Hematological profile and biochemical markers of COVID-19 non-survivors: A retrospective analysis

Biochemical Alterations Associated With the Severity of COVID-19 in Sub-Saharan Black African Individuals

BACKGROUND

Biochemical markers are essential in the monitoring and the clinical care of patients as they inform clinicians. Here, we characterized biochemical alterations in sub-Saharan Black African individuals with COVID-19.

METHODS

The study includes COVID-19 patients cared for at the Akanda Army Hospital in Libreville (Gabon). A total of 2237 patient records were extracted and reviewed. Patients were classified based on hospital admission (intensive care unit [ICU], internal medicine ward, and outpatient).

RESULTS

One thousand six hundred seventy-one were included in the study. ICU patients were significantly older than non-ICU hospitalized patients (P < 0.001) and outpatients (P < 0.0001). Hyperglycemic patients had 6.4 odds of being in ICU (P < 0.0001). Patients with abnormally high urea had 54.7 odds of being in ICU (P < 0.0001). Patients with abnormally high aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (>33 IU/L) had 3.5 odds of being in ICU (P < 0.0001). Hyperlactatemia (>246 IU/L) odds in ICU patients were 14 (P < 0.0001). The odds of abnormally high alkaline phosphatase (ALP) (>147 IU/L) in ICU patients were 4.6 (P < 0.0001). Odds for hypochloremia (<98 mmol/L) were 1.6 in ICU (P < 0.05). Dysnatremia patients (<135 or >145 mmol/L) had 9.5 odds of being found in ICU patients (P < 0.0001). The odds of potassium imbalance (<3.6 or >5 mmol/L) in ICU patients were 12.2 (P < 0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

COVID-19-associated biochemical alterations observed in the Black African population are similar to those observed in other populations, and the association between COVID-19 severity, hyperglycemia, and multi-organ affection is confirmed.

Characteristics of COVID-19 Patients Admitted to Intensive Care Unit in Multispecialty Hospital of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: A Retrospective Study

During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, infection rates were high and symptoms were severe. Medical resources, including healthcare experts and hospital facilities, were put to the test to ensure their readiness to deal with this unique event. An intensive care unit (ICU) is expected to be required by many hospitalized patients. Many hospitals worldwide lacked resources during the pandemic's peak stages, particularly in critical care treatment. Because of this, there were issues with capacity, as well as an excessive influx of patients. Additionally, even though the research location provides medical care to a sizable population, there is a paucity of scientific data detailing the situation as it pertains to COVID-19 patients during the height of the outbreak. Therefore, this study aimed to identify and describe the features of COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the ICU of one of the multispecialty hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. An observational retrospective study was conducted using a chart review of COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU between March 2020 and December 2020. To characterize the patients, descriptive statistics were utilized. An exploratory multivariate regression analysis was carried out on the study cohort to investigate the factors that were shown to be predictors of death and intubation. Only 333 (29.33%) of the 1135 samples from the hospital's medical records were used for the final analysis and interpretation. More than 76% of the patients in the study were male, with a mean BMI of 22.07 and an average age of around 49 years. The most frequent chronic condition found among the patients who participated in the study was diabetes (39.34%), followed by hypertension (31.53%). At the time of admission, 63 of the total 333 patients needed to have intubation performed. In total, 22 of the 333 patients died while undergoing therapy. People with both diabetes and hypertension had a 7.85-fold higher risk of death, whereas those with only diabetes or hypertension had a 5.43-fold and 4.21-fold higher risk of death, respectively. At admission, intubation was necessary for many male patients (49 out of 63). Most intubated patients had hypertension, diabetes, or both conditions. Only 13 of the 63 patients who had been intubated died, with the vast majority being extubated. Diabetes and hypertension were significant contributors to the severity of illness experienced by COVID-19 participants. The presence of multiple comorbidities had the highest risk for intubation and mortality among ICU-admitted patients. Although more intubated patients died, the fatality rate was lower than in other countries due to enhanced healthcare management at the ICU of the study center. However, large-scale trials are needed to determine how effective various strategies were in preventing ICU admission, intubation, and death rates.

Common Prognostic Biomarkers and Outcomes in Patients with COVID-19 Infection in Saudi Arabia

Background: COVID-19 is a respiratory disease that eventually became a pandemic, with 300 million people infected around the world. Alongside the improvement in COVID-19 management and vaccine development, identifying biomarkers for COVID-19 has recently been reported to help in early prediction and managing severe cases, which might improve outcomes. Our study aimed to find out if there is any correlation between clinical severity and elevated hematological and biochemical markers in COVID-19 patients and its effect on the outcome. Methods: We have collected retrospective data on socio-demographics, medical history, biomarkers, and disease outcomes from five hospitals and health institutions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Results: Pneumonia was the most common presentation of COVID-19 in our cohort. The presence of abnormal inflammatory biomarkers (D-dimer, CRP, troponin, LDH, ferritin, and t white blood cells) was significantly associated with unstable COVID-19 disease. In addition, patients with evidence of severe respiratory disease, particularly those who required mechanical ventilation, had higher biomarkers when compared to those with stable respiratory conditions (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Identifying biomarkers predicts outcomes for COVID-19 patients and may significantly help in their management.

Exploration of Sex and Age-Based Associations in Clinical Characteristics, Predictors of Severity, and Duration of Stay among COVID-19 Patients at the University Hospital of Saudi Arabia

COVID-19 infection has a spectrum of variable clinical severity between populations because of their characteristic demographic features, co-morbidities, and immune system reactions. This pandemic tested the healthcare system's preparedness, which depends on predictors of severity and factors related to the duration of hospital stays. Therefore, we carried out a single-center, retrospective cohort study in a tertiary academic hospital to investigate these clinical features and predictors of severe disease and study the different factors that affect hospital stay. We utilized medical records from March 2020 to July 2021, which included 443 confirmed (positive RT-PCR) cases. The data were explained using descriptive statistics and analyzed via multivariate models. Among the patients, 65.4% were female and 34.5% were male, with a mean age of 45.7 years (SD ± 17.2). We presented seven age groups with ranges of 10 years and noticed that patients aged 30-39 years old comprised 23.02% of the records, while patients aged 70 and above comprised 10%. Nearly 47% were diagnosed as having mild, 25% as moderate, 18% as asymptomatic, and 11% as having a severe case of COVID-19 disease. Diabetes was the most common co-morbidity factor in 27.6% of patients, followed by hypertension (26.4%). Our population's predictors of severity included pneumonia, identified on a chest X-ray, and co-morbid conditions such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, ICU stay, and mechanical ventilation. The median length of hospital stay was six days. It was significantly longer in patients with a severe disease and who were administered systemic intravenous steroids. An empirical assessment of various clinical parameters could assist in effectively measuring the disease progression and follow-up with patients.

Galectin-3 as an important prognostic marker for COVID-19 severity

Galectin-3 (Gal-3), multifunctional protein plays important roles in inflammatory response, infection and fibrosis. The goal of study was to determine the association of Gal-3, immune response, clinical, biochemical, and radiographic findings with COVID-19 severity. Study included 280 COVID-19 patients classified according to disease severity into mild, moderate, severe and critical group. Cytokines, clinical, biochemical, radiographic data and peripheral blood immune cell make up were analyzed. Patients in critical group had significantly higher serum level of Gal-3, IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-12, IL-10 compared to the patients in less severe stages of disease. Strong positive correlation was detected between Gal-3 and IL-1β, moderate positive correlation between Gal-3, TNF-α and IL-12, moderate negative correlation between Gal-3, IL-10/IL-1β and IL-10/TNF-α. Moderate positive correlation noted between Gal-3 and urea, D dimer, CXR findings. Strong negative correlation detected between Gal-3 and p0₂, Sa0_2, and moderate negative correlation between Gal-3, lymphocyte and monocyte percentage. In the peripheral blood of patients with more severe stages of COVID-19 we detected significantly increased percentages of CD56^- CD3⁺TNF-α⁺T cells and CD56^- CD3⁺Gal-3⁺T cells and increased expression of CCR5 in PBMCs. Our results predict Gal-3 as an important marker for critical stage of COVID-19. Higher expression of Gal-3, TNF-α and CCR5 on T cells implicate on promoting inflammation and more severe form of disease.

Clinical profile, treatment, and outcomes of patients with COVID-19 in a tertiary referral hospital in South Sumatera, Indonesia: A retrospective single-center study

Background

Although there are fewer COVID-19 cases in Indonesia, the pandemic is still ongoing. COVID-19 has a significant death rate in Indonesia, but lack of information on the effect of different clinical and demographic factors on COVID-19-related grimness and mortality in Indonesia.

Objective

This study examined the clinical profile, treatment, and outcomes of patients with COVID-19 at Lahat Regency Hospital in South Sumatera, Indonesia, to find relevant markers that might be utilized to predict the prognosis of these patients.

Methods

This was a retrospective single-center study of all medical record files of confirmed patients with COVID-19 admitted to Lahat Hospital from September 2020 to August 2021 (n = 285). Descriptive statistics, Chi-square, Mann-Whitney, Multiple Logistic Regression, and Cox's proportional hazards model were used for data analyses.

Results

This study included 65 non-hospitalized and 220 hospitalized patients. Hospitalized patients were divided into dead and alive groups. The median age was lower in the non-hospitalized group without gender discrimination, and most hospitalized patients had comorbidities. Vital signs and clinical features were significantly different in hospitalized patients compared to non-hospitalized. The survival patients in the hospitalized group showed lower white blood cell (WBC), neutrophil percentages, and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) but higher lymphocyte and eosinophil. Non-survival patients had elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, blood glucose, and potassium. The use of Favipiravir and Remdesivir was significant between the alive and dead groups. The mean hospital stay for all patients was 9.49 ± 4.77 days, while the median duration of hospital time was 10.73 ± 4.33 days in the survival group and 5.39 ± 3.78 days in the non-survival group. Multiple logistic regression analysis determined respiration rate, WBC, and BUN as predictors of survival.

Conclusions

Age and comorbidities are significant elements impacting the seriousness of COVID-19. Abnormal signs in laboratory markers can be used as early warning and prognostic signs to prevent severity and death. Potential biomarkers at various degrees in patients with COVID-19 may also aid healthcare professionals in providing precision medicine and nursing.

Hematological Profiles and Clinical Outcome of COVID-19 Among Patients Admitted at Debre Markos Isolation and Treatment Center, 2020: A Prospective Cohort Study

BACKGROUND

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is coronavirus isolated from SARS patients. As far as the researchers' knowledge, there was paucity of studies conducted in Ethiopia, particularly in the study area. As immune protection is arisen from our blood cells, assessing their level will provide a clue for controlling the disease and monitoring the prognosis. This study will also provide additional information for clinical intervention and patient management.

PURPOSE

This study aimed to investigate the hematological profile and clinical outcome of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) among patients admitted to the Debre Markos Isolation and Treatment Center (DMITC).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A prospective cohort study was conducted among 136 COVID-19 adult patients at DMITC from January 1, 2020 to March 30, 2021. Data related to clinical, hematological profiles and socio-demographic factors were collected, entered into Epi data, and analyzed using STATA 14.2 software. Multivariable logistic regression was applied to determine the predictor variable and a p-value <0.05 was considered significant.

RESULTS

Of 136 COVID-19 patients, 28.68% had died. The mean age of patients was 47.21±1.29 years. The hematological profile of the patients revealed that 28% had abnormal leukocyte, 23% abnormal lymphocyte, 44.85% abnormal granulocyte, 22.06% abnormal monocyte, 30.15% abnormal RBC and 87% abnormal platelet counts. The prevalence of anemia was 13.24%.

CONCLUSION

Leukocytosis (mainly granulocytosis and monocytosis) and lymphopenia, were the predominant abnormal findings of complete blood cell count (CBC) analysis of the patient's blood. Most of the patients had abnormally low platelet counts. RBC count and hematocrit determination were the only significant predictors of death. The clinician could manage cases according to the hematological findings of the patients. Further experimental studies should be conducted to determine hematological parameter changes and the clinical outcome of the disease.

Mortality in patients with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID- 19) and its clinicoradiological and laboratory correlates: A retrospective study

Aim

To delineate and analyze the mortality from COVID -19 in our institute during the devastating second wave of pandemic.

Settings and Design

A retrospective cohort analysis.

Methods and Materials

A comprehensive mortality analysis of 142 laboratory-confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2-infected deceased patients from our hospital's medical records was done. These patients presented with severe disease at the time of admission and were managed in intensive care units.

Statistical Analysis Used

Statistical Package for Social Sciences software, IBM manufacturer, Chicago, USA, version 21.0 was used.

Results

The number of deceased males (82, 62.6%) was higher than females (53, 37.3%). Median age of deceased patient was 57 (44.25-69.75) years. Most frequent comorbidities were diabetes mellitus (42, 29.6%) and hypertension (41, 28.9%). Most common symptoms being shortness of breath (137, 96.5%), fever (94, 66.2%) and cough (73, 51.4%). Median peripheral capillary oxygen saturation (SpO2) at time of admission was 86% (77.25-90). Median time interval from symptom onset to admission in hospital was 3 (2.25-5) days. Neutrophil lymphocyte ratio was more than 5 in 117 (90.7%) patients. Complications seen were acute respiratory distress syndrome in 82.3%, acute liver injury in 58.4%, acute kidney injury in 26.7%, sepsis in 13.3% and acute cardiac injury in 12% patients. The median high-resolution computed tomography score was 20 (17-22).

Conclusions

Male and elderly patients with underlying comorbidities had poorer outcome and involvement of multiple organ systems was common. A short time interval between symptom onset and admission/mortality, particularly encountered was worrisome.

Comparison of Initial CT Findings and CO-RADS Stage in COVID-19 Patients with PCR, Inflammation and Coagulation Parameters in Diagnostic and Prognostic Perspectives

Objectives:

This study aims to determine whether COVID-19 patients with different initial reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), computed tomography (CT) and laboratory findings have different clinical outcomes.

Materials and Methods:

In this multi-center retrospective cohort study, 895 hospitalized patients with the diagnosis of COVID-19 were included. According to the RT-PCR positivity and presence of CT findings, the patients were divided into four groups. These groups were compared in terms of mortality and need for intensive care unit (ICU). According to the COVID-19 Reporting and Data System (CO-RADS), all patients’ CT images were staged. Multivariate binary logistic regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between CO-RADS and predictive inflammation and coagulation parameters.

Results:

RT-PCR test positivity was 51.5%, the CT finding was 70.7%, and 49.7% of the patients were in the CO-RADS 5 stage. The need for ICU and mortality rates was higher in the group with only CT findings compared to the group with only RT-PCR positivity, (14.9% vs. 4.0%, p < 0.001; 9.3% vs. 3.3%, p > 0.05; respectively). Mortality was 3.27 times higher in patients with CO-RADS 4 compared to those with CO-RADS 1–2. Being in the CO-RADS 4 stage and LDH were discovered to be the most efficient parameters in determining mortality risk.

Conclusion:

Performing only the RT-PCR test in the initial evaluation of patients in SARS-CoV-2 infection may lead to overlooking groups that are more at risk for severe disease. The use of a chest CT to perform CO-RADS staging would be beneficial in terms of providing both diagnostic and prognostic information.

Animal models for COVID-19: advances, gaps and perspectives

COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, is the most consequential pandemic of this century. Since the outbreak in late 2019, animal models have been playing crucial roles in aiding the rapid development of vaccines/drugs for prevention and therapy, as well as understanding the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 infection and immune responses of hosts. However, the current animal models have some deficits and there is an urgent need for novel models to evaluate the virulence of variants of concerns (VOC), antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE), and various comorbidities of COVID-19. This review summarizes the clinical features of COVID-19 in different populations, and the characteristics of the major animal models of SARS-CoV-2, including those naturally susceptible animals, such as non-human primates, Syrian hamster, ferret, minks, poultry, livestock, and mouse models sensitized by genetically modified, AAV/adenoviral transduced, mouse-adapted strain of SARS-CoV-2, and by engraftment of human tissues or cells. Since understanding the host receptors and proteases is essential for designing advanced genetically modified animal models, successful studies on receptors and proteases are also reviewed. Several improved alternatives for future mouse models are proposed, including the reselection of alternative receptor genes or multiple gene combinations, the use of transgenic or knock-in method, and different strains for establishing the next generation of genetically modified mice.

Evaluation of the Charlson Comorbidity Index and Laboratory Parameters as Independent Early Mortality Predictors in Covid 19 Patients

Purpose

Patients and methods

Results

Conclusion

Potential Role of Certain Biomarkers Such as Vitamin B12, ROS, Albumin, as Early Predictors for Prognosis of COVID-19 Outcomes

COVID-19 disease is still a major global concern because of its morbidity and its mortality in severe disease. Certain biomarkers including Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), vitamins, and trace elements are known to play a crucial role in the pathophysiology of the disease. The aim of our study was to evaluate how certain biomarkers, such as ROS, biochemical indicators, trace elements in serum blood of 139 COVID-19 hospitalized patients, and 60 non-COVID cases according to age and sex variations, can serve as the predictors for prognosis of COVID-19 outcome. An attempt of correlating these biomarkers with the severity of the disease as well as with each other is represented. All subjects were hospitalized from April 2021 until June 2021. A statistically significant increase of B12 levels (p = 0.0029) and ROS levels (p < 0.0001) as well as a decrease in albumin and Total Protein (T.P.) levels (p < 0.001) was observed especially in the early stage of the disease before CRP and ferritin elevation. Additionally, a statistically significant increase in ferritin (p = 0.007), B12 (p = 0.035, sALT p = 0.069, Glucose p = 0.012 and urea p = 0.096 and a decrease in Ca p = 0.005, T.P p = 0.052 albumin p = 0.046 between stage B (CRP values 6−30 mg/L) and C (CRP values 30−100 mg/L) was evident. Thus, this study concludes that clinicians could successfully employ biomarkers such as vitamin B12, ROS and albumin as possible prognosis tools for an early diagnosis. In addition, the total biochemical profile can assist in the understanding of the severity of COVID-19 disease, and could potentially lead to a better diet or early pharmaceutical treatment to prevent some of the more acute symptoms.

Hematological features and risk factors of hospitalized COVID-19 patients: A retrospective analysis

Background:

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) became pandemic in 2020 and recently, mutated coronaviruses have emerged in many countries. The aim of this study was to identify the clinical characteristics and risk factors for critical illness in hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Zhengzhou for clinical prevention and management.

Materials and methods:

A total of 70 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 were enrolled between 21 January and 29 February 2020, in Zhengzhou, China. Clinical characteristics, hematological findings, neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and inflammatory index on admission were obtained from medical records, COVID-19 patients with different outcomes were compared.

Results:

The median age was 55 years. Forty-three (61.0%) patients were classified as having severe or critical cases. Eighteen (25.7%) patients died in hospital and the remaining 52 were discharged. Patients who died tend to be old with expectoration and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Compared to survivor, non-survivor had significantly higher numbers of leucocytes and neutrophils, NLR, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), γ-glutamyl transpeptidase, total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), prothrombin time, D-dimer, C-reactive protein, and decreased platelets, lymphocytes, uric acid, and albumin (ALB). Logistic regression analysis identified leucocytes, platelets, PLR, NLR, AST, and ALB as independent predictive factors for poor outcomes. The area under curve of the combination of leucocytes, PLR, NLR, and AST was 0.87, with a sensitivity of 0.83 and specificity of 0.81.

Conclusion:

Our results identified risk factors among COVID-19 patients for in-hospital mortality. Leucocytes, PLR, NLR, and AST could have important reference value for predicting prognosis, especially in low-resource countries.

High-altitude is associated with better short-term survival in critically ill COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU

BACKGROUND

Multiple studies have attempted to elucidate the relationship between chronic hypoxia and SARS-CoV-2 infection. It seems that high-altitude is associated with lower COVID-19 related mortality and incidence rates; nevertheless, all the data came from observational studies, being this the first one looking into prospectively collected clinical data from severely ill patients residing at two significantly different altitudes.

METHODS

A prospective cohort, a two-center study among COVID-19 confirmed adult patients admitted to a low (sea level) and high-altitude (2,850 m) ICU unit in Ecuador was conducted. Two hundred and thirty confirmed patients were enrolled from March 15th to July 15th, 2020.

RESULTS

From 230 patients, 149 were men (64.8%) and 81 women (35.2%). The median age of all the patients was 60 years, and at least 105 (45.7%) of patients had at least one underlying comorbidity, including hypertension (33.5%), diabetes (16.5%), and chronic kidney failure (5.7%). The APACHE II scale (Score that estimates ICU mortality) at 72 hours was especially higher in the low altitude group with a median of 18 points (IQR: 9.5-24.0), compared to 9 points (IQR: 5.0-22.0) obtained in the high-altitude group. There is evidence of a difference in survival in favor of the high-altitude group (p = 0.006), the median survival being 39 days, compared to 21 days in the low altitude group.

CONCLUSION

There has been a substantial improvement in survival amongst people admitted to the high-altitude ICU. Residing at high-altitudes was associated with improved survival, especially among patients with no comorbidities. COVID-19 patients admitted to the high-altitude ICU unit have improved severity-of-disease classification system scores at 72 hours.

Dynamic Changes of the Blood Chemistry in Syrian Hamsters Post-Acute COVID-19

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a novel coronavirus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, the long-term health consequences of COVID-19 are not fully understood. We aimed to determine the long-term lung pathology and blood chemistry changes in Syrian hamsters infected with SARS-CoV-2. Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) were inoculated with 10⁵ PFU of SARS-CoV-2, and changes post-infection (pi) were observed for 20 days. On days 5 and 20 pi, the lungs were harvested and processed for pathology and viral load count. Multiple blood samples were collected every 3 to 5 days to observe dynamic changes in blood chemistry. Infected hamsters showed consistent weight loss until day 7 pi At day 5 pi, histopathology of the lungs showed moderate to severe inflammation and the virus could be detected. These results indicate that SARS-CoV-2 has an acute onset and recovery course in the hamster infection model. During the acute onset, blood triglyceride levels increased significantly at day 3 pi During the recovery course, uric acid and low-density lipoprotein levels increased significantly, but the total protein and albumin levels decreased. Together, our study suggests that SARS-CoV-2 infection in hamsters not only causes lung damage but also causes long-term changes in blood biochemistry during the recovery process.

IMPORTANCE COVID-19 is now considered a multiorgan disease with a wide range of manifestations. There are increasing reports of persistent and long-term effects after acute COVID-19, but the long-term health consequences of COVID-19 are not fully understood. This study reported for the first time the use of blood samples collected continuously in a SARS-CoV-2-infected hamster model, which provides more information about the dynamic changes in blood biochemistry during the acute and recovery phases of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Our study suggests that SARS-CoV-2 infection in hamsters not only causes lung damage but also causes long-term changes in blood biochemistry during the recovery process. The study may be used by several researchers and clinicians, especially those who are studying potential treatments for patients with post-acute COVID-19 syndrome.

Analysis of trimodal pattern of mortality among hospitalized COVID-19 patients- Lessons from tertiary care hospital

Background and Aims:

Many patients with COVID-19 become critically ill and requireICU admission. Risk factors associated with mortality have been studied, but this study provides insight regarding disease progression and hence help to plan rescue strategies to improve patient outcome.

Material and Methods:

This retrospective, observational study included all patients with diagnosis of COVID-19 from March1 to June30,2021 who died in hospital.

Results:

During the study period, 1600 patients were admitted, with 1138 (71%) needing ICU care. There were 346 (21.6%) deaths, distributed as 15.8%(n = 55) within 48h of admission, 46.2%(n = 160) in next 10 days, and 37.8%(n = 131) thereafter. This trimodal mortality pattern of distribution was similar to polytrauma patients. Patients were divided into categories according to time duration from admission to death. In our cohort, 235 (14.7%) patients required mechanical ventilation, with a mortality of 85.4%(n = 201). Tachypnea was significantly (P < 0.001) associated with death at all times; however, hypotension was associated with early death and low oxygen saturation with poor outcome upto 10 days (P < 0.001). Refractory hypoxia was cause of death in all three groups, while other causes in group II were AKI (28%), sepsis (18%), and MODS (10%). Group III patients had different causes of mortality, including barotrauma (9%), pulmonary thromboembolism (8%), refractory hypercarbia (12%), MODS (13%), AKI (10%), sepsis (7%), and cardiac events (6%).

Conclusion:

While physiological dearrangements are associated with rapid progression and early death, complications related to hyper-coagulable state, lung injury, and organ failure lead to death later. Providing quality care to a high volume of patients is a challenge for all, but posthoc analysis such as air crash investigation can help find out potential areas of improvement and contribute to better outcomes and mortality reduction.

Association of Inflammatory Markers with COVID-19 Outcome among Hospitalized Patients: Experience from a Tertiary Healthcare Center in Western India

Introduction: COVID-19 is a highly infectious disease and varies in the severity of presentation as well as survival outcome due to varied inflammatory responses. Hence, the present study is aimed to evaluate the role of inflammatory markers in predicting the outcome of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients. Methods: A total of 272 confirmed COVID-19 patients were included in the study. Clinical and demographic data were collected. Biochemical, hematological, and inflammatory markers were assessed in all patients. Disease severity and primary outcome as survival and or mortality were recorded. Results:Hematological indices and inflammatory markers were significantly higher among the non-survivors. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) can differentiate non-survivors from survivors with 100% sensitivity and 70.2% specificity, with a cut-off value of 79.6 in the receiver operator curve (ROC). As disease severity was increasing, IL-6 and C-reactive protein (CRP) were significantly increased among patients. Survival analysis showed that an elevated level of IL-6 was significantly associated with mortality and Cox regression analysis showed the hazard ratio (HR) of IL-6 was 0.996 (P<0.007). Conclusion:The results of the present study implicate that increased levels of IL-6 and CRP were significantly correlated with severity and mortality in COVID-19 patients. In addition, the dynamic measurement of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte (N/L) ratio, IL-6, and CRP in COVID-19 might be used as predictors of prognosis and outcome.

Predictors of critical illness and mortality based on symptoms and initial physical examination for patients with SARS-CoV-2: A retrospective cohort study

INTRODUCTION

An unidentified cluster of pneumonia was identified in Wuhan city of China in the last week of December 2019, named Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-COV-2). The current study explored the predictors associated with critical illness and mortality based on symptoms at the time of admission and initial physical examination findings in patients with SARS-CoV-2.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A total of 249 records of laboratory-confirmed SARS-COV-2 patients were analyzed. Demographic profile and findings of initial physical examination were collected and analyzed. Bivariate logistic and multivariable stepwise forward regression analysis was used to identify the predictors of critical illness and mortality.

RESULTS

A total of 249 records of SARS-COV-2 patients were retrospectively studied, of whom 66 (26.5%) developed a critical illness, and 58 (23.29%) died. The mean age of patients was 45.15 (16.34) years; 171 (68.71%) were men. From 27 potential predictors for developing a critical illness, 15 were reported independent predictors for critical illness, and 13 were for increased risk of mortality. Stepwise forward regression reported dyspnea as a single strongest predictor (OR, 5.800, 95% CI-2.724-12.346; p = 0.001, R2 = 0.272) to develop critical illness. Likewise, the respiratory rate was alone reported as a strong predictor (OR, 1.381, 95% CI- 1.251-1.525; p = 0.000, R2 = 0.329) for mortality.

CONCLUSIONS

Coronavirus disease is a new challenge to the medical fraternity, leading to significant morbidity and mortality. Knowledge of potential risk factors could help clinicians assess patients' risk with unfavourable outcomes and improve hospitalization decisions in the early stage.