scholarly journals Retrospective case–control study to evaluate hypocalcaemia as a distinguishing feature of COVID-19 compared with other infective pneumonias and its association with disease severity

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. e053810
Author(s):  
Meera Mehta ◽  
Hakim Ghani ◽  
Felix Chua ◽  
Adrian Draper ◽  
Sam Calmonson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Disease Severity ◽  
Serum Calcium ◽  
Case Control Study ◽  
Severe Disease ◽  
Maximum Level ◽  
Case Control ◽  
Level Of Care ◽  
Retrospective Case ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Control Study

ObjectivesTo investigate whether calcium derangement was a specific feature of COVID-19 that distinguishes it from other infective pneumonias, and its association with disease severity.DesignA retrospective observational case–control study looking at serum calcium on adult patients with COVID-19, and community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) or viral pneumonia (VP).SettingA district general hospital on the outskirts of London, UK.Participants506 patients with COVID-19, 95 patients with CAP and 152 patients with VP.Outcome measuresBaseline characteristics including hypocalcaemia in patients with COVID-19, CAP and VP were detailed. For patients with COVID-19, the impact of an abnormally low calcium level on the maximum level of hospital care, as a surrogate of COVID-19 severity, was evaluated. The primary outcome of maximal level of care was based on the WHO Clinical Progression Scale for COVID-19.ResultsHypocalcaemia was a specific and common clinical finding in patients with COVID-19 that distinguished it from other respiratory infections. Calcium levels were significantly lower in those with severe disease. Ordinal regression of risk estimates for categorised care levels showed that baseline hypocalcaemia was incrementally associated with OR of 2.33 (95% CI 1.5 to 3.61) for higher level of care, superior to other variables that have previously been shown to predict worse COVID-19 outcome. Serial calcium levels showed improvement by days 7–9 of admission, only in survivors of COVID-19.ConclusionHypocalcaemia is specific to COVID-19 and may help distinguish it from other infective pneumonias. Hypocalcaemia may independently predict severe disease and warrants detailed prognostic investigation. The fact that decreased serum calcium is observed at the time of clinical presentation in COVID-19, but not other infective pneumonias, suggests that its early derangement is pathophysiological and may influence the deleterious evolution of this disease.Trial registration number20/HRA/2344.

scholarly journals The Impact of Ovarian Endometrioma(s) on ART Outcomes: Retrospective Case Control Study

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emre Göksan Pabuçcu ◽  
Aslı Yarcı Gürsoy ◽  
Hasan Ulubaşoğlu ◽  
Özgür Doğuş Demirkıran ◽  
Gamze Sinem Çağlar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Live Birth ◽  
Case Control Study ◽  
Mature Oocyte ◽  
Case Control ◽  
Retrospective Case ◽  
Oocyte Yield ◽  
Ovarian Endometrioma ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Control Study ◽  
End Group

<p><strong>OBJECTIVE:</strong> To compare oocyte yield of women with intact ovarian endometrioma(s) to those without endometrioma undergoing ART. Secondary outcomes were implantation and live birth rates between the two groups.</p><p><strong>STUDY DESIGN: </strong>Retrospective case-control study was conducted to document eligible cases. A total of 165 women with intact endometrioma(s) (END) were included in the final analysis. Controls were 196 cases with tubal disease as the sole cause of their infertility who underwent ART in the same time period. Cases and controls were matched for age, BMI and serum AMH concentrations. Ovarian stimulation characteristics and pregnancy outcomes including live birth data were documented for both groups.</p><p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>Despite similar demographic characteristics, significantly<strong> </strong>longer cycle duration and higher amounts of gonadotropin consumption was observed in END group compared to controls (p&lt;0.001). Significantly lower numbers of retrieved oocytes, mature oocytes and mature oocyte fraction (%, no of retrieved/mature) was detected in END group. There was no statistically significant difference in terms of fertilization, implantation and live birth rate per started cycle among groups. Cycle cancellations were also similar.</p><p><strong>CONCLUSION: </strong>In women with intact ovarian endometrioma(s) undergoing ART, oocyte quantity, especially mature oocyte yield was hampered. However, adequate number of mature oocytes, successful fertilization and satisfactory implantation rates might be possible contributing to acceptable live births. Further randomized controlled trials of patients with different sizes of endometrioma(s) would be needed to confirm our conclusions.</p>

scholarly journals High Prevalence of Hypocalcemia in Non-severe COVID-19 Patients: A Retrospective Case-Control Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rimesh Pal ◽  
Sant Ram ◽  
Deepy Zohmangaihi ◽  
Indranil Biswas ◽  
Vikas Suri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Serum Calcium ◽  
Case Control Study ◽  
Healthy Adult ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Case Control ◽  
Retrospective Case ◽  
Hydroxyvitamin D ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
25 Hydroxyvitamin D ◽  
Control Study

Purpose: To compare serum total calcium and phosphate levels in patients with non-severe COVID-19 with age, sex, and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level matched healthy adult cohort.Methods: In this retrospective case-control study, medical records of patients (≥18 years) diagnosed as non-severe COVID-19 admitted at and discharged from our tertiary care institution during the period from April 10, 2020 and June 20, 2020 were retrieved. Baseline investigations, notably, serum calcium, phosphate, albumin, magnesium, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, and C-reactive protein (CRP), were performed at admission before any form of calcium or vitamin D supplementation were considered. The biochemical parameters were compared with age, sex, and 25-hydroxyvitamin D matched healthy adult controls (1:1 ratio) derived from the Chandigarh Urban Bone Epidemiological Study (CUBES).Results: After exclusion, 72 patients with non-severe COVID-19 (63 mild and 9 moderate disease) and an equal number of healthy controls were included in the final analysis. Age, sex, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, and albumin levels were matched between the 2 groups. Hypovitaminosis D and hypocalcemia were seen in 97 and 67% of the patients, respectively. The patients had lower serum calcium (P value &lt;0.001) and phosphate (P = 0.007) compared with the controls. There was no statistically significant correlation between serum calcium and CRP.Conclusions: Hypocalcemia is highly prevalent even in COVID-19 patients with non-severe disease probably implying that hypocalcemia is intrinsic to the disease. Prospective studies with larger number of patients are required to prove this hypothesis and unravel the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms.

scholarly journals Disseminated disease due to non-tuberculous mycobacteria in HIV positive patients: A retrospective case control study

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (7) ◽  
pp. e0254607
Author(s):  
Nils Wetzstein ◽  
Ari Geil ◽  
Gerrit Kann ◽  
Annette Lehn ◽  
Gundolf Schüttfort ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Case Control Study ◽  
Case Control ◽  
Medical Attention ◽  
Retrospective Case ◽  
Hiv Patients ◽  
Cell Counts ◽  
Cd4 Cell Counts ◽  
Cd4 Cell ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Control Study

Introduction Disseminated infection due to non-tuberculous mycobacteria has been a major factor of mortality and comorbidity in HIV patients. Until 2018, U.S. American guidelines have recommended antimycobacterial prophylaxis in patients with low CD4 cell counts, a practice that has not been adopted in Europe. This study aimed at examining the impact of disseminated NTM disease on clinical outcome in German HIV patients with a severe immunodeficiency. Materials and methods In this retrospective case control study, HIV patients with disseminated NTM disease were identified by retrospective chart review and matched by their CD4 cell counts to HIV patients without NTM infection in a 1:1 alocation. Primary endpoints were mortality and time to first rehospitalisation. In addition, other opportunistic diseases, as well as antimycobacterial and antiretroviral treatments were examined. Results Between 2006 and 2016, we identified 37 HIV patients with disseminated NTM disease. Most of them were suffering from infections due to M. avium complex (n = 31, 77.5%). Time to event analysis showed a non-significant trend to higher mortality in patients with disseminated NTM disease (p = 0.24). Rehospitalisation took place significantly earlier in patients with disseminated NTM infections (median 40.5 days vs. 109 days, p<0.0001). Conclusion In this retrospective case control study, we could demonstrate that mortality is not significantly higher in HIV patients with disseminated NTM disease in the ART era, but that they require specialised medical attention in the first months following discharge.

scholarly journals Obstetric history and its association with cardiometabolic risk factors: a case-control study among Bhil Women of Rajasthan, India

2021 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-83
Author(s):  
Savitesh Kushwaha ◽  
Jyoti Mishra ◽  
Prakash Ranjan Mondal
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Cardiometabolic Risk ◽  
Case Control Study ◽  
Case Control ◽  
Cardiometabolic Risk Factors ◽  
Retrospective Case ◽  
Obstetric History ◽  
Obesity Hypertension ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Control Study

Abstract Pregnancy and childbearing are special reproductive events having an impact on women’s health and demographic trends. Reproductive health is not only linked to biological events of gestation and birth, but also are intricately linked to women`s status and their role in society. The current study focuses on the impact of bad obstetric history in the development of cardiometabolic risk factors. The present retrospective case-control study was conducted among Bhil tribal women of Rajasthan, India. A total of 287 women participated in this study which included 125 cases and 162 controls. Data on somatometric measurements, physiological measurements and lipid profile were recorded and analysed using SPSS version 25.0. The mean number of conceptions differed significantly between pregnancy in cases (5.06±1.85) and pregnancy in controls (3.19±1.56). Cases were characterised with significantly increased mean SBP (p=0.010), although the values (116.68±23.04) fell within the normal range. Bad obstetric history was found to be a risk factor for central obesity, hypertension and dyslipidemia among the Bhil women. It was also found to be relatively associated with adverse demographic/lifestyle variables which could enhance the effect of cardiometabolic risk factors. Women with bad obstetric history need special care and lifestyle variables need to be adjusted for better health outputs.

A retrospective case-control study to assess the impact of enhanced supportive care for patients with advanced lung cancer

Lung Cancer ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 127 ◽  
pp. S64
Author(s):  
N. Vijeratnam ◽  
A. Stockley ◽  
N. Godfrey ◽  
E. Jenkins ◽  
N. Dorey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lung Cancer ◽  
Supportive Care ◽  
Case Control Study ◽  
Case Control ◽  
Advanced Lung Cancer ◽  
Retrospective Case ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Control Study
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