Protecting Mothers and Babies Through Research: A Time for Change

Pregnant patients deserve access to curated information that informs them on the safe use of medicines to treat or prevent disease. Limited or absent drug information can lead to unsafe use of medicines or even refusal or reluctance to prescribe or receive treatment. Decisions not to treat or inadequately treat comorbid conditions during pregnancy can pose significant health risks to mothers impacted by these decisions and their babies. Experiences gained during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic that found a higher risk of hospitalization and death in pregnant populations have accentuated the need for targeted efficacy and safety data to optimally treat or prevent disease during pregnancy. In the United States, Congress has previously recognized that the lack of information within drug labels to convey certainty in prescribing medications during pregnancy is an urgent public health issue. Similarly, regulatory agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration acknowledge the role that data evaluating drug disposition, pharmacology, and disease biology play in reducing regulatory uncertainty and informing decisionmaking for the good of public health. Historically, in the absence of labeled drug information, networks such as MotherToBaby, have become the trusted expert source providing evidence-based information on the benefit or risk of medications and other exposures during pregnancy. To facilitate the more timely generation of data to inform the use of medicines in pregnancy, multistakeholder initiatives such as the Task Force on Research in Pregnant Women and Lactating Women (PRGLAC) have been established to identify gaps and provide findings to Congress for action. These initiatives have identified a set of opportunities to address the many challenges contributing to the disproportionate exclusion of pregnant populations in clinical trials. As a complimentary mechanism, broader reforms could be considered to foster a research culture that is purposeful and inclusive of pregnant patients. Together, these approaches can reduce uncertainty in prescribing in pregnancy and better address the needs of mothers and their babies.

Discharge disposition and clinical outcomes of patients hospitalized with COVID-19.

OBJECTIVES: By better understanding the long-term effects of COVID-19 and assessing rehabilitation placement among the patients in our study, we hope to determine the predictors of rehabilitation needs in individuals suffering from the long-term sequelae of COVID-19. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was performed of adult patients with a positive COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction test among multiple hospitals in a regional health system. The main outcomes measured were discharge disposition, total length of hospital stay, and overall all-cause mortality and readmission rates within 30 and 90 days of discharge. RESULTS: Of the 2502 patients included in the study, we found that 65.2% were discharged to home, while the remaining patients were discharged to home healthcare (33.6%), skilled nursing facilities (31.7%), or long-term acute rehabilitation centers (11.6%). The overall all-cause mortality rate at 30 and 90 days were 2.7% and 4.4%, respectively. The overall all-cause 30-day and 90-day readmission rates were 7.0% and 7.6%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Younger age and shorter hospitalization stays were the most important predictors of home discharge. Discharge to home was also significantly associated with lower all-cause mortality rates at 30 and 90 days after discharge.

Disposition Effect: Brazilian Investors' Behavior during the Covid-19 Pandemic

This study investigates the disposition effect with regard to Brazilian investors, with focus on the year 2020. The database is composed by more than 12,000 trades by 274 investors. We follow the method of Odean (1998) to estimate the proportions of gains and losses realized and test the null hypothesis of equality of these proportions in each portfolio. The results suggest that Brazilian investors behave in line with the disposition effect. They sell winning stocks too early and hold losing stocks too long. A stock that is gaining value is more likely to be sold from day to day compared to a stock that is losing value. The disposition effect was not found in March, which suggests that investors employed a loss-limit during periods of market stress, no matter if the stock went up or down. © 2023 FUCAPE Business School. All rights reserved.

Understanding the performance of truffle dogs

Trained dogs can detect many biochemical traces, from the most hostile, such as COVID-19, to the most expensive, such as truffles. However, it is still unclear how the interplay of genetic disposition, education, experience, personality, and environmental conditions influences the performance of dogs. Here, we combine published evidence with the knowledge of truffle hunters to assess direct and indirect factors that affect the hunting performance of truffle dogs. Since the transport of truffle aroma into the canine nasal cavity is most puzzling, we propose 5 experiments to further investigate the role of weather conditions, soil parameters, and bacterial composition on the dispersal of truffle volatiles perceived by trained dogs. We also suggest exploring whether the application of multiple dogs increases the success of truffle hunting. Moreover, we argue that interdisciplinary research on dog behavior and performance, including insights from veterinary science and comparative psychology as well as the experience of truffle hunters and farmers, is needed to improve the quantity and quality of truffle harvests. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Light‐Driven Catalyst‐Free Access to Phthalazines: Entry to Antiviral Model Drugs by Merging Domino Reactions**

We report the development of a metal-free four-step one-pot synthetic strategy to access high-value functionalized phthalazines using o-methyl benzophenones as starting compounds. Combining a light-mediated enolization of o-methyl benzophenones/Diels-Alder reaction domino process with a subsequent deprotection/aromatization domino reaction in one-pot leads to sustainable and efficient organic synthesis. The tangible advantages, i. e., absence of catalysts or additives, utilization of commercially available and/or easily accessible substrates, mild reaction conditions, simplicity, and single work-up procedure, make this combined process highly appealing for the direct construction of various 1-aryl-phthalazines. Importantly, in vitro bioactivity evaluation of these newly prepared heterocyclic compounds demonstrated a strong antiviral efficacy against major human pathogens like HCMV and SARS-CoV-2.

Door to Disposition Key Performance Indicator in Three Saudi Arabian Hospitals' Emergency Departments during COVID-19 Pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted health systems and Emergency Departments (ED) services worldwide. This study attempts to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the performance of the emergency department during COVID-19 in three hospitals in Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia. METHODS: Ada'a data was used for this retrospective cohort study. The hospitals included in this study were: a 300-bed maternity and children's hospital; a 643-bed general hospital; and a 1230-bed tertiary hospital. All patients who visited the ED in the time period from September 2019 to December 2021 were included. The outcome variable was the Door to Disposition (DTD) which estimates the percentage of patients seen within 4 h from Door to Disposition. A two-way ANOVA test was used to examine the differences in the outcome variable by hospital and by the phase of COVID-19. RESULTS: Both hospital and the phase of COVID-19 were significantly different in terms of the percentage of patients seen within four hours in the ED (DTD) (p-value < 0.05). On average, the DTD percentages dipped slightly in the early phase of COVID-19 (64.0% vs. 69.8%) and jumped sharply in the later phase (73.6%). Additionally, the average DTD score for the maternity and pediatric hospital (87.6%) was sharply higher than both general and tertiary hospitals (63.2%, and 56.5%, respectively). CONCLUSION: COVID-19 led to a significant drop in emergency department services performance in the early stage of the pandemic as patients spent more time at the ED. However, for the designated COVID-19 hospital, the ED performance improved as more patients spent less than 4 h at the ED in the early stages of COVID-19. This is a clear indication that careful planning and management of resources for ED services during a pandemic is effective.

Herding Behavior During the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Disposition Effect Situation in the Stock Exchange of Thailand

The disposition effect is the tendency of investors to sell winning stocks and hold losing stocks and the herding behavior is an investment behavior in a group of investors who trade in the same direction. Both are regarded as irrational investment behaviors. This research examines the herding behavior in the Stock Exchange of Thailand during the COVID-19 pandemic and the disposition effect situation. We used daily data from January 2011 to December 2020 of complete observed stocks in the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET). We modified the average holding period following Atkins and Dyl (Journal of Finance 52(1):309–325, 1997 [5]) and adapted the method for investigating the disposition effect after Visaltanachoti et al. (Applied Financial Economics 17(15):1265–1274, 2007 [45]). Then we constructed the dummy variable to represent the month in which the disposition effect took place in the market. After that, we tested the existence of the herding behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic and when the disposition effect was occurring. The herding behavior was tested following Yao et al. (International Review of Economics & Finance 29:12–29, 2014 [48]) and Filip et al. (Procedia Economics and Finance 32:307–315, 2015 [19]) using the cross-sectional absolute deviation (CSAD). The results reveal the herding behavior to occur during the disposition effect situation but not during the COVID-19 pandemic. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Technology Adoption Model: Is Use/Non-use a Case of Technological Affordances or Psychological Disposition or Pedagogical Reasoning in the Context of Teaching During the COVID-19 Pandemic Period?

The educational implications of COVID-19 have shaken both practitioners and researchers alike. Practitioners were expected to use technologies instantaneously, and this set up trauma in individuals. The ramification of understanding people’s response to why technologies are accepted/not accepted and used/not used has significant implications for education. This conceptual paper sets out the process used to develop a theoretical framework based on the technology acceptance model (TAM). The constructs within the original TAM and extended TAM, were explored to understand “why” practicing teachers would choose to use technologies for educational purposes at primary and secondary school levels during the COVID-19 pandemic period. The TAM has been criticized for being simplistic and narrowly focused. Many researchers criticize TAM because their finding cannot be confirmed or that the constructs don’t fit their needs. This paper challenges these critiques. The theoretical framework suggested in this paper represents a view of reality of the relational and influencing effects of variables that potentially moderate or control affective and cognitive responses. It contributes to the existing literature through a comprehensive reviewing of concepts, constructs and COVID-19 “event” contextual realities. The findings offered are that: contextual realities and application often require a grounded theoretical framework to unravel complex questions and answers;the suggested unidirectional influence of perceived ease of use (PEOU) on perceived usefulness (PU) can be challenged through a dispositional rationale;neglecting non-use as a reality severely hampers TAMs applicability in studies focused on theory testing, and TAM provides sufficient flexibility by leaving the doors open for adaptation, and this flexibility is an asset in social science research. Copyright © 2022 Sadeck.

Internet addiction in adolescents: Role of family, personality and comorbid psychopathology in school children in Eastern India.

Context: There is an increasing prevalence of internet addiction among adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic, but very few Indian studies have assessed and taken into account various factors that can explain internet addiction in this vulnerable population. Aims: We examine the differences in family functioning, temperament, character and psychopathology in adolescents with and without internet addiction. Settings and Design: 1000 adolescents from urban middle-class families were included in this cross-sectional, two-randomized-group designed, comparative study. Clinical and control group population were selected from high schools. Those with severe internet addiction were compared to those with no addiction. Methods and Materials: Internet Addiction Test, Temperament and Character Inventory, Devereux Scale of Mental Disorders and McMaster Family Assessment Device were administered along with General Health and CRAFFT Questionnaire as screening tool. Statistical Analysis Used: Mann-Whitney U test was done along with Spearman's rank-difference coefficient of correlation. Result: Adolescents with internet addiction had high novelty seeking and low persistence. Internet addiction was also associated with conduct problems and depression. There was a significant positive association between depression and years of internet usage. Family of adolescents with internet addiction had increased difficulty in problem solving, communication, affective responsiveness, affective involvement and behavior control. Conclusion: Adolescents with internet addiction have temperament difficulties, more psychopathology and belong to dysfunctional families. Since the family plays a central role in an Indian context, family-focused strategies must also be included in the management of internet addiction.

Understanding the influence of Teachers’ Beliefs and Professional Dispositions on Technology use in South African Secondary Schools before and during COVID

Those advocating for technology integration within education claim that teachers need to reform their pedagogic practices to make learning more engaging and relevant. While educational technology researchers claim teachers are primarily responsible for these failures, it seems teachers do not embrace technology unquestionably. This paper aims to develop an understanding of how teachers’ beliefs and professional dispositions (PDs) influence technology use within different social and educational contexts. A set of three interviews were conducted at four South African secondary schools with vastly different social contexts, over different periods of time (before and during COVID) with cross-case analyses. Findings show that the provision of technology does not guarantee integration as use varies amongst teachers within technology-rich schools, with teachers who hold more positive Internal Beliefs (IBs) of technology not only focusing less on External Structure (ES) barriers, but also utilising technology in more varied ways, even to enhance and transform their pedagogic practices. Furthermore, teachers’ PDs seem to exist on a continuum and do not appear to be the sole influencer of technology use, with the context alongside the school’s technology policy and related technology structures influencing teachers’ IBs and resulting technology use. In addition, while mandatory use of technology during COVID led to more positive IBs as teachers understood the value of the technology, this only appears to be true if external structures (ESs) supported the learners as well. Moreover, all teachers expressed their belief that technology is no replacement for face-to-face teaching. Finally, the rich data from the interviews underlined the intricacies of factors influencing the use of technology in classrooms, indicating a need for a meta-theory to gain a holistic understanding of technology use by teachers. © 2022, EasyChair. All rights reserved.

Incidental Negative Life Events and the Disposition Effect at the Individual Level

In this study, we explore the role of individual exposure to negative life events on the disposition effect (DE) – i.e., the tendency of traders in financial markets to sell assets at gain faster than those at a loss. We hypothesize that individual exposure to negative life events may influence the disposition effect through different behavioral mechanisms, namely trading volume reduction, better information processing, and emotions. In three studies, we combine a quasi-natural experiment by considering the disposition effect, as measured with individual financial data from a trading exercise, both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and across individuals exposed to a different extent to COVID-19. We also manipulated and elicited the emergence of specific emotions from the exposure to COVID-19 and tested whether such emotions influence the DE. Our results show that individual exposure to negative life events will reduce the disposition effect, mainly via better information processing emotion. Negative life events further reduce the DE when anger is elicited in the individual decision-maker.

Features and Outcomes of Confirmed COVID-19 Patients Presenting to the Emergency Department.

Objective This study is aimed to determine whether there is a correlation between demographic characteristics, symptoms, initial vital signs, laboratory findings, and clinical outcome(s) of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods This descriptive, single-center study retrospectively reviewed data from the medical records of patients confirmed with COVID-19 in a tertiary academic center in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, between March and June 2020. Results The present study enrolled 1039 patients (mean age ± SD, 45.16 ± 19.33 years) suffering from COVID-19, of whom 60.9% were not known to have any medical illnesses. The most common comorbidity was cardiovascular disease (27.8%). Patients with advanced age (p < 0.001), cardiovascular disease (p < 0.001), diabetes mellitus (p = 0.003), asthma (p = 0.008), renal disease (p = 0.020), fever (p = 0.002), dyspnea (p < 0.001), tachypnea (p < 0.001), low albumin (p < 0.001), low alkaline phosphatase levels (p = 0.008), high C-reactive protein (p = 0.003), high fibrinogen (p = 0.047), and high lactate levels (p = 0.015) were more likely to be admitted. Conclusions Patients with increased age, multiple comorbidities, and unstable initial vital signs at emergency department presentation experienced a more severe course of COVID-19 and required admission.

The safety of home discharge for low-risk emergency department patients presenting with coronavirus-like symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic: A retrospective cohort study.

Objective: There is minimal evidence describing outcomes for emergency department (ED) patients with suspected coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection who are not hospitalized. The study objective was to assess 30-day outcomes (ED revisit, admission, ICU admission, and death) for low-risk patients discharged after ED evaluation for COVID-19. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of patients triaged to a COVID-19 surge area within an urban ED and discharged between March 12 and April 6. Physicians were encouraged to discharge patients if they were well-appearing with few comorbidities. Data were collected from review of medical records and phone follow-up, and the analysis was descriptive. Results: Of 452 patients, the median age was 38, and 61.7% had no comorbidities. Chest radiographs were performed for 50.4% of patients and showed infiltrates in 14% of those tested. Polymerase chain reaction testing was performed for 28.3% of patients during the index ED visit and was positive in 35.9% of those tested. Follow-up was achieved for 75.4% of patients. ED revisits occurred for 13.7% of patients. The inpatient admission rate at 30 days was 4.6%, with 0.7% requiring intensive care. Median number of days between index ED evaluation and return for admission was 5 (interquartile range 3-7, range 1-17). There were no known deaths. Conclusions: A minority of low-risk patients with suspected COVID-19 will require hospitalization after being discharged home from the ED. Outpatient management is likely safe for well-appearing patients with normal vital signs, but patients should be instructed to return for worsening symptoms including labored breathing. Future work is warranted to develop and validate ED disposition guidelines.

Probing the impact of cognitive heuristics on strategic decision-making during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from an emerging economy

Purpose: This study aims to explore and clarify the mechanism by which cognitive heuristics influence strategic decision-making during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in an emerging economy. Design/methodology/approach: Data collection was conducted through a survey completed by 213 top-level managers from firms located in the twin cities of Pakistan. A convenient, purposively sampling technique and snowball method were used for data collection. To examine the relationship between cognitive heuristics and strategic decision-making, hypotheses were tested by using correlation and regression analysis. Findings: The article provides further insights into the relationship between cognitive heuristics and strategic decision-making during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results suggest that cognitive heuristics (under-confidence, self-attribution and disposition effect) have a markedly negative influence on the strategic decision-making during the COVID-19 pandemic in an emerging economy. Practical implications: The article encourages strategic decision-makers to avoid relying on cognitive heuristics or their feelings when making strategic decisions. It provides awareness and understanding of cognitive heuristics in strategic decision-making, which could be very useful for business actors such as managers and entire organizations. The findings of this study will help academicians, researchers and policymakers of emerging countries. Academicians can formulate new behavioural models that can depict the solutions to dealing with an uncertain situation like COVID-19. Policymakers and strategic decision-making teams can develop crisis management strategies based on concepts from behavioral strategy to better deal with similar circumstances in the future, such as COVID-19. Originality/value: The paper’s novelty is that the authors have explored the mechanism by which cognitive heuristics influence strategic decision-making during the COVID-19 pandemic in an emerging economy. It adds to the literature in strategic management, explicitly probing the impact of cognitive heuristics on strategic decision-making;this field is in its initial stage, even in developed countries, while little work has been done in emerging countries. Peer review: The peer review history for this article is available at https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-10-2021-0636. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Lung Ultrasound Improves Outcome Prediction over Clinical Judgment in COVID-19 Patients Evaluated in the Emergency Department.

In the Emergency Department (ED), the decision to hospitalize or discharge COVID-19 patients is challenging. We assessed the utility of lung ultrasound (LUS), alone or in association with a clinical rule/score. This was a multicenter observational prospective study involving six EDs (NCT046291831). From October 2020 to January 2021, COVID-19 outpatients discharged from the ED based on clinical judgment were subjected to LUS and followed-up at 30 days. The primary clinical outcome was a composite of hospitalization or death. Within 393 COVID-19 patients, 35 (8.9%) reached the primary outcome. For outcome prognostication, LUS had a C-index of 0.76 (95%CI 0.68-0.84) and showed good performance and calibration. LUS-based classification provided significant differences in Kaplan-Meier curves, with a positive LUS leading to a hazard ratio of 4.33 (95%CI 1.95-9.61) for the primary outcome. The sensitivity and specificity of LUS for primary outcome occurrence were 74.3% (95%CI 59.8-88.8) and 74% (95%CI 69.5-78.6), respectively. The integration of LUS with a clinical score further increased sensitivity. In patients with a negative LUS, the primary outcome occurred in nine (3.3%) patients (p < 0.001 vs. unselected). The efficiency for rule-out was 69.7%. In unvaccinated ED patients with COVID-19, LUS improves prognostic stratification over clinical judgment alone and may support standardized disposition decisions.

Low-income consumers' disposition to use automated banking services

Automated banking services rely on the so-called fintech technologies. These technologies, however, represent an opportunity to enhance financial inclusion indicators among low-income customers. This paper aims to develop a new conceptual framework to analyse low-income consumers' disposition to use automated banking services. The work consists of an omnibus study conducted in eight major cities of Colombia. A survey aiming to measure the disposition to use automated banking services as a function of technology disposition provided by bank firms was developed and validated with a sample of 483 Colombian low-income residents. An exploratory analysis was applied, estimating items variance and covariance matrices. Sampling adequacy and assumption evaluation were evaluated through the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin test, Tau-equivalence test, and homogeneous items test. Robust parameters were estimated via Structural Equation Modelling following the standards of reproducible research. Statistical, robust, and significant relationships between technology disposition and use of automated banking services in low-income Colombian consumers were confirmed, suggesting the potential success of deploying these services as a means to boost financial inclusion in this segment. This study provides fresh conceptual insights on low-income customers' disposition to adopt and use ever-changing technologies for the financial and banking sector. It is among the first empirical studies that provide empirical evidence that breaks the stereotype that low-income customers are reluctant to use new technologies in the financial sector.

A balcony view: Effective leadership of U.S. Army officers in novel conditions

Leadership research lacks studies that explore leading in novel conditions. The leadership of the Army envision a future in which leaders will encounter increasingly extreme conditions for mission that unfold over multiple domains. A recent example of a multiple domain challenge leaders encountered is the COVID pandemic where the implications of conducting missions and achieving successful outcomes required effective problem solving by leaders at all levels. Thus, this study asks how Army officers achieve effective outcomes under conditions of novel problem solving during the COVID pandemic. In this study, novelty was defined as a condition or problem that does not have readily available answers or solutions because the presentation is unique or has not been encountered previously by leaders. Novelty requires new learning to occur in the leader's thinking and behavior. A mixed-method research design utilized a parallel convergent strategy to collect data using a quantitative survey and phenomenological semi-structured interviews. Three major observations emerged from this study. First, the survey scores demonstrated generalizability for the Army as a population. Second, the culture of the Army appears to suppress some expressions of leader dispositional attributes for critical thinking, most notably inquisitiveness. Lastly, observations emerged for leader reliance on cultural thinking patterns in the practice of decision making, which were substantial. This study's conclusion suggests that Army leaders struggled to adapt to the external impacts that the COVID pandemic imposed on the culture of leading in the Army. Group patterns in thinking and behavior observed in leaders suppresses critical thinking, which may be one reason for this struggle. Implications from this study suggest that an evolution in Army leader curriculum is possible. Leadership capabilities may be enhanced by adding the disposition for critical thinking to leadership curriculum to improve the preparation of future Army leaders to meet the unique demands of multi-domain operations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Does Disposition Effect Appear on Investor Decision During the COVID-19 Pandemic Era: Empirical Evidence from Indonesia

Disposition Effect (DE) is one of the many investment biases, wherein the investors sell the profitable stocks rather quickly and they tend to hold on the loss making stocks. Various factors related to the DE are the character of investors applying risk management which is also influenced by the social media, Salient Shock (COVID-19), and in the specific case of Indonesia, the phenomenon of rumor stocks wherein the price can rise as much as up to 8500%. The study aims to provide empirical evidence regarding the DE with specific explanatory factors, namely investor behavior and rumors. Data was obtained through a questionnaire sent to 248 Indonesian Stock Exchange Investors (IDX) during the period October-November 2021 by using Ordinary Least Square (OLS) method. The results show: Generation Z, women, and investors with a low education has a greater DE, risk-takers tend to have lower DE, and professionals have negative DE. Implementation of risk management will reduce DE. Social Media and the COVID-19 situation positively affect DE. Especially on stock rumors, there is evidence that investors who own rumor stocks will have a low DE. The results indicate the need for: (i) risk management, especially for Z Generation, women and low education Investors, (ii) to provide positive information so that information on social media can be responded to positively.

The Role of Demographic, Clinical, and Laboratory Characteristics in Predicting the In-Hospital Outcomes of Patients With COVID-19.

Objective In this study, we aimed to analyze the role of initial patient characteristics obtained at admission (including sociodemographic, clinical, and laboratory findings) in predicting the outcomes in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods This descriptive, retrospective cohort study included all hospital-admitted COVID-19-confirmed cases at a tertiary academic center in Jeddah, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), from March to June 2020. A total of 656 patients with a mean age of 50 ± 19.4 years were included. Results Of all the patients recruited, 19.3% required ICU admission, and 19% required mechanical ventilation. The majority (79.9%) of the patients recovered from COVID-19 and were discharged, while 20.1% of them died. Patients with advanced age (p=0.005), male sex (p=0.009), low platelet counts (p=0.015), low hemoglobin levels (p=0.004), low albumin levels (p=0.003), high alkaline phosphatase levels (p=0.002), high blood urea nitrogen levels (p<0.001), and high lactate dehydrogenase levels (p<0.001) were more likely to die. Conclusion Based on our findings, it can be inferred that mortality in COVID-19 is highly associated with advanced age and male gender, low platelet counts, low hemoglobin levels, low albumin levels, high alkaline phosphatase levels, high blood urea nitrogen levels, high lactate dehydrogenase levels, tachypnea, and requirement for mechanical ventilation.