scholarly journals Impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 on Clinical Characteristics in Patients With Lung Cancer: A Large Single-Centre Retrospective Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Zhang ◽  
Jie Li ◽  
Zhi-Ke Li ◽  
Xiyue Yang ◽  
Jie Bai ◽  
...  

Lung cancer is the most common cancer malignancy worldwide. With the continuous spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) globally, it is of great significance to explore the impact of this disease on the clinical characteristics of lung cancer. Thus, we aimed to investigate whether the COVID-19 pandemic had any influence on the clinical characteristics and diagnosis of patients with lung cancer. We collected clinical and demographic data of patients who were newly diagnosed with lung cancer at our hospital between February 2019 and July 2020. Overall, 387 patients with lung cancer were divided into two groups for analysis: epidemic group (from February to July 2020) and pre-epidemic group (from February to July 2019). The source of diagnosis and clinical characteristics of the two groups were analysed. T-test and Mann-Whitney U were used for continuous variables, and Chi-squared or Fisher’s exact test for categorical variable. We found that during the epidemic period, 110 cases of lung cancer were incidentally diagnosed during COVID-19 screening, accounting for 47.6% of all newly diagnosed lung cancer cases at our hospital. The proportions of patients who were diagnosed based on symptoms and physical examination in the epidemic group were 34.2 and 18.2%, respectively, while that in the pre-epidemic group were 41.7 and 58.3%, respectively. There was significant difference in the source of diagnosis between the two groups. In a subgroup analysis of the epidemic group, the average tumour volume of the patients diagnosed with COVID-19 screening was significantly smaller than that of the patients diagnosed with symptoms and physical examination. In conclusion, the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic may impact the screening and clinical characteristics of lung cancer and require large-scale and longer-term observation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. s302-s302
Author(s):  
Amanda Barner ◽  
Lou Ann Bruno-Murtha

Background: The Infectious Diseases Society of America released updated community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) guidelines in October 2019. One of the recommendations, with a low quality of supporting evidence, is the standard administration of antibiotics in adult patients with influenza and radiographic evidence of pneumonia. Procalcitonin (PCT) is not endorsed as a strategy to withhold antibiotic therapy, but it could be used to de-escalate appropriate patients after 48–72 hours. Radiographic findings are not indicative of the etiology of pneumonia. Prescribing antibiotics for all influenza-positive patients with an infiltrate has significant implications for stewardship. Therefore, we reviewed hospitalized, influenza-positive patients at our institution during the 2018–2019 season, and we sought to assess the impact of an abnormal chest x-ray (CXR) and PCT on antibiotic prescribing and outcomes. Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review of all influenza-positive admissions at 2 urban, community-based, teaching hospitals. Demographic data, vaccination status, PCT levels, CXR findings, and treatment regimens were reviewed. The primary outcome was the difference in receipt of antibiotics between patients with a negative (<0.25 ng/mL) and positive PCT. Secondary outcomes included the impact of CXR result on antibiotic prescribing, duration, 30-day readmission, and 90-day mortality. Results: We reviewed the medical records of 117 patients; 43 (36.7%) received antibiotics. The vaccination rate was 36.7%. Also, 11% of patients required intensive care unit (ICU) admission and 84% received antibiotics. Moreover, 109 patients had a CXR: 61 (55.9%) were negative, 29 (26.6%) indeterminate, and 19 (17.4%) positive per radiologist interpretation. Patients with a positive PCT (OR, 12.7; 95% CI, 3.43–60.98; P < .0007) and an abnormal CXR (OR, 7.4; 95% CI, 2.9–20.1; P = .000003) were more likely to receive antibiotics. There was no significant difference in 30-day readmission (11.6% vs 13.5%; OR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.21–3.08; P = 1) and 90-day mortality (11.6% vs 5.4%; OR, 2.37; 95% CI, 0.48–12.75; P = .28) between those that received antibiotics and those that did not, respectively. Furthermore, 30 patients (62.5%) with an abnormal CXR received antibiotics and 21 (43.7%) had negative PCT. There was no difference in 30-day readmission or 90-day mortality between those that did and did not receive antibiotics. Conclusions: Utilization of PCT allowed selective prescribing of antibiotics without impacting readmission or mortality. Antibiotics should be initiated for critically ill patients and based on clinical judgement, rather than for all influenza-positive patients with CXR abnormalities.Funding: NoneDisclosures: None



2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S162-S163
Author(s):  
Jennifer B Radics-Johnson ◽  
Daniel W Chacon ◽  
Li Zhang

Abstract Introduction Burn camps provide a unique environment and activities for children that have experienced a burn-injury. Positive outcomes from attending burn camp include increased self-esteem, decreased feelings of isolation and a greater sense of self-confidence. In a 3-year retrospective review of camper evaluations from one of the largest and longest running week-long burn camps in the nation for ages 5–17, we aimed to assess if a child’s gender, age, TBSA or ethnicity affected the impact that burn camp had on a child. Methods A 3-year retrospective review of a Burn Camp’s camper evaluation forms was conducted for campers that attended burn camp between 2017–2019. Camp rosters were reviewed to determine the camper gender, age, TBSA and ethnicity. Camper self-evaluation forms completed at the end of each camp session were reviewed to record camper responses to questions regarding their opinions on the impact camp had on them as well as how camp will impact their lives once they return home. Categorical variables were summarized as frequency and percentage, and continuous variables were described as median and range. To check the relationship between two categorical variables, Chi-square test was used. To compare the continuous variable among groups, Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA was used. Statistical significance was declared based on a p value&lt; 0.5. Results Within 2017–2019, there were 413 camper records. Participants’ demographic characteristics are summarized in Table 1. There were 208 males (50.3%) and 205 females (49.6%). The median age of campers were 11.86, 12.44 and 12.45 for 2017–2019, with the range from 5.16 years to 17.96 years. The median TBSA were 20, 20 and 18 for 2017–2019, with the range from 0.08 to 90. Collectively there were 47.7% Hispanic (n= 197); 24.2% Whites (n=100); 13.1% Black (n= 54); 4.6% Asian (n=19) and 7.7% Other (n=32). There were 395 camper self-evaluation forms submitted. Results of three questions there we were interested in are summarized collectively in Table 2. 57% of campers responded, “Yes, Definitely” to the question “After going to this event, will you feel more comfortable being around your classmates or friends?” 54% responded, “ Yes, Definitely” to the question “Do you feel more confidents in sharing your burn story with others when returning home?” and 51% responded “Yes, Definitely” to “Did you learn anything that will help you when you return home?” Conclusions In analyzing the camper responses, there was no statistically significant difference in responses comparing gender, age, TBSA or ethnicity.



2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (43) ◽  
pp. 13267-13271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geertje M. F. van der Heijden ◽  
Jennifer S. Powers ◽  
Stefan A. Schnitzer

Tropical forests store vast quantities of carbon, account for one-third of the carbon fixed by photosynthesis, and are a major sink in the global carbon cycle. Recent evidence suggests that competition between lianas (woody vines) and trees may reduce forest-wide carbon uptake; however, estimates of the impact of lianas on carbon dynamics of tropical forests are crucially lacking. Here we used a large-scale liana removal experiment and found that, at 3 y after liana removal, lianas reduced net above-ground carbon uptake (growth and recruitment minus mortality) by ∼76% per year, mostly by reducing tree growth. The loss of carbon uptake due to liana-induced mortality was four times greater in the control plots in which lianas were present, but high variation among plots prevented a significant difference among the treatments. Lianas altered how aboveground carbon was stored. In forests where lianas were present, the partitioning of forest aboveground net primary production was dominated by leaves (53.2%, compared with 39.2% in liana-free forests) at the expense of woody stems (from 28.9%, compared with 43.9%), resulting in a more rapid return of fixed carbon to the atmosphere. After 3 y of experimental liana removal, our results clearly demonstrate large differences in carbon cycling between forests with and without lianas. Combined with the recently reported increases in liana abundance, these results indicate that lianas are an important and increasing agent of change in the carbon dynamics of tropical forests.



2015 ◽  
Vol 101 (1) ◽  
pp. e1.10-e1 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Samardžić ◽  
A. Smits ◽  
V. Cossey ◽  
I. Soldatović ◽  
M. Bajčetić ◽  
...  

*presenting author, supported by ERAWEB II scholarship for postdoctoral program at the KU Leuven, Belgium (2014–2015)IntroductionVancomycin, a glycopeptide antibiotic, is frequently used for late onset sepsis (LOS) and catheter-related infection. Larger inter- and intra-patient variability, combined with a narrow therapeutic index, warrants therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM). However, large inter-individual variability in PK parameters in neonates is documented, only partly explained by covariates such as weight, age or serum creatinine (1,2). In the current study, we focus on the potential impact of between assay differences for vancomycin (3) on the variability in its concentration in a single neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).MethodsVancomycin TDM observations of neonates and young infants treated with intravenous vancomycin, mainly for (suspected) LOS (ie, >72 hours after birth), in the Leuven NICU, Belgium, between June 2011 and December 2014. Our patient population, consists of (pre)term neonates, inborn or transferred, in need of specialized care related to prematurity, infections, perinatal asphyxia, congenital diseases (eg, surgery for cardiopathy, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, or esophageal atresia), or other diseases. Clinical characteristics at birth, as well as characteristics at the moment of TDM were extracted from the patient files. We aimed to document early vancomycin exposure, therefore only first trough levels were included. Serum vancomycin assay was performed either with a particle-enhanced turbidimetric inhibitionimmunoassay method (Siemens Dimension; Dade Behring, Deerfield, Illinois–PETINIA) or with an enzyme multiplied immunoassay technique (Cobas c702; Roche Diagnostics, Basel, Germany–COBAS). The data were analyzed by Chi-square test, t test and Mann-Whitney U test. Linear Mix Model was used to assess significant differences between groups, when adjusting for confounding factors. Data were analyzed in SPSS 20.0 (IBM corp.), p-value <0.05 was significant.ResultsIn total, 564 vancomycin TDM observations, 311 assayed with PETINIA and 253 with COBAS, were included. Both cohorts had comparable clinical characteristics (median [min-max] current weight 2150 [420–5000] grams for PETINIA vs. 2120 [500–5840] grams for COBAS, and median postmenstrual age 35 [25–58] weeks for PETINIA vs. 35 [25–51] weeks for COBAS). We determined the significant difference between the vancomycin concentrations using two different immunoassays: PETINIA vs. COBAS (F=17.971; p<0.001). When adjusting for current body weight and postmenstrual age, the major covariates associated with vancomycin serum trough levels in neonates, the difference in vancomycin concentration between cohorts was statistically significant (F=17.076, p<0.001, F=18.951, p<0.001, respectively). Overall, immunoassays PETINIA and COBAS significantly differed by vancomycin concentrations when adjusting for covariates, and the mean difference for vancomycin concentration was 2.167 mg/l.ConclusionThe present study confirms the impact of assays on the variability in vancomycin concentration in neonates in a single NICU. Comparison between these two immunoassays showed a mean proportional differences >20%. Therefore, it is important to know how the vancomycin is measured when interpreting results, and particularly the transferability of vancomycin results between the laboratories has to be interpreted with caution.



2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. E13
Author(s):  
Caitlin Hoffman ◽  
Alyssa B. Valenti ◽  
Eseosa Odigie ◽  
Kwanza Warren ◽  
Ishani D. Premaratne ◽  
...  

Craniosynostosis is the premature fusion of the skull. There are two forms of treatment: open surgery and minimally invasive endoscope-assisted suturectomy. Candidates for endoscopic treatment are less than 6 months of age. The techniques are equally effective; however, endoscopic surgery is associated with less blood loss, minimal tissue disruption, shorter operative time, and shorter hospitalization. In this study, the authors aimed to evaluate the impact of race/ethnicity and insurance status on age of presentation/surgery in children with craniosynostosis to highlight potential disparities in healthcare access. Charts were reviewed for children with craniosynostosis at two tertiary care hospitals in New York City from January 1, 2014, to August 31, 2020. Clinical and demographic data were collected, including variables pertaining to family socioeconomic status, home address/zip code, insurance status (no insurance, Medicaid, or private), race/ethnicity, age and date of presentation for initial consultation, type of surgery performed, and details of hospitalization. Children with unknown race/ethnicity and those with syndromic craniosynostosis were excluded. The data were analyzed via t-tests and chi-square tests for statistical significance (p < 0.05). A total of 121 children were identified; 62 surgeries were performed open and 59 endoscopically. The mean age at initial presentation of the cohort was 6.68 months, and on the day of surgery it was 8.45 months. Age at presentation for the open surgery cohort compared with the endoscopic cohort achieved statistical significance at 11.33 months (SD 12.41) for the open cohort and 1.86 months (SD 1.1473) for the endoscopic cohort (p < 0.0001). Age on the day of surgery for the open cohort versus the endoscopic cohort demonstrated statistical significance at 14.19 months (SD 15.05) and 2.58 months (SD 1.030), respectively. A statistically significant difference between the two groups was noted with regard to insurance status (p = 0.0044); the open surgical group comprised more patients without insurance and with Medicaid compared with the endoscopic group. The racial composition of the two groups reached statistical significance when comparing proportions of White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, and other (p = 0.000815), with significantly more Black and Hispanic patients treated in the open surgical group. The results demonstrate a relationship between race and lack of insurance or Medicaid status, and type of surgery received; Black and Hispanic children and children with Medicaid were more likely to present later and undergo open surgery.



Author(s):  
Elena Jurevičienė ◽  
Greta Burneikaitė ◽  
Laimis Dambrauskas ◽  
Vytautas Kasiulevičius ◽  
Edita Kazėnaitė ◽  
...  

Various comorbidities and multimorbidity frequently occur in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), leading to the overload of health care systems and increased mortality. We aimed to assess the impact of COPD on the probability and clustering of comorbidities. The cross-sectional analysis of the nationwide Lithuanian database was performed based on the entries of the codes of chronic diseases. COPD was defined on the code J44.8 entry and six-month consumption of bronchodilators. Descriptive statistics and odds ratios (ORs) for associations and agglomerative hierarchical clustering were carried out. 321,297 patients aged 40–79 years were included; 4834 of them had COPD. A significantly higher prevalence of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), lung cancer, kidney diseases, and the association of COPD with six-fold higher odds of lung cancer (OR 6.66; p < 0.0001), a two-fold of heart failure (OR 2.61; p < 0.0001), and CVD (OR 1.83; p < 0.0001) was found. Six clusters in COPD males and five in females were pointed out, in patients without COPD—five and four clusters accordingly. The most prevalent cardiovascular cluster had no significant difference according to sex or COPD presence, but a different linkage of dyslipidemia was found. The study raises the need to elaborate adjusted multimorbidity case management and screening tools enabling better outcomes.



2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fang Bao ◽  
Ming Cui ◽  
Xiuying Shi ◽  
Shaoqing Ju ◽  
Hui Cong

Abstract Background: Homocysteine (Hcy) is considered to be an independent risk factor for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. No study has evaluated the distribution of Hcy on a large-scale health examination. Accordingly, this study aimed to investigate the level and distribution of Hcy in the healthy physical examination population and the correlation with other biomarkers, and analyzed for cardiovascular and other diseases. The prevention provides an important scientific basis.Methods: From February 2017 to April 2020, 8063 medical examination populations were selected for analysis. Determination of serum Hcy, TC, TG, LDL-c, HDL-c, ALT, ALP, γ-GT, TBIL, GLU, urea, Cr, UA and related metabolic risk factors. According to the multivariate regression model of age, gender, smoking, drinking, body mass index (BMI), systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), the relationship between Hcy and other biochemical indicators was evaluated. Results: Among 8063 cases, the age, BMI, SBP and DBP of the high-Hcy group were higher than those of the low-Hcy group, the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05), and the proportion of males, smoking and drinking were higher than the low In the Hcy group, the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05); the ALT, ALP, γ-GT, TBIL, Urea, Cr, UA, and TG in the high Hcy group were higher than those in the low Hcy group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05 ); HDL-c in the high-Hcy group was lower than that in the low-Hcy group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in TC, LDL-c, and GLU between the high- and low-Hcy groups (P>0.05). In multivariate analysis, lnHDL-C was negatively correlated with lnHcy (β=-0.038, SE=0.016, P<0.05), lnCr was positively correlated with lnHcy (β=0.055, SE=0.016, P<0.05), lnUA and lnHcy were positive correlation (β=0.043, SE=0.019, P<0.05). Conclusion: Hcy is closely related to HDL-c, Cr and UA, which indicates that Hcy may affect the metabolism of HDL-c and UA, and can also be used as an auxiliary diagnostic index for kidney injury.



2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 2006-2006
Author(s):  
Rifaquat Rahman ◽  
Lorenzo Trippa ◽  
Geoffrey Fell ◽  
Eudocia Quant Lee ◽  
Isabel Arrillaga-Romany ◽  
...  

2006 Background: Adaptive randomization adjusts enrollment rates based upon early trial results, which can allow for decreased enrollment for therapies less likely to meet the primary endpoint of a trial. CC-115, a CNS-penetrant, oral inhibitor of mammalian target of rapamycin kinase (mTOR) and deoxyribonucleic acid-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK), was evaluated in the Individualized Screening Trial of Innovative Glioblastoma Therapy (INSIGhT) trial. As CC-115 was discontinued due to concerns about toxicity and unfavorable risk-to-benefit ratio, we sought to investigate the impact of adaptive randomization in its testing. Methods: In INSIGhT, adults with newly diagnosed MGMT-unmethylated glioblastoma and available genomic data are adaptively randomized to an experimental arm or the control arm of standard radiotherapy with concurrent and adjuvant temozolomide. Patients randomized to CC-115 received it (10mg po BID) with radiotherapy and as adjuvant monotherapy, and a safety lead-in 3+3 design was used for this arm. By simulating the INSIGhT trial with standard uniform randomization, we estimated the reduction of enrollment rate and sample size of the CC-115 arm that was attributable to adaptive randomization. Results: Twelve patients were randomized to CC-115; 58% (n = 7) patients had possible treatment-related CTCAE grade > 3 toxicity. Compared to the control arm, there was no significant difference in progression-free survival (PFS, HR 0.66, 95% CI 0.32-1.36, p = 0.3) or overall survival (OS, HR 0.93, 95% CI 0.43-2.03, p = 0.8). Based on early PFS results, randomization probability to CC-115 decreased from 25% to 16%. At the time of the CC-115 arm closure, 14% of enrolled INSIGhT patients had been randomized to this arm. Compared to average expected enrollment by standard randomization, the use of adaptive randomization decreased the number of patients randomized to CC-115 by 50% (12 patients vs. 18 patients [95% CI 11-25 patients]). Conclusions: The INSIGhT trial, designed with adaptive randomization, facilitated more efficient testing of CC-115 and decreased the number of patients allocated to the CC-115 arm relative to a standard randomization design. Clinical trial information: NCT02977780.



2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (Supplement_6) ◽  
pp. vi130-vi130
Author(s):  
Johanna Heugenhauser ◽  
Malik Galijasevic ◽  
Stephanie Mangesius ◽  
Johanna Buchroithner ◽  
Friedrich Erhart ◽  
...  

Abstract INTRODUCTION Response assessment in the treatment of glioblastoma (GB) based on MR-imaging is still challenging, in particular for immunotherapeutic strategies. Several assessment tools have been proposed. In this post-hoc analysis we compared response assessment criteria (MacDonald, RANO, mRANO, Vol.-mRANO, iRANO) in newly diagnosed GB patients treated with tumor lysate-charged autologous dendritic cells (Audencel) and determined the differences in prediction of progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). METHODS 76 patients with newly diagnosed GB enrolled in a multicenter randomized phase II trial receiving standard of care (SOC, n= 40) or SOC + Audencel vaccine (n= 36) were included. Tumor volumes were calculated by semiautomatic segmentation. To detect differences in PFS among the assessment criteria Kruskal-Wallis-test, for correlation analysis Spearman test was used. RESULTS There was a significant difference in median PFS based on the different assessments (mRANO 8.55 months [9.10-14.03], Vol.-mRANO 8.61 months [9.72-14.92] compared to MacDonald 4.04 months [5.21-8.75] and RANO 4.16 months [5.28-8.61]. For the vaccination arm only, median PFS by iRANO was 5.95 months [5.70-11.54]). There was no difference in PFS between SOC and SOC + Audencel using the different response criteria. The best correlation between PFS and OS was detected for mRANO (r= 0.65, p&lt; 0.001) and Vol.-mRANO (r= 0.69, p&lt; 0.001). At an 8-month landmark, the impact of progressive disease on median OS was best shown for mRANO (13.70 months [13.13-18.98], and Vol.-mRANO 12.03 months [12.51-17.94]) compared to MacDonald 17.97 months [15.45-20.92], RANO 17.97 months [15.92-20.95] and iRANO 17.34 months [14.99-22.73]. CONCLUSION When comparing different response assessments in GB patients treated with dendritic cell-based immunotherapy the best correlation between PFS and OS was observed for mRANO and Vol.-mRANO. Overall, no difference in PFS and OS was seen between the two treatment arms. iRANO was not superior for predicting OS in patients treated with Audencel.



2020 ◽  
pp. 019459982095483
Author(s):  
Philip D. Knollman ◽  
Christine H. Heubi ◽  
Susan Wiley ◽  
David F. Smith ◽  
Sally R. Shott ◽  
...  

Objectives To compare the demographic and clinical characteristics of children with Down syndrome who did and did not receive polysomnography to evaluate for obstructive sleep apnea after publication of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ guidelines recommending universal screening by age 4 years. Study Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting Single tertiary pediatric hospital. Methods Review was conducted of children with Down syndrome born between 2007 and 2012. Children who obtained polysomnography were compared with children who did not, regarding demographic data, socioeconomic status, and comorbidities. Results We included 460 children with Down syndrome; 273 (59.3%) received at least 1 polysomnogram, with a median age of 3.6 years (range, 0.1-8.9 years). There was no difference in the distribution of sex, insurance status, or socioeconomic status between children who received polysomnography and those who did not. There was a significant difference in race distribution ( P = .0004) and distance from home to the medical center ( P < .0001) between groups. Among multiple medical comorbidities, only children with a history of hypothyroidism ( P = .003) or pulmonary aspiration ( P = .01) were significantly more likely to have obtained polysomnography. Conclusions Overall, 60% of children with Down syndrome obtained a polysomnogram. There was no difference between groups by payer status or socioeconomic status. A significant difference in race distribution was noted. Proximity to the medical center and increased medical need appear to be associated with increased likelihood of obtaining a polysomnogram. This study illustrates the need for improvement initiatives to increase the proportion of patients receiving guideline-based screening.



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