Clinical Features and Outcomes of COVID-19 Patients with Acute Kidney Injury and Acute Kidney Injury on Chronic Kidney Disease.

COVID-19 emerged in Wuhan in December 2019 and soon became a worldwide pandemic. We collected and analyzed the data from 1077 patients with COVID-19 who were admitted to the west campus of Wuhan Union Hospital from January 16 to April 16, 2020. Sixty (5.6%) of the 1077 COVID-19 patients were diagnosed with acute kidney injury (AKI) during hospitalization, and 18 of them (30%) had AKI on chronic kidney disease (AKI/CKD). COVID-19 patients with AKI had a worse prognosis, with higher intensive care unit (ICU) admission (28.3%) and fatality (65%) rates than patients without AKI (3.4% and 10.7%, respectively). Among the COVID-19 patients, AKI was more likely to occur in male patients, the elderly, patients with more severe disease states and those with comorbidities (such as hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease (CHD), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and CKD). COVID-19 patients with AKI were more likely to develop respiratory failure, gastrointestinal bleeding, acute liver injury, acute myocardial injury, heart failure, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), cerebrovascular accident, and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) than those without AKI. Compared with patients without AKI, COVID-19 patients with AKI had lower platelet counts, lymphocyte counts, albumin levels and serum calcium levels but had elevated leukocyte counts, neutrophil counts and serum potassium levels. Inflammatory indicators, such as C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and procalcitonin (PCT), were significantly higher in patients with AKI than in those without AKI. COVID-19 patients with AKI also exhibited a longer prothrombin time (PT), a longer activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), and a higher D-dimer level than those without AKI. Survival analysis revealed that COVID-19 patients with AKI had a reduced survival rate compared with those without AKI. Furthermore, COVID-19 patients with AKI/CKD had a lower survival rate than those with AKI or CKD only. Multiple logistic regression indicated that the predictors of AKI in COVID-19 patients included complications, such as respiratory failure and acute myocardial injury, and higher creatinine and PCT levels during hospitalization.

Mental health among pregnant women under public health interventions during COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, China.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a pandemic. As the first city struck by the COVID-19 outbreak, Wuhan had implemented unprecedented public health interventions. The mental health of pregnant women during these anti-epidemic controls remains unknown. A total of 274 pregnant women living in Wuhan during the COVID-19 outbreak took part in our investigation online. The data on mental health conditions were evaluated using Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Chinese Perceived Stress Scale (CPSS), and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). We also collected the information on physical health status and precautionary measures against COVID-19. The prevalence of depression, anxiety, stress, and poor sleep quality was 16.1%, 13.9%, 42.7%, 37.6%, respectively. Comparing to SAS, PSQI score in pregnant women who participated in the survey after April 8 (date of Wuhan reopening), those data collected before April 8 were significantly higher. High levels of stress, severe health concerns over the fetus, and poor hygienic practices were negatively associated with mental health conditions. In conclusion, a large proportion of pregnant women reported psychological symptoms during the epidemic, which negatively related to the severe health concerns over fetus and poor hygienic practices. More psychological support during the epidemic would promote maternal mental well-being.

The effectiveness of continuous renal replacement therapy in critical COVID-19 patients with cytokine release syndrome: a retrospective, multicenter, descriptive study from Wuhan, China.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has spread rapidly since 2019. Approximately 15% of the patients will develop severe complications such as multiple organ disease syndrome related to cytokine release syndrome (CRS). Continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) can remove inflammatory cytokines through filtration or adsorption. We evaluated the effectiveness of CRRT in COVID-19 patients with CRS. METHODS: This retrospective, multicenter, descriptive study included 83 patients with CRS from three hospitals in Wuhan. RESULTS: In COVID-19 patients with CRS, the fatality rate was even higher in CRRT group (P=0.005). However, inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein, neutrophil counts, and D-dimer decreased after CRRT (P<0.05). Results of Lasso model showed that tracheotomy (ß -1.31) and convalescent plasma (ß -1.41) were the protective factors. In contrast, CRRT (ß 1.07), respiratory failure (ß 1.61), consolidation on lung CT (ß 0.48), acute kidney injury (AKI) (ß 0.47), and elevated neutrophil count (ß 0.02) were the risk factors for death. CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed that although CRRT significantly reduced the inflammation, it did not decrease the fatality rate of patients with CRS. Therefore, the choice of CRRT indication, dialysis time and dialysis mode should be more careful and accurate in COVID-19 patients with CRS.

Short term effects of air pollutants on hospital admissions for respiratory diseases among children: A multi-city time-series study in China.

Evidence concerning short-term acute association between air pollutants and hospital admissions for respiratory diseases among children in a multi-city setting was quite limited. We conducted a time-series analysis to evaluate the association of six common air pollutants with hospital admissions for respiratory diseases among children aged 0-14 years in 4 cities (Guangzhou, Shanghai, Wuhan and Xining), China during 2013-2018. We used generalized additive models incorporating penalized smoothing splines and random-effect meta-analysis to calculate city-specific and pooled estimates, respectively. The exposure-response relationship curves were fitted using the cubic spline regression. Subgroup analyses by gender, age, season and disease subtype were also performed. A total of 183,036 respiratory diseases hospitalizations were recorded during the study period, and 94.1% of the cases were acute respiratory infections. Overall, we observed that increased levels of air pollutants except O3, were significantly associated with increased hospital admissions for respiratory disease. Each 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5, SO2 and NO2 at lag 07, PM10 at lag 03 and per 1 mg/m3 increase in CO at lag 01 corresponded to increments of 1.19%, 3.58%, 2.23%, 0.51% and 6.10% in total hospitalizations, respectively. Generally, exposure-response relationships of PM2.5 and SO2 in Guangzhou, SO2, NO2 and CO in Wuhan, as well as SO2 and NO2 in Xining with respiratory disease hospitalizations were also found. Moreover, the adverse effects of these pollutants apart from PM2.5 in certain cities remained significant even at exposure levels below the current Chinese Ambient Air Quality Standards (CAAQS) Grade II. Children aged 4-14 years appeared to be more vulnerable to the adverse effects of PM2.5, SO2 and NO2. Furthermore, with the exception of O3, the associations were stronger in cold season than in warm season. Short-term exposure to PM2.5, SO2, NO2 and CO were associated, in dose-responsive manners, with increased risks of hospitalizations for childhood respiratory diseases, and adverse effects of air pollutants except PM2.5 held even at exposure levels below the current CAAQS Grade II in certain cities.

Survey of COVID-19 Disease Among Orthopaedic Surgeons in Wuhan, People's Republic of China.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) broke out in Wuhan, the People's Republic of China, in December 2019 and now is a pandemic all around the world. Some orthopaedic surgeons in Wuhan were infected with COVID-19. METHODS: We conducted a survey to identify the orthopaedic surgeons who were infected with COVID-19 in Wuhan. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to collect information such as social demographic variables, clinical manifestations, exposure history, awareness of the outbreak, infection control training provided by hospitals, and individual protection practices. To further explore the possible risk factors at the individual level, a 1:2 matched case-control study was conducted. RESULTS: A total of 26 orthopaedic surgeons from 8 hospitals in Wuhan were identified as having COVID-19. The incidence in each hospital varied from 1.5% to 20.7%. The onset of symptoms was from January 13 to February 5, 2020, and peaked on January 23, 8 days prior to the peak of the public epidemic. The suspected sites of exposure were general wards (79.2%), public places at the hospital (20.8%), operating rooms (12.5%), the intensive care unit (4.2%), and the outpatient clinic (4.2%). There was transmission from these doctors to others in 25% of cases, including to family members (20.8%), to colleagues (4.2%), to patients (4.2%), and to friends (4.2%). Participation in real-time training on prevention measures was found to have a protective effect against COVID-19 (odds ratio [OR], 0.12). Not wearing an N95 respirator was found to be a risk factor (OR, 5.20 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.09 to 25.00]). Wearing respirators or masks all of the time was found to be protective (OR, 0.15). Severe fatigue was found to be a risk factor (OR, 4 [95% CI, 1 to 16]) for infection with COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: Orthopaedic surgeons are at risk during the COVID-19 pandemic. Common places of work could be contaminated. Orthopaedic surgeons have to be more vigilant and take more precautions to avoid infection with COVID-19. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Diagnostic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.