Pleural effusion as an indicator for the poor prognosis of COVID-19 patients.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19) is a global health concern that has become a pandemic over the past few months. This study aims at understanding the clinical manifestations of COVID-19 patients with pleural effusion. METHODS: COVID-19 patients were retrospectively enrolled from the Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology. Pharyngeal swabs from patients were tested using real-time polymerase chain reaction. Patients with COVID-19 were divided into two groups based on their computed tomography (CT) scans for the presence of pleural effusion at admission. We compared the clinical features, laboratory findings, scans and clinical outcomes between the two groups. RESULTS: Pleural effusion was observed in 9.19% of the patients. Patients with pleural effusion were more likely to be severe or critical cases. Moreover, patients with pleural effusion were associated with increased mortality. Of the 799 discharged patients, patients with pleural effusion had longer hospital stays and duration of viral shedding since the onset of symptoms as compared with that for patients without pleural effusion. After discharge, 217 patients visited for a follow-up CT re-examination at the Union Hospital. The CT scans showed that patients with pleural effusion required a longer time to resolve the lung inflammation after the onset of COVID-19 as compared with the time required by patients without pleural effusion. CONCLUSION: This population of patients requires special attention and pleural effusion may be an indicator of poor prognosis in COVID-19 patients.

Diarrhea Is Associated With Prolonged Symptoms and Viral Carriage in Corona Virus Disease 2019.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: We compared clinical, laboratory, radiological, and outcome features of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19) with pneumonia, with vs without diarrhea. METHODS: We performed a retrospective, single-center analysis of 84 patients with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia in Wuhan Union Hospital, China, from January 19 through February 7, 2020. Cases were confirmed by real-time reverse-transcriptase PCR of nasal and pharyngeal swab specimens for SARS-CoV-2 RNA. Blood samples were analyzed for white blood cell count, lymphocyte count, alanine aminotransferase, creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, D-dimer, C-reactive protein, and in some cases, immunoglobulins, complement, lymphocyte subsets, and cytokines. Virus RNA was detected in stool samples by real-time PCR. RESULTS: Of the 84 patients with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia, 26 (31%) had diarrhea. The duration of fever and dyspnea in patients with diarrhea was significantly longer than those without diarrhea (all P < .05). Stool samples from a higher proportion of patients with diarrhea tested positive for virus RNA (69%) than from patients without diarrhea (17%) (P < .001). As of February 19, a lower proportion of patients with diarrhea had a negative result from the latest throat swab for SARS-CoV-2 (77%) than patients without diarrhea (97%) (P = .010), during these patients' hospitalization. Of 76 patients with a negative result from their latest throat swab test during hospitalization, a significantly higher proportion of patients with diarrhea had a positive result from the retest for SARS-CoV-2 in stool (45%) than patients without diarrhea (20%) (P = .039). CONCLUSIONS: At a single center in Wuhan, China, 31% of patients with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia had diarrhea. A significantly higher proportion of patients with diarrhea have virus RNA in stool than patients without diarrhea. Elimination of SARS-CoV-2 from stool takes longer than elimination from the nose and throat.