Association between race and risk of ICU mortality in mechanically ventilated COVID-19 patients at a safety net hospital.

PURPOSE: To determine racial differences in intensive care unit (ICU) mortality outcomes among mechanically ventilated patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection in a safety net hospital. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed a cohort of patients ≥ 18 years old with confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome-CoV-2 disease associated respiratory failure who were treated with invasive mechanical ventilation and admitted to the ICU from May 1, 2020 - July 30 -2020 at Grady Memorial Hospital, Atlanta, Georgia - a safety net hospital. We evaluated the association between mortality and demographics, co-morbidities, inpatient laboratory, and radiological parameters. RESULTS: Among 181 critically ill mechanically ventilated African American patients treated at a safety net hospital, the mortality rate was 33%. On stratified analysis by race (Table 2), mortality rates were significantly higher in African Americans (39%) and Hispanics (26.3%), compared to Whites (18.9%). On multivariate regression, African Americans were 3 times more likely to die in the ICU compared to Whites (OR 3.1 95% CI 1.6 -5.5). Likewise, the likelihood of mortality was higher in Hispanics compared to Whites (OR 1.3 95% CI 1.0 -3.9). CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated a high ICU mortality rate in a cohort of mechanically ventilated patients with severe COVID-19 infection treated at a safety net hospital. African Americans and Hispanics had significantly higher risks of ICU mortality compared to Whites. These study findings further elucidate the disproportionately higher burden of COVID-19 infection in African Americans and Hispanics.

Etiology and Treatment Outcomes for Sural Neuroma.

BACKGROUND: Neuroma results from disorganized regeneration following nerve injury and may be symptomatic. The aim of this study was to investigate the causes, treatment, and outcomes of operatively treated sural neuromas, and to describe the factors associated with persistent or unchanged postoperative pain symptoms. METHODS: Consecutive patients with surgically treated sural neuromas in a 14-year period were identified using Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes ( n = 49), followed by a chart review to collect patient and treatment characteristics. Postoperative pain symptoms were categorized as complete resolution of pain, improvement of pain, no change in pain, or worse pain. The median patient age was 46.5 years (interquartile range [IQR], 39.1-51.3), and median follow-up was 4.0 years (IQR, 1.9-9.2). RESULTS: Ninety percent of symptomatic sural neuromas developed as a result of previous lower extremity surgery. Initial surgery of sural neuroma led to improvement in pain in 63% of patients, and an additional 8.2% of the patients had improvement after secondary neuroma surgery. Pain relief after diagnostic injection showed a trend toward an association with postoperative pain improvement. Neuroma excision and implantation in muscle was the most common surgical technique used (67%). Four of the 7 patients that underwent a second neuroma operation reported symptom improvement. CONCLUSION: Sural neuromas may arise from prior surgery or trauma to the lower extremity. Surgical intervention resulted in either improvement or complete resolution of pain symptoms in 71% of patients, although occasionally more than one procedure was required to obtain symptomatic relief. Preoperative anesthetic injection may help identify patients that benefit from neuroma surgery. Level of Evidence: Level IV, retrospective case series.