Factors Associated with Outcome in Patients Managed for Invasive Fungal Infections at the Infectious Diseases Department of a Tertiary Care Hospital

Objective: To look for the factors associated with outcomes in patients managed for invasive fungal infections at the Infectious Diseases Department of a Tertiary Care Hospital Study Design: Comparative cross-sectional study Place and Duration of Study: Department of Infectious Diseases, Pak Emirates Military Hospital, Rawalpindi Pakistan,from Apr 2021 to Sep 2022. Methodology: A total of 90 patients with a different types of invasive fungal infections diagnosed by consultant infectious diseases were recruited. First, they were given standard treatment for fungal infection;they were diagnosed as per guidelines. Then, they were followed up for one month to look for an outcome. Results: Out of 90 patients with invasive fungal infections included in the study, 62(68.8%) had a good outcome, while 28(31.2%) had a poor outcome. The mean age of the patients recruited in our study was 39.54±6.27 years. Of all the participants, 65(72.2%) patients were male, while 25(27.8%) were female. Statistical analysis revealed that poorly controlled diabetes, COVID-19 infection and HIV positive were statistically significantly associated with poor outcomes in our study participants (p-value<0.05). Conclusion: The Considerable number of patients with invasive fungal infections had a poor outcome in our study. The presence of poorly controlled diabetes, COVID-19 infection and being HIV positive were the factors associated with poor outcomes in our study participants.

Mediastinal Lymphadenopathy As A Predictor Of Worse Outcome In Severe Covid-19 Cases.

BACKGROUND: This cross-sectional study is aimed at evaluating the association of mediastinal lymphadenopathy with COVID-19 prognosis in severe cases. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Medicine, Pak Emirates Military Hospital, Pakistan, from June to July 2020. METHODS: One hundred and fifty (150) laboratory-confirmed SARS CoV-2 infected, severe cases in Intensive Care Unit/ High Dependency Unit were included. These cases were divided into two categories, i.e., with and without mediastinal lymphadenopathy on High Resolution Computed Tomography chest. The two categories were compared on the basis of data obtained including age, gender, comorbid, White Blood Cell count, lymphocyte count, median days of hospitalization, need for invasive ventilation, Intensive Care Unit admission, clinical outcome and High-Resolution Computed Tomography chest findings. The data was compiled on a questionnaire and analysed on SPSS 24. RESULTS: Total 155 severe COVID-19 patients were reviewed, out of which 36 (23.2%) had mediastinal lymphadenopathy (category 1) and 119 (76.8%) had no mediastinal lymphadenopathy (category 2). Laboratory findings including median of white blood cells and lymphocyte percentage had no significant change in both categories. Intensive care unit admissions were 12 (33.3%) and 56 (47.1%) in category 1 and 2 respectively. Median days of hospitalization (8 days) and mortality rate (16%) were almost the same in both categories. CONCLUSIONS: Our study concludes that presence of mediastinal lymphadenopathy in severe COVID-19 cases is not associated with worse outcome. However, overall prevalence of mediastinal lymphadenopathy in severe cases is high (23.2%).

Effect of Prone Positioning As Modality for Improvement in Bedside Oxygen Saturation in Awake Non-Intubated COVID-19 Patients and Its Relationship With High Resolution CT Chest Severity Score

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of awake proning on bedside oxygen saturation in non-intubated severe COVID-19 cases and its association with high-resolution CT chest severity score. Study Design: Prospective observational study. Place and Duration of Study: Pak Emirates Military Hospital Pakistan, from Jun to Jul 2020. Methodology: This study was conducted on 150 laboratories confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infected cases with moderate to severe category pneumonia, requiring supplemental oxygen but not mechanical ventilation, admitted in the High Dependency Unit of the Military Hospital. Bedside oxygen saturation was recorded via pulse oximeter before and after proning of 10 minutes to evaluate whether oxygen saturation increased, decreased or remained the same post proning. Results: Out of 150 patients, it was observed that 67 (45%) patients showed 2% increase of oxygen saturation over 10 minutes of proning, 48 (32%) patients showed an increase of 1% while 20 (13%) patients showed an increase of 3%. It was also observed that 13 (14.7%) patients out of 88 patients, with HRCT severity score of >50% showed an increase of 3% compared to 7 (11%) patients out of 62 patients with HRCT severity score of <50%. Conclusion: At least 60% of the patients showed an improvement of 2% or more after 10 minutes of proning, which concluded that awake proning in non-intubated patients may help improve oxygen saturation.