ABSTRACT
Background: Increased rates of TE have been reported in patients (pts) with coronavirus disease (COVID-19), even without prior predisposition to thrombosis. Patients with cancer are already predisposed to a hypercoagulable state. We aimed to assess whether COVID-19 further increased the risk of TE in pts with active cancer at Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY. Methods: The EMR of 90 cancer pts diagnosed with COVID-19 from March 15 to April 10 , 2020 were reviewed. COVID-19 testing was performed by PCR of nasal swab samples. Active cancer was defined as disease treated <1 year. Reports of imaging studies performed <30 days of the COVID-19+ test, either for new symptoms or for other reasons, were reviewed for new arterial (ATE) and/or venous thromboses (VTE). Patient were followed for 30 days from the date of COVID-19+ test for development of TE, hospital length of stay (LOS) and mortality. Results: Of 90 pts, 11 (12.2%) were found to have 13 new TE within 30 days of COVID-19+ test, 8 (8.9%) arterial and 5 (5.6%) venous. Of the 8 ATE, 7 were new strokes and/or microvascular cerebral disease (MCD) and 1 was a spleen infarct (SI). Of the 5 VTE, 3 were deep venous thrombosis, 1 pulmonary embolism (PE) and 1 patient presented with a superficial VTE. Two patients had 2 new TE each;stroke/PE and MCD/SI, respectively. Peak Ddimer (DD) value was higher in the TE group;mean DD (SD), TE vs no TE, 7.1 (3.4) vs 6.4 (7) ug/mL, p=0.03. Pts on either prophylactic or therapeutic anticoagulation (AC) had less TE;AC vs no AC, 9.1% vs 90.9%, p=0.0003. Only 1 pt on Enoxaparin prophylaxis developed TE. Of the 20 pts on therapeutic AC, 25% were newly started due to concern for thrombosis;the rest were already receiving AC for other reasons. Mortality was higher in the TE group;HR, TE vs no TE, 2.6, 95% CI (1.2 - 5.6), p=0.009. There was no correlation of cancer type, disease stage (metastatic or not), administration of prior chemotherapy or immunotherapy, common comorbidities, patient setting (inpatient, ICU, outpatient, ED visit), LOS or ventilation status with increased incidence of TE. Conclusions: Pts with COVID-19 have high rates of TE, and this is true for our pts with cancer. A high incidence of ATE was noted. TE was associated with increased mortality.
ABSTRACT
Background: Diabetes Mellitus is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the world. Infectious diseases are more common and associated with worse outcomes among diabetics. Diabetes is considered a predictor of morbidity in patients with COVID-19. Methods: Medline, Embase, Google Scholar, and medRxiv were systematically reviewed up to May 10th, 2020 for observational studies on diabetic adult populations hospitalized for COVID-19 and that assessed possible correlation between diabetes and mortality. A meta-analysis was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Heterogeneity among trials for each outcome was assessed with the I-squared test. Values < 25% indicated low, 25 to 70% moderate, and > 70% high heterogeneity. Egger test and funnel plots were used to assess for publication bias. Results: Fourteen observational studies (12 retrospective and 2 prospective) met the prespecified criteria for inclusion in the analysis, including 18,506 patients (43% women): 3,713 diabetics (DM group) and 14,793 non-diabetics (no-DM group). The mean or median age was above 60 years in 12 studies. DM group had a higher risk of death compared to the no-DM group, heterogeneity was significant (OR: 1.65;95% CI: 1.35-1.96;I2 77.4%). Sensitivity analysis for US studies only also revealed a higher chance of death among the DM group (OR: 1.34;95% CI: 1.04-1.85;I2 73.7%). Conclusion: In conclusion, death was 65% more likely among diabetic inpatients compared to non-diabetics. Further studies are needed to assess whether this association is independent or not, and to investigate to role of glucose control prior or during the disease.