Development and validation of the MMCD score to predict kidney replacement therapy in COVID-19 patients.

BACKGROUND: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is frequently associated with COVID-19, and the need for kidney replacement therapy (KRT) is considered an indicator of disease severity. This study aimed to develop a prognostic score for predicting the need for KRT in hospitalised COVID-19 patients, and to assess the incidence of AKI and KRT requirement. METHODS: This study is part of a multicentre cohort, the Brazilian COVID-19 Registry. A total of 5212 adult COVID-19 patients were included between March/2020 and September/2020. Variable selection was performed using generalised additive models (GAM), and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression was used for score derivation. Accuracy was assessed using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC-ROC). RESULTS: The median age of the model-derivation cohort was 59 (IQR 47-70) years, 54.5% were men, 34.3% required ICU admission, 20.9% evolved with AKI, 9.3% required KRT, and 15.1% died during hospitalisation. The temporal validation cohort had similar age, sex, ICU admission, AKI, required KRT distribution and in-hospital mortality. The geographic validation cohort had similar age and sex; however, this cohort had higher rates of ICU admission, AKI, need for KRT and in-hospital mortality. Four predictors of the need for KRT were identified using GAM: need for mechanical ventilation, male sex, higher creatinine at hospital presentation and diabetes. The MMCD score had excellent discrimination in derivation (AUROC 0.929, 95% CI 0.918-0.939) and validation (temporal AUROC 0.927, 95% CI 0.911-0.941; geographic AUROC 0.819, 95% CI 0.792-0.845) cohorts and good overall performance (Brier score: 0.057, 0.056 and 0.122, respectively). The score is implemented in a freely available online risk calculator ( https://www.mmcdscore.com/ ). CONCLUSIONS: The use of the MMCD score to predict the need for KRT may assist healthcare workers in identifying hospitalised COVID-19 patients who may require more intensive monitoring, and can be useful for resource allocation.

Identifying environmental factors that influence immune response to SARS-CoV-2: Systematic evidence map protocol.

BACKGROUND: Widespread environmental contamination can directly interact with human immune system functions. Environmental effects on the immune system may influence human susceptibility to respiratory infections as well as the severity of infectious diseases, such as the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Furthermore, the efficacy of vaccines to respiratory diseases may be impacted by environmental exposures through immune perturbations. Given the quick pace of research about COVID-19 and associated risk factors, it is critical to identify and curate the streams of evidence quickly and effectively. OBJECTIVE: We developed this systematic evidence map protocol to identify and organize existing human and animal literature on high-priority environmental chemical classes (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, pesticides, phthalates, quaternary ammonium compounds, and air pollutants) and their potential to influence three key outcomes: (1) susceptibility to respiratory infection, including SARS-CoV-2 (2) severity of the resultant disease progression, and (3) impact on vaccine efficacy. The result of this project will be an online, interactive database which will show what evidence is currently available between involuntary exposures to select environmental chemicals and immune health effects, data gaps that require further research, and data rich areas that may support further analysis. SEARCH AND STUDY ELIGIBILITY: We will search PubMed for epidemiological or toxicological literature on select toxicants from each of the chemical classes and each of the three outcomes listed above. STUDY APPRAISAL AND SYNTHESIS OF METHODS: For each study, two independent reviewers will conduct title and abstract screening as well as full text review for data extraction of study characteristics. Study quality will not be evaluated in this evidence mapping. The main findings from the systematic evidence map will be visualized using a publicly available and interactive database hosted on Tableau Public.

Deep sclerectomy and trabeculectomy augmented with Mitomycin C: 2-year post-operative outcomes.

PURPOSE: Two-year post-operative outcomes of both deep sclerectomy (DS) and trabeculectomy surgery (Trab) augmented with Mitomycin C (MMC) at a single tertiary eye centre. METHODS: Retrospective review of DS + MMC and trabeculectomy + MMC at a single centre between February 2015 and March 2018. Patients with a minimum of 12-month follow-up were included. Post-operative follow-up: day 1, week 1, months 1/3/6/12/18/24. Primary outcomes: changes in intraocular pressure (IOP) and changes in LogMAR visual acuity (BCVA) pre- and post-procedure. SECONDARY OUTCOMES: changes in number of eye drops, number of follow-up clinic visits, post-operative complications and further surgical interventions. Complete success: IOP ≤ 21 mmHg off all IOP-lowering medications. Qualified success: IOP ≤ 21 mmHg on medication. Failure: IOP > 21 mmHg at 24 months or ≤ 5 mmHg on 2 consecutive follow-up visits after 3 months +/- additional incisional glaucoma surgery +/- loss of light perception. Statistical analysis performed using Microsoft Excel + SPSS. RESULTS: 90 eyes: DS + MMC = 46 eyes, Trab + MMC = 44 eyes. DS + MMC v Trab + MMC: mean pre-op IOP = 19.57 mmHg v 18.89 mmHg, significantly reduced at all post-operative time-points for both groups (p < 0.001). Mean IOP reduction from baseline = 33.94% v 38.39%; > 30% IOP reduction = 54.35% v 68.18%. IOP ≤ 16 mmHg = 82.61% (38/46) v 95.46% (42/44), IOP ≤ 12 mmHg = 52.17% (24/46) v 72.72% (32/44). Complete success = 67.39% v 61.36%, qualified success = 26.09% v 29.55%, failure = 6.52% v 9.09%. Post-op BCVA: no statistically significant differences between two groups (p = 0.09). Mean pre-op drops v post-op drops = 2.98 v 0.38 (DS + MMC; p < 0.001); 2.68 v 0.39 (Trab + MMC; p < 0.001). Further surgical intervention = 13% v 29.55%. Mean number of post-op clinic visits DS + MMC v Trab + MMC = 10.09 v 13.02 (p = 0.005). CONCLUSION: Both procedures achieve sustained intraocular pressure and drop reduction at 2 years post-op. DS + MMC has lower complication rates requiring less intervention and significantly fewer clinic visits, which may be an important factor for deciding surgical management of glaucoma patients in the era of Covid-19 to reduce patient/clinician exposure to the virus.