C-Reactive Protein To Albumin Ratio And Red Cell Distribution Width (RDW) As A Mortality Predictive Factor In COVID-19 Critically Ill Patients

Introduction: During severe inflammation of Covid-19, many inflammatory factors increase in body, and examining these factors can help to better understand the disease and predict expected risks. The present study aimed to investigate the association of CRP/Alb and the clinical outcome in patients with COVID-19. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study on 315 patients with severe COVID-19 admitted in the intensive care unit (ICU) from April 1, 2020, to November 1, 2020. we collected and analyzed the serum inflammatory markers including C-reactive protein (CRP), albumin (Alb), CRP/Alb ratio, Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and Red cell distribution width (RDW). The relationship of data was analyzed with the help of statistical analysis. Results: The results revealed higher levels of baseline ESR (P=0.007) and CRP (P=0.001), RDW (P< 0.001), and CRP/Alb (P<0.001) were significantly associated with prolonged hospitalization. Moreover, higher CRP/Alb was associated with an increase in in-hospital mortality. Conclusion: The CRP/Alb ratio and RDW can be used in routine clinical as a quick and easy measure to predict the mortality of COVID-19 patients. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Pharmaceutical Negative Results is the property of ResearchTrentz and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Acute Kidney Injury in Pediatric Patients with COVID-19; Clinical Features and Outcome.

INTRODUCTION: Renal disorders have been reported as the underlying cause as well as complications of critical COVID-19 in pediatric patients. The purpose of this study was to investigate the pattern of kidney involvement, particularly acute kidney injury (AKI), among pediatric patients with COVID-19. METHODS: In this prospective study, hospitalized pediatric patients with a clinical diagnosis of COVID-19 were enrolled. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory findings were collected and analyzed using a mixed method of qualitative and quantitative approaches and descriptive statistics. RESULTS: One hundred and eighty-seven patients, including 120 (64.2%) males and 67 (35.8%) females with COVID-19 with a median age (interquartile range) of 60 (24 to 114) months were enrolled in this study. Most patients (n = 108, 58.1%) had one or two underlying comorbidities, mainly malnutrition (77.4%), neurologic/learning disorders (21.4%), and malignancy (10.2%). According to the Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) classification, AKI was detected in 38.5% of patients (stage 1: 55.6%, stage 2: 36.1%, and stage 3: 8.3%) at presentation or during hospitalization. Nine patients (4.8%) required hemodialysis and 16 (8.6%) eventually died. There was no significant association between AKI and admission to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) (P > .05), a multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) (P > .05), comorbidities (P > .05), and mortality rate (P > .05). CONCLUSION: Kidneys are among the major organs affected by COVID-19. Although kidney abnormalities resolve in the majority of pediatric COVID-19 infections, particular attention should be paid to serum creatinine and electrolyte levels in patients affected by COVID-19, particularly children with a history of malnutrition and kidney disorders.  DOI: 10.52547/ijkd.7151.

Post COVID-19 vaccination Guillain-Barre syndrome: three cases.

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is an acute inflammatory polyradiculoneuropathy. In two-thirds of patients, it is preceded by an upper respiratory or gastrointestinal tract infection. Temporally associated cases of GBS following COVID-19 vaccination have been described with different COVID-19 vaccines. In this study, we report three cases of GBS patients following COVID-19 vaccine. Two of the studied patients received the Sinopharm vaccine and one patient received the AstraZeneca vaccine. All patients were diagnosed with acute motor axonal neuropathy (AMAN) type of GBS, on nerve conduction studies. All three patients responded well to treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg). The association between COVID-19 vaccination and GBS is not well understood and more studies are needed to establish whether it is merely an association or a causal relationship.

Epidemiological and clinical risk factors related to severe COVID-19 in Iran: a multi-center study.

BACKGROUND: Iran was one of the first countries to be affected by COVID-19. Identifying factors associated with the severity of COVID-19 is effective in disease management. This study investigated the epidemiological and clinical features and factors related to the severity of COVID-19 in one of the less privileged areas in Iran. METHODS: In a multi-center study, all patients admitted to Zahedan University of Medical Sciences hospitals in southeastern Iran were investigated from February 29 to April 31, 2020. Demographic, epidemiological, and clinical data of patients were extracted from medical records. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to explore the risk factors associated with the severity of COVID-19. RESULTS: Among the 413 patients, 55.5% were male, and 145 (35.10%) were in a severe condition at admission time. Multivariate analysis showed that the adjusted odds of the disease severity increased in patients with older age (OR 2.27; 95% CI 1.41-3.65), substance abuse (OR 2.49; 95% CI 1.14-5.43), having one underlying disease (OR 1.52; 95% CI 0.90-2.55), having two underlying disease (OR 2.31; 95% CI 1.19-4.50), and having three or more underlying disease (OR 2.60; 95% CI 1.19-5.66). CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19 was more severe in older patients, patients with a history of substance abuse, and patients with the underlying disease. Understanding the factors affecting the disease severity can help the clinical management of COVID-19, especially in less privileged areas where fewer resources are available.

Typical Covid-19 case with primary pneumomediastinum in a 37 year old male.

We report the case of a 37-year-old man who was admitted to Baqiyatallah hospital in Tehran (Iran) for retrosternal pain, fever, fatigue, dyspnoea and severe non-productive cough. The patient was subsequently confirmed as positive for COVID-19 at real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test. Chest computed tomography (CT) revealed also the presence of pneumomediastinum. This case highlights the importance of chest CT imaging for COVID-19 pneumonia to detect co-existing conditions as pneumomediastinum.

CT Features and Short-term Prognosis of COVID-19 Pneumonia: A Single-Center Study from Kashan, Iran.

PURPOSE: To assess whether certain CT chest features of patients with confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may have short-term prognostic value. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred-twenty consecutive symptomatic patients with COVID-19 infection who had undergone chest CT were enrolled in this retrospective study. Patients were categorized into three groups: routine inward hospitalization, intensive care unit admission, and deceased based on a short-term follow-up. Detailed initial CT features and distributional evaluation were recorded. RESULTS: The mean age in the deceased group was 70.7 years, significantly higher than the other two groups (P < .05). Ninety-four percent (113/120) of the patients had ground-glass opacities (GGO). Peripheral and lower zone predilection was present in most patients. Subpleural sparing and pleural effusion were seen in approximately 23% (28/120) and 17% (20/120) of the patients, respectively. The combined intensive care unit group and deceased patients had significantly more consolidation, air bronchograms, crazy paving, and central involvement of the lungs compared with routinely hospitalized patients (all P < .05). CONCLUSION: This study supports the previously described typical CT appearance of COVID-19 pneumonia with bilateral GGO, in peripheral distribution and lower lung zone predilection. Subpleural sparing and pleural effusion were seen approximately in one-fifth and one-sixth of the patients with COVID-19, respectively. Consolidation, air bronchograms, central lung involvement, crazy paving and pleural effusion on initial CT chest have potential prognostic values, the features more commonly observed in critically ill patients.© RSNA, 2020.

Chest CT in COVID-19 pneumonia: what are the findings in mid-term follow-up?

PURPOSE: The purposes of this study are to investigate mid-term chest computed tomography (CT) findings of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia, assess the rate of complete resolution, and determine the individuals at risk for residual abnormalities. METHODS: Fifty-two cases of COVID-19 pneumonia with at least two chest CTs and mean 3-month interval between the initial and follow-up CT were enrolled in this retrospective study. Patients were categorized into two groups: complete resolution and residual disease on follow-up CT. Demographic, clinical, laboratory, and therapeutic data as well as initial and follow-up chest CT scans were compared and analyzed. RESULTS: Thirty patients (57.7%) demonstrate complete resolution of pulmonary findings, and 22 patients (42.3%) had residual disease on follow-up CT. The mean time interval between initial and follow-up CT was 91.3 ± 17.2 and 90.6 ± 14.3 days in the complete resolution and residual groups, respectively. The most common radiologic pattern in residual disease was ground-glass opacities (54.5%), followed by mixed ground-glass and subpleural parenchymal bands (31.8%), and pure parenchymal bands (13.7%). Compared to complete resolution group, patients with residual disease had higher CT severity score on initial exam (10.3 ± 5.4 vs. 7.3 ± 4.6, P value = 0.036), longer duration of hospitalization, higher rate of intensive care unit (ICU) admission, more underlying medical conditions, higher initial WBC count, and higher occurrence rate of leukocytosis in the hospitalization time period (all P values < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Extensive lung involvement on initial CT, ICU admission, long duration of hospitalization, presence of underlying medical conditions, high initial WBC count, and development of leukocytosis during the course of disease are associated with more prevalence of chronic lung sequela of COVID-19.

Predictive value of CT in the short-term mortality of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia in nonelderly patients: A case-control study.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: Identifying CT predictors of mortality in nonelderly healthy patients with COVID-19 pneumonia will aid to distinguish the most vulnerable patients in this age group and thus alter the management. We aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of multiple CT features of COVID-19 pneumonia on initial presentation in nonelderly patients without underlying medical conditions. METHODS: In this retrospective case-control study, thirty laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients with no known major underlying disease who underwent a chest CT scan and expired of pneumonia within the following 30 days after admission, were included as case group. Sixty control subjects individually matched on their age, gender, without underlying medical conditions, who received same-criteria standard care and were discharged from the hospital in 30-day follow-up were included in the control group. A conditional logistic regression model was applied. RESULTS: Applying a univariate conditional logistic regression model, it was revealed that bilateral lung disease, anterior involvement, central extension, GGO, consolidation, air bronchograms, pleural effusion, BMI ≥ 25 kg/m² and CT severity score were the significant preliminary predictors (all p-values < 0.05). Next, by applying a multivariate conditional logistic regression model, it was determined that the CT severity score is the only statistically significant CT predictor of mortality (Odds Ratio = 1.99, Confidence Interval: 1.01-4.06, p-value < 0.05). The ROC curve analysis revealed a score of 7.5 as the cut-off point of CT severity score with the highest sensitivity (0.83) and specificity (0.87). CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrates that CT severity score is a reliable predictor factor of mortality in nonelderly previously healthy individuals with COVID-19 pneumonia. Assessment of disease extension in addition to the morphological pattern is necessary for CT reports of COVID-19 patients. This may alert the clinicians to alter the management for this specific group of patients, even when they are clinically silent or have a mild presentation.

A low-dose chest CT protocol for the diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia: a prospective study.

PURPOSE: The increasing trend of chest CT utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic necessitates novel protocols with reduced dose and maintained diagnostic accuracy. We aimed to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of 30-mAs chest CT protocol in comparison with a 150-mAs standard-dose routine protocol for imaging of COVID-19 pneumonia. METHODS: Upon IRB approval, consecutive laboratory-confirmed positive COVID-19 patients aged 50 years or older who were referred for chest CT scan and had same-day normal CXR were invited to participate in this prospective study. First, a standard-dose chest CT scan (150 mAs) was performed. Only if typical COVID-19 pneumonia features were identified, then a low-dose CT (30 mAs) was done immediately. Diagnostic accuracy of low-dose and standard-dose CT in the detection of typical COVID-19 pneumonia features were compared. RESULTS: Twenty patients with a mean age of 64.20 ± 13.8 were enrolled in the study. There was excellent intrareader agreement in detecting typical findings of COVID-19 pneumonia between low-dose and standard-dose (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] = 0.98-0.99, P values < 0.001 all readers). The mean effective dose values in standard- and low-dose groups were 6.60 ± 1.47 and 1.80 ± 0.42 mSv, respectively. Also, absolute cancer risk per mean cumulative effective dose values obtained from the standard- and low-dose CT examinations were 2.71 × 10-4 and 0.74 × 10-4, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: According to our study, it was found that proposed low-dose CT chest protocol is reliable in detecting COVID-19 pneumonia in daily practice with significant reduction in radiation dose and estimated cancer risk.