Outcomes of COVID-19 Complications and their Possibilities as Potential Triggers of Stroke.

INTRODUCTION: There is limited literature on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID -19) complications such as thromboembolism, cardiac complications etc. as possible trigger for stroke. Hence, we aim to evaluate the prevalence and outcomes of COVID-19 related cardiovascular complications and secondary infection and their possibility as potential triggers for the stroke. METHODS: Data from observational studies describing the complications [acute cardiac injury (ACI), cardiac arrhythmias (CA), disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), septic shock, secondary infection] and outcomes of COVID-19 hospitalized patients from December 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020, were extracted following PRISMA guidelines. Adverse outcomes defined as intensive care units, oxygen saturation less than 90%, invasive mechanical ventilation, severe disease, and in-hospital mortality. The odds ratio and 95% confidence interval were obtained, and forest plots were created using random-effects models. A short review of these complications as triggers of stroke was conducted. RESULTS: 16 studies with 3480 confirmed COVID-19 patients, prevalence of ACI [38%vs5.9%], CA [26%vs5.3%], DIC [4%vs0.74%], septic shock [18%vs0.36%], and infection [30%vs12.5%] was higher among patients with poor outcomes. In meta-analysis, ACI [aOR:9.93(95%CI:3.95-25.00], CA [7.52(3.29-17.18)], DIC [7.36(1.24-43.73)], septic shock [30.12(7.56-120.10)], and infection [10.41(4.47-24.27)] had higher odds of adverse outcomes. Patients hospitalized with acute ischemic stroke and intracerebral hemorrhage, had complications like pulmonary embolism, venous thromboembolism, DIC, etc. and had poor outcomes CONCLUSION: The complications like acute cardiac injury, cardiac arrhythmias, DIC, septic shock, and secondary infection had poor outcomes. Patients with stroke were having history of these complications. Long term monitoring is required in such patients to prevent stroke and mitigate adverse outcomes.

Diarrhea Is Associated with Increased Severity of Disease in COVID-19: Systemic Review and Metaanalysis.

COVID-19 has become a pandemic since its emergence in Wuhan, China. The disease process was initially defined by presence of respiratory symptoms; however, it is now well studied and shown in evidence that this is a multisystem process. Involvement of gastrointestinal (GI) system has been identified, and GI symptoms can be the only presenting symptoms in some patients. Hence, it is important to identify and understand the GI symptoms associated with COVID-19 for appropriate care of patient. We conducted a systematic review and metaanalysis to identify the GI symptoms of COVID-19 and identify association of diarrhea with severity of COVID-19. We performed extensive search of Medline and Embase from December 2019 to May 2020 to identify articles reporting GI symptoms in COVID-19 patients. The primary outcome was prevalence of GI symptoms in COVID-19 patients, and secondary outcome was the association of diarrhea with disease severity. A total of 38 studies with 8407 patients were included. Of the total patients, 15.47% patients had at least one GI symptom. The pooled prevalence of nausea/vomiting was 7.53% and diarrhea was 11.52%. On metaanalysis, patients with diarrhea as one of the presenting symptoms were more likely to have severe disease (OR 1.63, 95% CI: 1.11-3.38, p = 0.01). Our systematic review and metaanalysis demonstrated that GI symptoms are common in COVID-19. Presence of diarrhea as a presenting symptom is associated with increased disease severity and likely worse prognosis. Early recognition of patients is needed for prompt management of this at-risk population. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42399-020-00662-w.

Age-Adjusted Risk Factors Associated with Mortality and Mechanical Ventilation Utilization Amongst COVID-19 Hospitalizations-a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

The increasing COVID-19 cases in the USA have led to overburdening of healthcare in regard to invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) utilization as well as mortality. We aim to identify risk factors associated with poor outcomes (IMV and mortality) of COVID-19 hospitalized patients. A meta-analysis of observational studies with epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 in PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and medRxiv from December 1, 2019 to May 31, 2020 following MOOSE guidelines was conducted. Twenty-nine full-text studies detailing epidemiological characteristics, symptoms, comorbidities, complications, and outcomes were included. Meta-regression was performed to evaluate effects of comorbidities, and complications on outcomes using a random-effects model. The pooled correlation coefficient (r), 95% CI, and OR were calculated. Of 29 studies (12,258 confirmed cases), 17 reported IMV and 21 reported deaths. The pooled prevalence of IMV was 23.3% (95% CI: 17.1-30.9%), and mortality was 13% (9.3-18%). The age-adjusted meta-regression models showed significant association of mortality with male (r: 0.14; OR: 1.15; 95% CI: 1.07-1.23; I 2: 95.2%), comorbidities including pre-existing cerebrovascular disease (r: 0.35; 1.42 (1.14-1.77); I 2: 96.1%), and chronic liver disease (r: 0.08; 1.08 (1.01-1.17); I 2: 96.23%), complications like septic shock (r: 0.099; 1.10 (1.02-1.2); I 2: 78.12%) and ARDS (r: 0.04; 1.04 (1.02-1.06); I 2: 90.3%), ICU admissions (r: 0.03; 1.03 (1.03-1.05); I 2: 95.21%), and IMV utilization (r: 0.05; 1.05 (1.03-1.07); I 2: 89.80%). Similarly, male (r: 0.08; 1.08 (1.02-1.15); I 2: 95%), comorbidities like pre-existing cerebrovascular disease (r: 0.29; 1.34 (1.09-1.63); I 2:93.4%), and cardiovascular disease (r: 0.28; 1.32 (1.1-1.58); I 2: 89.7%) had higher odds of IMV utilization. COVID-19 patients with comorbidities including cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, and chronic liver disease had poor outcomes. Diabetes and hypertension had higher prevalence but no association with mortality and IMV. Our study results will be helpful in right allocation of resources towards patients who need them the most.

Pre-existing cerebrovascular disease and poor outcomes of COVID-19 hospitalized patients: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Due to pro-inflammatory and hypercoagulation states, COVID-19 infection is believed to increase the risk of stroke and worsen the outcomes of the patients having pre-existing cerebrovascular diseases (CeVD). There is limited literature on prevalence of pre-existing CeVD in COVID-19 patients, and outcomes are unknown. The objective of this meta-analysis is to evaluate the outcomes of COVID-19 patients with pre-existing CeVD. METHODS: English full-text-observational studies having data on epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 patients were identified searching PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus using MeSH-terms COVID-19 OR coronavirus OR SARS-CoV-2 OR 2019-nCoV from December 1, 2019 to April 30, 2020. Studies having CeVD or stroke as one of the pre-existing comorbidities and described outcomes including intensive care unit (ICU) admission, mechanical ventilation utilization, and mortality were selected with consensus of three reviewers. Following MOOSE protocol, 11 studies were included. The pooled prevalence of CeVD and outcomes were calculated. Meta-regression was performed, and correlation coefficient (r) and odds ratio (OR) were estimated to evaluate the effects of pre-existing CeVD on outcomes of COVID-19 patients. Meta-analysis with random-effects model was used to calculate OR along with its 95% CI from the studies containing data on composite poor outcome. RESULTS: Out of 8/11 studies showing data on mortality and mechanical ventilation, and 7/11 on ICU admission, pooled prevalence of pre-existing CeVD was 4.4% (244/4987). In age-adjusted meta-regression analysis, pre-existing CeVD was associated with ICU admission [r: 0.60; OR: 1.82 (1.25-2.69)], mechanical ventilation [r: 0.29; OR: 1.33 (1.09-1.63)], and mortality [r: 0.35; OR: 1.42 (1.14-1.77)] amongst COVID-19 hospitalizations. 9/11 studies reported data on binary composite outcomes, the pooled prevalence of pre-existing CeVD was 4.3% (155/3603) and 7.46% (83/1113) amongst COVID-19 hospitalizations and COVID-19 hospitalization-related poor outcomes, respectively. In meta-analysis, COVID-19 patient with pre-existing CeVD had 2.67-fold (1.75-4.06) higher odds of poor outcomes. CONCLUSION: COVID-19 patients with pre-existing cerebrovascular disease have poor outcomes and extra precautions should be taken in managing such patients during the ongoing pandemic.