group had significantly lower pulmonary function tests vs NS, including FEV1 (89.9% vs 94.6%, p<0.01);FVC (87.5% vs 94.3%, p< 0.01);DLco (62.3% vs 72.7%, p< 0.01), with a tendency for slower recovery during subsequent examinations. There was no significant difference between two groups regarding blood gas levels, number of reported symptoms and incidence of pulmonary embolism (7 vs 7). According to the results we can conclude that former smokers initially had worse lung function scores and prolonged recovery course. However, there was no significant difference in the number of symptoms and the frequency of thrombotic complications.

Venous and arterial thromboses in hospitalized patients with acute COVID-19 at University Hospital Dubrava

Since COVID-19 pandemic has started, there have been reports that SARS-CoV-2 infection induces pro-thrombotic state. Even though the disease presents foremost with respiratory symptoms, high frequencies of both venous and arterial thromboses have been observed while suggesting different molecular mechanisms. University Hospital Dubrava has been Croatia capital's COVID-19 centre for almost a year and a half treating almost 10.000 patients until today. We retrospectively analysed venous and arterial thrombotic events among 4014 patients hospitalized due to COVID-19. Venous thromboembolic events (VTE) occurred in 5.3% and arterial thrombotic events (ATE) in 5.8% of patients. Majority of ATE occurred prior or on the day of admission while VTE were mainly detected during hospitalization (screening). Majority of both occurred prior to intensive care unit (ICU) admission, but both were associated with higher need for ICU care and prolonged immobilization. In multivariate logistic regression analysis independent factors associated with VTE were metastatic malignancy, known thrombophilia, higher D-dimers, longer duration of disease on admission, bilateral pneumonia, longer duration of hospitalization and immobilization for at least one day. On the other hand, factors that showed to be associated with ATE were less severe COVID-19, higher Charlson comorbidity index, history of arterial diseases, aspirin use, lower C reactive protein, better functional status on admission and immobilization for at least one day. In conclusion, venous and arterial thromboses differ in all above mentioned factors thus leaving room for appropriate prevention, intervention and treatment.

The impact of COVID-19 pandemic and national lockdown on the surgical care of ophthalmic patients in a tertiary health care institution

Introduction/Objective World Health Organization in January 2020 declared a pandemic of the coro-navirus disease named COVID-19. The state of emergency in the Republic of Serbia began on March 15 2020, which greatly influenced the treatment of those patients who were not affected by COVID-19. The aim of this paper is to compare the most common ophthalmic surgeries during quarantine with those performed in 2019 in the same period. Methods This is a retrospective study. We collected data from the operating protocol of the main ophthalmic operating room. We have followed the changes related to surgical procedures during these two years. Results During the state of emergency, significantly more operations were performed on male patients than on female patients compared to the same period in 2019 (p = 0.043). In the observed period, in 2019 significantly more patients older than 65 were surgically treated (p < 0.001). During 2019, there were 397 (64.3%) elective and 220 (35.7%) urgent procedures, while for the same period next year there were 9 (9.1%) elective and 90 (90.9%) urgent procedures. Significantly more urgent interventions were performed during 2020 compared to 2019 (p < 0.001). Conclusion The coronavirus pandemic has led to numerous changes in the treatment of ophthalmic patients. Many patients did not have access to adequate treatment, which certainly led to the impair-ment of many ophthalmic diseases. © 2022, Serbia Medical Society. All rights reserved.

Incidence and risk factors for venous and arterial thromboses in hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019: data on 4014 patients from a tertiary center registry

AIM: To evaluate the burden and predictors of thromboembolic complications in a large real-life cohort of hospitalized patients with established coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the records of 4014 consecutive adult patients admitted to a tertiary-level institution because of COVID-19 from March 2020 to March 2021 for the presence of venous and arterial thrombotic events. RESULTS: Venous-thromboembolic (VTE) events were present in 5.3% and arterial thrombotic events in 5.8% patients. The majority of arterial thromboses occurred before or on the day of admission, while the majority of VTE events occurred during hospitalization. The majority of both types of events occurred before intensive care unit (ICU) admission, although both types of events were associated with a higher need for ICU use and prolonged immobilization. In multivariate logistic regression, VTE events were independently associated with metastatic malignancy, known thrombophilia, lower mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, higher D-dimer, lower lactate dehydrogenase, longer duration of disease on admission, bilateral pneumonia, longer duration of hospitalization, and immobilization for at least one day. Arterial thromboses were independently associated with less severe COVID-19, higher Charlson comorbidity index, coronary artery disease, peripheral artery disease, history of cerebrovascular insult, aspirin use, lower C reactive protein, better functional status on admission, ICU use, immobilization for at least one day, absence of hyperlipoproteinemia, and absence of metastatic malignancy. CONCLUSION: Among hospitalized COVID-19 patients, venous and arterial thromboses differ in timing of presentation, association with COVID-19 severity, and other clinical characteristics.