Effect of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19), a Nationwide Mass Casualty Disaster on Intensive Care Units: Clinical Outcomes and Associated Cost-of-Care.

OBJECTIVE: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in millions of deaths worldwide and is considered a significant mass-casualty disaster (MCD). The surge of patients and scarcity of resources negatively impacted hospitals, patients and medical practice. We hypothesized ICUs during this MCD had a higher acuity of illness, and subsequently had increased lengths of stay (LOS), complication rates, death rates and costs of care. The purpose of this study was to investigate those outcomes. METHODS: This was a multicenter, retrospective study that compared intensive care admissions in 2020 to those in 2019 to evaluate patient outcomes and cost of care. Data were obtained from the Vizient Clinical Data Base/Resource Manager (Vizient Inc., Irvine, Texas, USA). RESULTS: Data included the number of ICU admissions, patient outcomes, case mix index and summary of cost reports. Quality outcomes were also collected, and a total of 1304981 patients from 333 hospitals were included. For all medical centers, there was a significant increase in LOS index, ICU LOS, complication rate, case mix index, total cost, and direct cost index. CONCLUSION: The MCD caused by COVID-19 was associated with increased adverse outcomes and cost-of-care for ICU patients.

Evaluation of reported medical services provided to pediatric viral bronchiolitis diagnoses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Mitigation strategies were implemented during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that slowed the spread of this virus and other respiratory viruses. The objective of this study is to assess the impact of COVID-19 mitigation strategies on the medical services that children less than 1 year of age with acute bronchiolitis required (emergency department services, hospitalization, critical care services, and mechanical ventilation). METHODS: This was a retrospective observational cohort study utilizing TriNetX ® electronic health record (EHR) data. We included subjects less than 1 year of age with a diagnosis of acute bronchiolitis. After the query, the study population was divided into two groups [pre-COVID-19 (March 1st, 2019 until February 29th, 2020) and COVID-19 (March 1st, 2020 until February 1th, 2021)]. We analyzed the following data: age, sex, race, diagnostic codes, common terminology procedures (CPT), and antimicrobials administered. RESULTS: A total of 5063 subjects (n,%) were included [4378 (86.5%) pre-COVID-19 and 685 (13.5%) during the COVID-19 pandemic]. More subjects were diagnosed with acute bronchiolitis in the pre-COVID time frame (4378, 1.8% of all hospitalizations) when compared to the COVID-19 pandemic time frame (685, 0.5%). When diagnosed with acute bronchiolitis, the frequency of emergency department services, critical care services, hospitalization, and mechanical ventilationwere similar between the two cohorts. CONCLUSIONS: During the COVID-19 pandemic, less infants were diagnosed with acute bronchiolitis but the frequency of emergency department services, hospitalization, and mechanical ventilation, reportedly required was similar. Longer-term studies are needed to evaluate the benefits of COVID-19 mitigation strategies on common viruses that require critical care.

COVID-19-Associated Pulmonary Embolism in Pediatric Patients.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with pulmonary embolism in adults, but the clinical circumstances surrounding its presence are unknown in children. The objectives of this study are to determine the prevalence of pulmonary embolism in pediatric subjects with COVID-19, evaluate patient characteristics, and describe treatments applied. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study using TriNetX electronic health record data of subjects aged <18 years who were diagnosed with COVID-19 infection (International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, code U07.1). Pulmonary embolism was identified by using International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, code I26. We additionally collected data on age, sex, race, ethnicity, all diagnostic codes, medications, procedures, laboratory results, comorbidities, and outcomes. RESULTS: During the study period, 24 723 pediatric subjects were reported to have a COVID-19 infection diagnosis among 41 health care organizations, of which 693 (2.8%) were hospitalized. Eight subjects (0.03% overall and 1.2% of hospitalized patients) were diagnosed with pulmonary embolism. The median age (25th to 75th percentile) of patients diagnosed with pulmonary embolism was 16.5 years, and median (25th to 75th percentile) BMI was 22.1 (19.6-47.9). Three (37.5%) received critical care services, and 1 (12.5%) underwent mechanical ventilation. Five (62.5%) subjects had potentially significant risk factors (obesity, malignancy, recent surgery, and oral contraceptive use). All patients received anticoagulation, but none underwent thrombolysis. There were no reported deaths. CONCLUSIONS: Although pulmonary embolism is diagnosed less commonly in children than in adults, its occurrence appears to be more frequent in children hospitalized with COVID-19, as compared with previous reports in hospitalized children in general. All patients survived, with only 1 requiring mechanical ventilation.

Management of newborns exposed to mothers with confirmed or suspected COVID-19.

There is limited information about newborns with confirmed or suspected COVID-19. Particularly in the hospital after delivery, clinicians have refined practices in order to prevent secondary infection. While guidance from international associations is continuously being updated, all facets of care of neonates born to women with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 are center-specific, given local customs, building infrastructure constraints, and availability of protective equipment. Based on anecdotal reports from institutions in the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic close to our hospital, together with our limited experience, in anticipation of increasing numbers of exposed newborns, we have developed a triage algorithm at the Penn State Hospital at Milton S. Hershey Medical Center that may be useful for other centers anticipating a similar surge. We discuss several care practices that have changed in the COVID-19 era including the use of antenatal steroids, delayed cord clamping (DCC), mother-newborn separation, and breastfeeding. Moreover, this paper provides comprehensive guidance on the most suitable respiratory support for newborns during the COVID-19 pandemic. We also present detailed recommendations about the discharge process and beyond, including providing scales and home phototherapy to families, parental teaching via telehealth and in-person education at the doors of the hospital, and telehealth newborn follow-up.