Increased COVID-19 mortality among immigrants compared with US-born individuals: a cross-sectional analysis of 2020 mortality data

OBJECTIVE

Multiple studies have shown that racially minoritized groups had disproportionate COVID-19 mortality relative to non-Hispanic White individuals. However, there is little known regarding mortality by immigrant status nationally in the United States, despite being another vulnerable population.

STUDY DESIGN

This was an observational cross-sectional study using mortality vital statistics system data to calculate proportionate mortality ratios (PMRs) and mortality rates due to COVID-19 as the underlying cause.

METHODS

Rates were compared by decedents' identified race, ethnicity (Hispanic vs non-Hispanic), and immigrant (immigrants vs US born) status. Asian race was further disaggregated into "Asian Indian," "Chinese," "Filipino," "Japanese," "Korean," and "Vietnamese."

RESULTS

Of the over 3.4 million people who died in 2020, 10.4% of all deaths were attributed to COVID-19 as the underlying cause (n = 351,530). More than double (18.9%, n = 81,815) the percentage of immigrants who died of COVID-19 compared with US-born decedents (9.1%, n = 269,715). PMRs due to COVID-19 were higher among immigrants compared with US-born individuals for non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, and most disaggregated Asian groups. Among disaggregated Asian immigrants, age- and sex-adjusted PMR due to COVID-19 ranged from 1.58 times greater mortality among Filipino immigrants (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.53, 1.64) to 0.77 times greater mortality among Japanese immigrants (95% CI: 0.68, 0.86). Age-adjusted mortality rates were also higher among immigrant individuals compared with US-born people.

CONCLUSIONS

Immigrant individuals experienced greater mortality due to COVID-19 compared with their US-born counterparts. As COVID-19 becomes more endemic, greater clinical and public health efforts are needed to reduce disparities in mortality among immigrants compared with their US-born counterparts.

Mastoiditis: a case-based review

Mastoiditis was a common complication of otitis media in the preantibiotic era. Because its incidence has decreased dramatically in recent years, its diagnosis can be delayed or missed, particularly in infants and young children. This delay can result in significant morbidity and increased costs, owing to longer inpatient treatment and surgical intervention. We offer a current, case-based review of the pathogenesis, presentation, and treatment of mastoiditis.

Prediction of poor outcome of intensive care unit patients admitted from the emergency department

OBJECTIVE

To assess whether physicians can identify very low likelihood of survival and very low likelihood of favorable functional outcome in adult nontrauma patients before admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) from the emergency department (ED).

DESIGN

Prospective survey.

SETTING

University hospital ED and ICU.

PARTICIPANTS AND PATIENTS

Critical care fellows and ED physicians and all adult nontrauma patients admitted to the ICU from the ED over 1 yr.

INTERVENTIONS

None.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

The survey compared predictions of poor outcome from three sources: critical care fellows, ED physicians, and the admission Mortality Probability Model (MPM0). All patients were followed until hospital death or hospital discharge. Six-month follow-up data were obtained for patients predicted to have a < 2% chance of surviving with favorable functional outcome. In the ED, critical care fellows and ED physicians predicted likelihood of patient survival and likelihood of favorable functional outcome. MPM0 estimates of mortality were determined. The sensitivities, specificities, and positive predictive values were calculated for the predictions of < 2% survival and the predictions of < 2% chance of favorable functional outcome made by each prediction group. Complete data were obtained on 236 (96%) of 243 eligible patients. With regard to hospital mortality rate, fellows' predictions had a sensitivity of 27%, a specificity of 99%, and a positive predictive value of 88%; ED physicians' predictions had a sensitivity of 24%, a specificity of 98%, and a positive predictive value of 81%; and MPM0 predictions had a sensitivity of 2%, a specificity of 100%, and a positive predictive value of 100%. With regard to mortality rate combined with poor functional outcome, fellows' predictions had a sensitivity of 35%, a specificity of 99%, and a positive predictive value of 96%; ED physicians' predictions had a sensitivity of 37%, a specificity of 99%, and a positive predictive value of 96%.

CONCLUSIONS

If a cutoff point of < 2% predicted survival is used in the triage of patients away from the ICU, the MPM0 has too low a sensitivity to be used as an effective screen. The low sensitivities and relatively low positive predictive values with wide confidence intervals of physician predictions of < 2% survival also preclude their use in triage. The addition of functional outcome as an end point improves the sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value of subjective predictions, making triage of patients away from the ICU at the time of ED evaluation a realistic possibility.

Factors associated with early clinical recognition of children with perinatal human immunodeficiency virus infection. Northern California Pediatric HIV Consortium

Surveillance of children born to women with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection at five pediatric regional centers assessed times and patterns of clinical recognition in these children. Regional HIV seroprevalences among childbearing women were used to assess the proportion of identified children born to HIV-infected women. In total, 415 children with perinatal HIV exposure were identified. Early age at first HIV evaluation was significantly associated with maternal intravenous drug use (3.2 vs. 7.2 months for other or unknown maternal risk, P = .01), birth county with population > 500,000 (3.5 vs. 8.2 months for population < or = 500,000, P = .003), and hospital with routine HIV screening of pregnant women (0.1 vs. 8.8 months for no screening, P = .006). Race did not correlate with age at first evaluation. Using maternal HIV seroprevalence rates for 1988-1991, 34%-50% of the expected number of infants born to HIV-infected women were in clinical care. Perception of increased maternal risk for HIV infection was associated with early clinical recognition of infants of HIV-infected women.

Gentle chemical deoxygenation of hemoglobin solutions

Dithionite is often used to deoxygenate aqueous solutions because it reacts readily with oxygen. However, milder reducing agents, that do not ordinarily react readily with oxygen, may do so in the presence of an appropriate redox catalyst. We show that dithiothreitol reacts rapidly with oxygen in concentrated hemoglobin solutions to produce a mixture of deoxy-, met- and sulf-hemoglobin. The reaction in neutral phosphate buffer is not significantly affected by superoxide dismutase, benzoate or EDTA. However, addition of catalase or horseradish peroxidase decreases the proportions of met- and sulf-hemoglobin produced. We conclude that both hemoglobin and horse radish peroxidase accept dithiothreitol as the reducing substrate in heme catalyzed reactions with their respective oxidizing substrates (dioxygen and hydrogen peroxide). As a result, deoxy-hemoglobin suitable for physical studies can be prepared with a combination of a stoichiometric excess of dithiothreitol and a catalytic amount of horse radish peroxidase.