Racial Disparities in the SOFA Score Among Patients Hospitalized with COVID-19

BackgroundSequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score predicts probability of in-hospital mortality. Many crisis standards of care use SOFA score to allocate medical resources during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research QuestionAre SOFA scores disproportionately elevated among Non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic patients hospitalized with COVID-19, compared to Non-Hispanic White patients? Study Design and MethodsRetrospective cohort study conducted in Yale New Haven Health System, including 5 hospitals with total of 2681 beds. Study population drawn from consecutive patients aged [≥]18 admitted with COVID-19 from March 29th to August 1st, 2020. Patients excluded from the analysis if not their first admission with COVID-19, if they did not have SOFA score recorded within 24 hours of admission, if race and ethnicity data were not Non-Hispanic Black, Non-Hispanic White, or Hispanic, or if they had other missing data. The primary outcomes was SOFA score, with peak score within 24 hours of admission dichotomized as <6 or [≥]6. ResultsOf 2982 patients admitted with COVID-19, 2320 met inclusion criteria and were analyzed, of whom 1058 (45.6%) were Non-Hispanic White, 645 (27.8%) were Hispanic, and 617 (26.6%) were Non-Hispanic Black. Median age was 65.0 and 1226 (52.8%) were female. In univariate logistic screen and in full multivariate model, Non-Hispanic Black patients but not Hispanic patients had greater odds of an elevated SOFA score [≥]6 when compared to Non-Hispanic White patients (OR 1.49, 95%CI 1.11-1.99). InterpretationCrisis standards of care utilizing the SOFA score to allocate medical resources would be more likely to deny these resources to Non-Hispanic Black patients.

The Relationship between Neonatal Circumcision, Urinary Tract Infection, and Health

The risk-benefit profile of neonatal circumcision is not clear. Most studies have focused on urinary tract infections but other health sequelae have not been evaluated. While evidence supports benefits of circumcision, a lack of randomized trials has been cited as a weakness. National guidelines provide mixed recommendations regarding neonatal circumcision. We review the weight of evidence and utilize current statistical methodology on observational data to examine the risks and benefits of neonatal circumcision.