An Evaluation of Serum 25-Hydroxy Vitamin D Levels in Patients with COVID-19 in New York City.

AIM: Deterioration of patients from COVID-19 is associated with cytokine release syndrome attributed to an elevation in pro-inflammatory cytokines. Vitamin D reduces proinflammatory cytokines, and has the possibility of reducing complications from respiratory tract illnesses. METHOD: This was a retrospective, observational, cohort study of patients with COVID-19 disease within a New York City Health System. Adult patients were included if they tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, and had a serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D level (25(OH)D) within the three previous months prior to their detected SARS-CoV-2 test. Patients were compared and evaluated based upon their 25(OH)D levels. The primary endpoints were hospitalization, need for oxygen support, and 90-day mortality. RESULTS: 437 COVID-19 patients were included [67 (IQR: 56-79) years] within this cohort. Deficient plasma 25(OH)D levels (<20 ng/ml) were associated with an increased likelihood of oxygen support [OR:2.23 (95% CI: 1.46-3.44, p = 0.0002)] from COVID-19. Deficient plasma 25(OH)D levels were not independently associated with 90-day mortality or risk of hospitalization. Hospitalization rates (98%), oxygen support (93%), and mortality rates (49%) were highest in patients who had 25(OH)D levels less than 10 ng/ml when compared to other 25(OH)D levels. CONCLUSION: Serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels may affect the need for oxygen support therapy in patients with COVID-19.

Risk Factors for Mortality in Patients with COVID-19 in New York City.

BACKGROUND: New York City emerged as an epicenter of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. OBJECTIVE: To describe the clinical characteristics and risk factors associated with mortality in a large patient population in the USA. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. PARTICIPANTS: 6493 patients who had laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 with clinical outcomes between March 13 and April 17, 2020, who were seen in one of the 8 hospitals and/or over 400 ambulatory practices in the New York City metropolitan area MAIN MEASURES: Clinical characteristics and risk factors associated with in-hospital mortality. KEY RESULTS: A total of 858 of 6493 (13.2%) patients in our total cohort died: 52/2785 (1.9%) ambulatory patients and 806/3708 (21.7%) hospitalized patients. Cox proportional hazard regression modeling showed an increased risk of in-hospital mortality associated with age older than 50 years (hazard ratio [HR] 2.34, CI 1.47-3.71), systolic blood pressure less than 90 mmHg (HR 1.38, CI 1.06-1.80), a respiratory rate greater than 24 per min (HR 1.43, CI 1.13-1.83), peripheral oxygen saturation less than 92% (HR 2.12, CI 1.56-2.88), estimated glomerular filtration rate less than 60 mL/min/1.73m2 (HR 1.80, CI 1.60-2.02), IL-6 greater than 100 pg/mL (HR 1.50, CI 1.12-2.03), D-dimer greater than 2 mcg/mL (HR 1.19, CI 1.02-1.39), and troponin greater than 0.03 ng/mL (HR 1.40, CI 1.23-1.62). Decreased risk of in-hospital mortality was associated with female sex (HR 0.84, CI 0.77-0.90), African American race (HR 0.78 CI 0.65-0.95), and hydroxychloroquine use (HR 0.53, CI 0.41-0.67). CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with COVID-19, older age, male sex, hypotension, tachypnea, hypoxia, impaired renal function, elevated D-dimer, and elevated troponin were associated with increased in-hospital mortality and hydroxychloroquine use was associated with decreased in-hospital mortality.

Value of leukocytosis and elevated C-reactive protein in predicting severe coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19): A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Since December 2019, coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) has spread worldwide. Identifying poor prognostic factors is helpful for risk stratification. In this meta-analysis, we investigated the association between severe COVID-19 and a change in white blood cell (WBC) count, an elevation of C-reactive protein (CRP), and fever. Moreover, we aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of leukocytosis and an elevation of CRP. METHODS: We performed a systematic search of PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library through April 20th, 2020. The odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. A sensitivity analysis was conducted according to the study size (>200 or <200) and median age (>55 or <55). Meta-regression analyses were conducted to examine possible sources of heterogeneity. We calculated the diagnostic accuracy of leukocytosis and CRP. RESULTS: Eighteen studies with 3278 patients were selected. Fever, leukocytosis, and elevated CRP were associated with poor outcomes (OR (95% CI) 1.63 (1.06-2.51), 4.51 (2.53-8.04), and 11.97 (4.97-28.8), respectively). Leukopenia was associated with a better prognosis (OR 0.56, 95% CI 0.40-0.78). Sensitivity analyses showed similar tendencies. Meta-regression analysis for leukocytosis indicated that age, dyspnea, and hypertension contributed to heterogeneity. The pooled area under the leukocytosis and CRP curves were 0.70 (0.64-0.76) and 0.89 (0.80-0.99), respectively. CONCLUSION: In patients with COVID-19, fever, leukocytosis, and an elevated CRP were associated with severe outcomes. Leukocytosis and CRP on arrival may predict poor outcomes.