Clinical profile and management of patients with acute pulmonary thromboembolism - a single centre, large observational study from India.

Acute pulmonary thromboembolism is associated with high mortality, similar to that of myocardial infarction and stroke. We studied the clinical presentation and management of pulmonary thromboembolism in the Indian population. An analysis of 140 patients who presented with acute pulmonary thromboembolism at a large volume center in India from June 2015 through December 2018 was performed. The mean age of our study population was 50 years with 59% being male. Comorbidities including deep vein thrombosis, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were present in 52.9%, 40%, 35.7% and 7.14% of patients, respectively. Out of 140 patients, 40 (28.6%) patients had massive pulmonary thromboembolism, 36 (25.7%) sub-massive pulmonary thromboembolism, and 64 (45.7%) had low-risk pulmonary thromboembolism. Overall, in-hospital mortality was 25.7%. Multivariate regression analysis found chronic kidney disease and pulmonary thromboembolism severity to be the only independent risk factors. Thrombolysis was performed in 62.5% of patients with a massive pulmonary thromboembolism and 63.9% of patients with a sub-massive pulmonary thromboembolism. In the massive pulmonary thromboembolism group, patients receiving thrombolytic therapy had lower mortality compared with patients who did not receive therapy (p=0.022), whereas this difference was not observed in patients in the sub-massive pulmonary thromboembolism group. We conclude that patients with acute pulmonary thromboembolism in India presented more than a decade earlier than our western counterparts, and it was associated with poor clinical outcomes. Thrombolysis was associated with significantly reduced in-hospital mortality in patients with massive pulmonary thromboembolism.

Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes of Community- and Hospital-Acquired Acute Kidney Injury with COVID-19 in a US Inner City Hospital System.

INTRODUCTION: Emerging data have described poor clinical outcomes from infection with the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV 2) among African American patients and those from underserved socioeconomic groups. We sought to describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of acute kidney injury (AKI) in this special population. METHODS: This is a retrospective study conducted in an underserved area with a predominance of African American patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the sample population. The onset of AKI and relation to clinical outcomes were determined. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine factors associated with AKI. RESULTS: Nearly half (49.3%) of the patients with COVID-19 had AKI. Patients with AKI had a significantly lower baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and higher FiO2 requirement and D-dimer levels on admission. More subnephrotic proteinuria and microhematuria was seen in these patients, and the majority had a pre-renal urine electrolyte profile. Patients with hospital-acquired AKI (HA-AKI) as opposed to those with community-acquired AKI (CA-AKI) had higher rates of in-hospital death (52 vs. 23%, p = 0.005), need for vasopressors (42 vs. 25%, p = 0.024), and need for intubation (55 vs. 25%, p = 0.006). A history of heart failure was significantly associated with AKI after adjusting for baseline eGFR (OR 3.382, 95% CI 1.121-13.231, p = 0.032). CONCLUSION: We report a high burden of AKI among underserved COVID-19 patients with multiple comorbidities. Those who had HA-AKI had worse clinical outcomes compared to those who with CA-AKI. A history of heart failure is an independent predictor of AKI in patients with COVID-19.

Fulminant Acute Kidney Injury in a Young Patient with Novel Coronavirus 2019.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global pandemic affecting more than 200 countries and 180,000 cases in the United States. While the outbreak began in China, the number of cases outside of China exceeded those in China on March 15, 2020 and are currently rising at an exponential rate. The number of fatalities in the United States are expected to exceed more than Italy and China. The disease is characterized predominantly as an acute respiratory illness. However, preliminary data suggests that kidney is a target for the virus and deterioration of renal function was associated with poor outcomes including in-hospital mortality. We pre-sent a report of a patient with COVID-19 who presented with acute onset of symptoms and normal renal function at baseline but rapidly deteriorated resulting in death. The timing of decline in renal function correlated with his worsening clinical status. He was started on continuous veno-venous hemofiltration without signs of clinical benefit. We also present the possible mechanisms for acute kidney injury in these patients. We performed a review of the emerging literature by searching PubMed, Google Scholar, and EMBASE for studies and/or case series published on this topic. Acute kidney injury might help risk stratify critically ill patients on a fatal course of COVID-19.

Cannabis use predicts risks of heart failure and cerebrovascular accidents: results from the National Inpatient Sample.

BACKGROUND: Cannabis for medicinal and/or recreational purposes has been decriminalized in 28 states as of the 2016 election. In the remaining states, cannabis remains the most commonly used illicit drug. Cardiovascular effects of cannabis use are not well established due to a limited number of studies. We therefore utilized a large national database to examine the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and events amongst patients with cannabis use. METHODS: Patients aged 18-55 years with cannabis use were identified in the National Inpatient Sample 2009-2010 database using the Ninth Revision of International Classification of Disease code 304.3. Demographics, risk factors, and cardiovascular event rates were collected on these patients and compared with general population data. RESULTS: Prevalence of heart failure, cerebrovascular accident (CVA), coronary artery disease, sudden cardiac death, and hypertension were significantly higher in patients with cannabis use. After multivariate regression adjusting for age, sex, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, coronary artery disease, tobacco use, and alcohol use, cannabis use remained an independent predictor of both heart failure (odds ratio = 1.1, 1.03-1.18, P < 0.01) and CVA (odds ratio = 1.24, 1.14-1.34, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Cannabis use independently predicted the risks of heart failure and CVA in individuals 18-55 years old. With continued legalization of cannabis, potential cardiovascular effects and their underlying mechanisms need to be further investigated.

Gaisböck syndrome (polycythemia and hypertension) revisited: results from the national inpatient sample database.

BACKGROUND: Polycythemia is characterized by increased blood viscosity and a chronic inflammatory state possibly giving rise to excessive thromboembolic events and hypertensive cardiovascular disease. We aimed to study the relationship between polycythemia and cardiac risk factors using a large national registry. METHODS: Patients more than 18 years with a diagnosis of polycythemia were identified from the National Inpatient Sample 2009-2010 database using International Classification of Diseases; Ninth Edition (ICD-9) code 238.4. Demographics, cardiac risk factors, and cardiovascular events were identified. RESULTS: Polycythemia was present in 0.1% (n = 37 922) of hospital-discharged patients. Patients with polycythemia had a significantly increased prevalence of all cardiac risk factors and events, except for diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease. Hypertension was more prevalent in polycythemia compared to controls (61 vs. 46%; P < 0.0001). After adjusting for age, sex, race, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, tobacco use, obesity, coronary artery disease, heart failure, and chronic kidney disease, polycythemia was still a determinant of hypertension [1.37 (1.28-1.45); P < 0.001]. CONCLUSION: Polycythemia had high prevalence of all cardiac risk factors and was independently associated with increased prevalence of hypertension even after adjusting. Our findings from the National Inpatient Sample provide an epidemiological correlate of Gaisböck's original observation of the association of polycythemia and hypertension more than a century ago.