Evaluation and comparison of utility of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) as a diagnostic marker in covid-19 infection

Introduction: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which was first described during a pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan, has attracted tremendous attention in a short period of time as the death toll and the number of confirmed cases is growing unceasingly. Although molecular testing is the gold standard method of SARS-CoV-2 detection, the existence of the false-negative results presents a major limitation to this method. Material(s) and Method(s): Our present study aimed to determine the relationship between NLR and COVID-19 patients underwent treatment. The study was an analytical observational with a cross-sectional approach from May 2021 to January 2022 at the SMMH Medical College, Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Result(s): COVID-19 infection is caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Diabetes mellitus and heart disease comorbid have high morbidity and mortality. Increased Neutrophils to Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) assist in early screening of disease severity, especially patients admitted in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). There was a correlation between NLR in COVID-19 patients who were severely ill and admitted in the ICU with p=0.012. Conclusion(s): Increased NLR of COVID-19 patients occurs due to infiltration of the innate and adaptive immune system in infected tissue, resulting in decreased circulating lymphocytes. This subsequently increases NLR in COVID-19 patients. This study found a moderate positive correlation between NLR in COVID-19 patients who were severely ill. Copyright © 2022 Ubiquity Press. All rights reserved.

Acute Macroglossia: The Conspicuous Brunt of Proning

Introduction: Macroglossia is defined as an enlargement of the tongue in the resting position, protruding beyond the teeth. Many cases have been reported secondary to patient positioning while under anesthesia, post oro-pharyngeal packing, trauma or surgery, and allergic or non-allergic angioedema. However, acute macroglossia in the ICU is a rare situation. In COVID-19 related severe ARDS, endotracheal intubation and prolonged proning is an important part of management of hypoxemic respiratory failure Prone positioning also has the potential to independently cause macroglossia. Awareness of this complication of proning could help mitigate morbidity in patients. Case report: A 53-year-old diabetic, hypertensive overweight female with OSA presented with progressive shortness of breath and productive cough. She was mechanically ventilated in ICU in view of respiratory distress secondary to COVID-19 pneumonia. Intubation was minimally traumatic with minimal oral bleeding settling over few minutes. Though managed with medications as per COVID-19 management protocol, she progressed to severe ARDS hence proned on hospital day 1 for 16 hours - PaO2/FiO2 ratio improved. She was not proned further. Acute macroglossia (3 inches outside the oral cavity) with lower facial edema was noted 4 days post proning. Saline moistened gauze was loosely wrapped around the tongue every hour. Circumferential ecchymosis was noticed around her neck on the 6th day. On day 8, macroglossia did not show signs of resolution. Hence, the tongue was pushed in manually every 2 hourly and the position was maintained manually for 10 minutes. The swelling decreased gradually with the tongue staying in a retracted position on treatment day 2. On day 3, there was a complete resolution of the swelling. However, she had persistent swallowing difficulty causing difficulty in weaning from tracheostomy. MRI of neck and chest showed large pre-vertebral collection from the upper border of C2 inferiorly across the thoracic inlet to the posterior mediastinum with thin linear extension up to the lower border of T4. Mass effect with airway compression, displacement, and compression of esophagus and neck vessels was seen. Trans-oral exploration revealed mucosal rent and bulge in the posterior pharyngeal wall. The hematoma was evacuated by ENT specialists. She was discharged on tracheostomy and feeding tube. Tracheostomy decannulation was done after 1 month. Discussion: In our practice of proning patients with ARDS for >10 years, this is the first case of macroglossia as a complication of proning that we encountered. Other factors that could have contributed to this patient are obesity and mildly traumatic intubation. Development of macroglossia 4 days after proning and resolution over a short period of time is rare and suggests lymphatic and vascular compression as the cause. Later development of ecchymosis and dysphagia may be due to the posterior pharyngeal injury. Conclusion: Proning, especially in obese patients, can be a challenge. Positioning of the face and avoidance of injury to any of the structures is vital to the care of the proned patient. Medical staff involved in patient care should be aware and vigilant to pick up this condition early to avoid further injury.

Immune-mediated Acute Limb Ischemia: A Rare Complication of SARS-CoV-19 Infection

Occurrence of acute limb ischaemia (ALI) in patients with SARS-CoV-2 is an uncommon complication. COVID-19 has been associated with thrombotic disease secondary to a hypercoagulable state. COVID-19 appears to cause a hypercoagulable state through mechanisms unique to SARS-CoV-2 and centres on the cross-talk between thrombosis and inflammation. The proposed hypothesis includes a severely heightened inflammatory response that leads to thrombotic inflammation, through a mechanism such as cytokine storm, complement activation, and endothelitis. The innate and adaptive immune responses result in immunemediated thrombosis, leading to thrombotic complications, such as myocardial infarction, pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis, and stroke. The activation of coagulation (D-dimer) and thrombocytopenia are important prognostic markers in SARSCoV- 19 infections. At our institution, we found six patients to have ALI and reviewed their characteristics and outcomes. Our findings showed that in severe COVID-19 disease, the association of ALI had high mortality. Materials and methods: It is a retrospective observational study performed at Bangalore Baptist hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic (August 2020 to August 2021). We report a case series of 6 ALI patients aged between 30 and 55 years. All the patients were tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 disease. All our patients received standard treatment care as per institution protocol for SARS-CoV-2 disease. They were all commenced on therapeutic anticoagulation at admission to ICU. Baseline coagulation profile and inflammatory markers and their trends were followed in all patients. The diagnosis of ALI in all ventilated patients was done clinically by the presence of pallor, pulselessness, acrocyanosis, blisters, and dry care unit with SARS-CoV-2 disease, 6 patients had developed limb ischemia (1.4%). Male and female preponderance was equal. Among 6 patients, 1 was newly detected diabetes mellitus, 2 were diabetic and hypertensive of which one had right upper limb post-polio paralytic sequelae, and the rest had no co-morbidities. The mean duration of ICU stay and mechanical ventilation days was 22 days and 17.8 days, respectively. All the patients had lower limb ischemia of which 3 were unilateral. Discoloration extended up to the ankle joint in almost all cases. As these patients were on the ventilator secondary to severe hypoxemia or vasopressor support, they were managed conservatively. Two patients presented with stroke, pyelonephritis with acute kidney injury, and septic shock requiring high vasopressor support. 5 of 6 patients died during the course of treatment (mortality 83%). All patients showed high inflammatory markers especially D-dimer during the initial development phase of limb ischemia. 1 survived patient required bilateral foot amputation due to dry gangrene. Conclusion: Limb ischemia with tissue necrosis is a dreadful complication and is associated with high mortality. High incidence of thrombosis despite therapeutic anticoagulation raises a question about pathophysiology unique to COVID-19. Evidence of inflammatory-mediated thrombosis and endothelial injury are possible explanations which would support the use of immunotherapy in addition to anticoagulation for the treatment of thrombotic events. Further insight into the cause and management of thrombosis is needed.