Sinus venous thrombosis as a complication of COVID-19-associated hypercoagulability

Sinus venous thrombosis (SVT) is an increasingly recognised complication of not only SARS-CoV-2 infections, but also of SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations. SVT is attributed to hypercoagulability, a common complication of COVID-19, disregarding the severity of the infection. Hypercoagulability in COVID-19 is explained by direct activation of platelets, enhancing coagulation, by direct infection and indirect activation of endothelial cells by SARS-CoV-2, shifting endothelial cells from an anti-thrombotic to a pro-thrombotic state, by direct activation of complement pathways, promoting thrombin generation, or by immune thrombocytopenia, which also generates a thrombogenic state. Since SVT may occur even in anticoagulated COVID-19 patients and may have an unfavourable outcome, all efforts must be made to prevent this complication or to treat it accurately.

Role of magnetic resonance imaging in prediction of outcome in traumatic diffuse axonal injury: A single-centre observational study

Introduction: Incidence of diffuse axonal injury has been estimated at 40-50% of hospitalizations. Recently, much interest has been directed towards the potential of newer imaging sequences of magnetic resonance imaging to investigate diffuse axonal injury (DAI) and to prognosticate the outcome. In this study, we correlated the magnetic resonance imaging grades of diffuse axonal injury with clinical outcome in terms of Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS). Methods and Materials: A hospital based observational study was carried out at Upendra Devkota Memorial National Institute of Neurological and Allied Sciences, Kathmandu in 69 patients of diffuse axonal injury between November 2017 to November 2018. Data was collected on patient and trauma characteristics, as well as neurological assessment and MRI findings. Outcome was assessed as favourable and unfavourable GOS for various MRI grades of diffuse axonal injury. Results: There were 21.74%, 42.03% and 36.23% of cases with grade I, II and III diffuse axonal injury respectively. There were 0 (0%), 2 (11.8%) and 15 (88.2%) cases of MRI grade I, II and III diffuse axonal injury in favourable GOS group and 15 (28.8%), 27 (51.9%) and 10 (19.2%) cases of MRI grade I, II and III diffuse axonal injury in unfavourable GOS group (p=0.00). Conclusion: This study showed that there was a significantly higher chance of unfavourable outcome with increasing MRI grades of diffuse axonal injury.

Clinico-Etiological Profile and Outcome of Children with Status Epilepticus Admitted in Pediatric Intensive Care Unit of a Tertiary Care Hospital - A Prospective Observational Study

Objectives: We undertook this study to describe the clinical-etiological profile of children less than 12 years age with Status Epilepticus (SE) and to study the risk factors and etiologies associated with refractory status epilepticus (RSE), outcome at end of hospital stay and predictors of favourable/unfavourable outcome in SE. Materials and Methods: Study design-Hospital based Prospective observational study. Setting-Pediatric Intensive Care Unit of a tertiary care referral hospital in Kerala, India for a period of 1 year from April 2017 to April 2018. 111 children, less than 12 years age, admitted consecutively with SE were enrolled in the study. The information regarding the parameters in a structured proforma were collected by the primary investigator and entered after careful examination and appropriate investigations. Final outcome at the end of hospital stay was noted. The data collected were analyzed to identify significant factors which may predict the outcome and the risk factors associated with RSE. Statistical Analysis: Data collected were entered in Microsoft Excel Sheet-2013.Analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences software(IBM SPSSv24).Quantitative variables were summarised as mean and SD and categorical variables as proportions. For testing significance of association, Chi square test was done for categorical variables and Independent T-test was done for continuous variables. P value<0.05 was considered significant. The odds ratio with 95% confidence interval of each of the dichotomous variables by univariate analysis were determined. Results: SE was found to be more common in 1-6 years age group followed by infancy. 51.4% of cases were boys and 48.6% were girls. Most common cause of status was febrile status followed by meningoencephalitis. Anemia was significantly associated with RSE (p-value=0.001) and was found to be a risk factor (odds ratio=8.68). 9 (8.1%) children expired. Unfavourable outcome was observed more in children who remained pain responsive or unresponsive 6 hours after seizure control, which was significant (p value<0.01). Delay in initiation of first anti-epileptic drug (AED) was significantly associated with progression to RSE and unfavourable outcome. Conclusion: We found that anemia and delay in initiation of first AED was significantly associated with RSE. There was also significant association between unfavourable outcome and children who remained pain-responsive or unresponsive 6 hours after seizure control. Keywords: anemia, antiepileptic, febrile status, meningitis, mortality.

Diabetes Mellitus—A Risk Factor for Unfavourable Outcome in COVID-19 Patients—The Experience of an Infectious Diseases Regional Hospital

Early research into the implications concerning the evolution of the infection caused by the new coronavirus in people with glucose metabolism dysfunction, in this case diabetics, shows that severe forms of the disease predominate in this risk category. Moreover, it seems that even in patients with normal glycaemic status, COVID-19 may predispose to the development of hyperglycaemia which modulates immune mechanisms and inflammatory responses, with direct effects on morbidity and mortality. Thus, taking into account these scientific data, as well as the increased frequency of diabetes in the general population, we aimed to assess the risk of an unfavourable outcome of diabetic patients, which is in a strong connection with the presence and severity of pulmonary disease such as interstitial pneumonia/bronchopneumonia, as well as the effectiveness of Tocilizumab administration. The results of our study indicate a three-fold higher risk of death in patients with diabetes and COVID-19 (RR = 3.03; IC95%: 2.37–3.86; p = 0.001),compared to nondiabetic patients, and the risk of developing severe forms of acute respiratory failure was 1.5 times higher in the first studied category. In conclusion, we can say that the diabetic diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection is more predisposed to immunological and organic dysfunctions that may ultimately result in death, and treatment with monoclonal anti-IL-6 antibodies was more effective in diabetic patients than non-diabetics (p < 0.05). The effectiveness of Tocilizumab was significant in both studied groups, but diabetic patients responded better to this therapy compared to non-diabetes-mellitus (DM) ones (76.7% vs. 35% p = 0.001).

Rapid clinical evolution for COVID-19 translates into early hospital admission and unfavourable outcome: A preliminary report

Background: A wide range of mortality rates has been reported in COVID-19 patients on the intensive care unit. We wanted to describe the clinical course and determine the mortality rate in our institution’s intensive care units.Methods: To this end, we performed a retrospective cohort study of 50 COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU at a large German tertiary university hospital. Clinical features are reported with a focus on ICU interventions, such as mechanical ventilation, prone positioning and extracorporeal organ support. Outcome is presented using a 7-point ordinal scale on day 28 and 60 following ICU admission.Results: The median age was 64 years, 78% were male. LDH and D-Dimers were elevated, and patients were low on Vitamin D. ARDS incidence was 75%, and 43/50 patients needed invasive ventilation. 22/50 patients intermittently needed prone positioning, and 7/50 required ECMO. The interval from onset of the first symptoms to admission to the hospital and to the ICU was shorter in non-survivors than in survivors. By day 60 after ICU admission, 52% of the patients had been discharged. 60-day mortality rate was 32%; 37% for ventilated patients, and 42% for those requiring both: ventilation and renal replacement therapy.Conclusions: Early deterioration might be seen as a warning signal for unfavourable outcome. Lung-protective ventilation including prone positioning remain the mainstay of the treatment.

Temporal trends, risk factors and outcomes of infections due to extended-spectrum β-lactamase producing Enterobacterales in Swiss solid organ transplant recipients between 2012 and 2018

Background The burden of antimicrobial resistance is high in solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients. Among Swiss SOT recipients, we assessed temporal trends of ESBL-producing Enterobacterales (ESBL-E), identified risk factors for ESBL-E, and assessed the impact of resistance on patient outcome. Methods Data from the Swiss Transplant Cohort Study (STCS), a nationwide prospective cohort of SOT-recipients, were analysed. Temporal trends were described for ESBL-detection among Escherichia coli and non-Escherichia coli. In a nested case–control study, cases with ESBL-E infection were 1:1 matched (by time since transplantation, organ transplant, pathogen) to controls infected with non-ESBL-E. Factors associated with resistance and with unfavourable 30-day outcome (death, infection relapse, graft loss) were assessed. Results From 2012 to 2018, we identified 1′212 infection episodes caused by Enterobacterales in 1′074 patients, thereof 11.4% (138/1′212) caused by ESBL-E. The proportion of ESBL-production among Escherichia coli remained stable over time (p = 0.93) but increased for non-E. coli (p = 0.02) Enterobacterales. In the case–control study (n = 102), antibiotic pre-treatment was independently associated with ESBL-production (aOR = 2.6, 95%-CI: 1.0–6.8, p = 0.046). Unfavourable outcome occurred in 24/51 (47%) cases and 9/51 (18%) controls (p = 0.003). Appropriate empiric antibiotic therapy was the only modifiable factor associated with unfavourable outcome. Conclusions In Swiss SOT-recipients, proportion of infections with ESBL-producing non-E. coli Enterobacterales increased in recent years. Antibiotic pre-treatment represents a risk factor for ESBL-E. Improving appropriateness of empiric antibiotic treatment might be an important measure to reduce unfavourable outcome, which was observed in almost half of SOT-recipients with ESBL-E infections.

Serum KL-6 Could Represent a Reliable Indicator of Unfavourable Outcome in Patients with COVID-19 Pneumonia

KL-6 is a sialoglycoprotein antigen which proved elevated in the serum of patients with different interstitial lung diseases, especially in those with a poorer outcome. Given that interstitial pneumonia is the most common presentation of SARS-CoV2 infection, we evaluated the prognostic role of KL-6 in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. Patients with COVID-19 pneumonia were prospectively enrolled. Blood samples were collected at the time of enrolment (TOE) and on day 7 (T1). Serum KL-6 concentrations were measured by chemiluminescence enzyme immunoassay using a KL-6 antibody kit (LUMIPULSE G1200, Fujirebio) and the cut-off value was set at >1000 U/mL. Fifteen out of 34 enrolled patients (44.1%) died. Patients with unfavourable outcome showed significantly lower P/F ratio and higher IL-6 values and plasmatic concentrations of KL-6 at TOE compared with those who survived (median KL-6: 1188 U/mL vs. 260 U/mL, p < 0.001). KL-6 > 1000 U/mL resulted independently associated with death (aOR: 11.29, p < 0.05) with a positive predictive value of 83.3%. Our results suggest that KL-6 is a reliable indicator of pulmonary function and unfavourable outcome in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. A KL-6 value > 1000 U/mL resulted independently associated with death and showed good accuracy in predicting a poorer outcome. KL-6 may thus represent a quick, inexpensive, and sensitive parameter to stratify the risk of severe respiratory failure and death.

Association between fluid-attenuated inversion recovery vascular hyperintensity and outcome varies with different lesion patterns in patients with intravenous thrombolysis

Background and purposeTo evaluate relationship between fluid-attenuated inversion recovery vascular hyperintensity (FVH) after intravenous thrombolysis and outcomes in different lesion patterns on diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI).MethodsPatients with severe internal carotid or intracranial artery stenosis who received intravenous thrombolysis from March 2012 to April 2019 were analysed. They were divided into four groups by DWI lesion patterns: border-zone infarct (BZ group), multiple lesions infarct (ML group), large territory infarct (LT group), and single cortical or subcortical lesion infarct (SL group). Logistic regression was performed to identify risk factors for outcome (unfavourable outcome, modified Rankin Scale (mRS) ≥2; poor outcome, mRS ≥3).ResultsFinally, 203 participants (63.3±10.2 years old; BZ group, n=72; ML group, n=64; LT group, n=37; SL group, n=30) from 1190 patient cohorts were analysed. After adjusting for confounding factors, FVH (+) was associated with unfavourable outcome in total group (OR 3.02; 95% CI 1.49 to 6.13; p=0.002), BZ group (OR 4.22; 95% CI 1.25 to 14.25; p=0.021) and ML group (OR 5.44; 95% CI 1.41 to 20.92; p=0.014) patients. FVH (+) was associated with poor outcome in total group (OR 2.25; 95% CI 1.01 to 4.97; p=0.046), BZ group (OR 5.52; 95% CI 0.98 to 31.07; p=0.053) and ML group (OR 4.09; 95% CI 1.04 to 16.16; p=0.045) patients, which was marginal significance. FVH (+) was not associated with unfavourable or poor outcome in LT and SL groups.ConclusionThis study suggests that association between FVH and outcome varies with different lesion patterns on DWI. The presence of FVH after intravenous thrombolysis may help to identify patients who require close observations in the hospitalisation in patients with border-zone and multiple lesion infarcts.

The Impact of Same-Day Antiretroviral Therapy Initiation under the WHO Treat-All Policy

Rapid initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) is recommended for people living with HIV, with the option to start treatment on the day of diagnosis (same-day-ART). However, the effect of same-day-ART remains unknown in realistic public sector settings. We established a cohort of ≥16-year-old patients who initiated first-line ART under Treat-All in Nhlangano (Eswatini) between 2014-2016, either on the day of HIV care enrolment (same-day-ART) or 1–14 days thereafter (early-ART). Directed acyclic graphs, flexible parametric survival analysis and targeted maximum likelihood estimation (TMLE) were used to estimate the effect of same-day-ART initiation on the composite unfavourable treatment outcome (loss to follow-up;death;viral failure). Of 1328 patients, 839 (63.2%) initiated same-day ART. The adjusted hazard ratio of the unfavourable outcome was increased by 1.48 (95% CI:1.16–1.89) for same-day-ART compared with early-ART. TMLE suggested that after 1 year, 28.9% of patients would experience the unfavourable outcome under same-day-ART compared with 21.2% under early-ART (difference: 7.7%; 1.3–14.1%). This estimate was driven by loss to follow-up and varied over time, with a higher hazard during the first year after HIV care enrolment and a similar hazard thereafter. We found an increased risk with same-day-ART. A limitation was possible silent transfers that were not captured.