Adolescents Hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2: Analysis of Clinical Profile and Risk Factors for Severe Disease over a two-year period

Introduction: There is a lack of studies in adolescents with COVID-19 from developing countries. We aimed to describe the clinical profile and risk factors for severe disease in adolescents hospitalized with COVID-19. Methods: A retrospective analysis of a prospectively admitted cohort of COVID-19 patients was performed at a tertiary hospital in north India. Adolescents aged 12 to 18 years who were hospitalized during the first wave (March 2020 to December 2020) and the second wave (March 2021 to June 2021) of the pandemic were included. Data on the demographic details, clinical presentation, laboratory parameters, disease severity at admission, treatments received, and in-hospital outcomes were retrieved and logistic regression was used to identify the risk factors for occurrence of moderate or severe disease. Results: The study included 197 adolescents with median (IQR) age 15 (13-17) years, of whom 117 (59.4%) were male. Among these, 170 (86.3%) were admitted during the 1st wave. Underlying comorbidities were present in 9 (4.6%) patients. At the time of hospital admission, 60 (30.9%) patients were asymptomatic. In the severity grading, 148 (84.6%) had mild, 16 (9.1%) had moderate, and 11 (6.3%) had severe disease. Fever (14.9%) and cough (14.9%) were the most commonly encountered symptoms. The median (IQR) duration of hospital stay was 10 (8-13) days and 6 (3.1%) patients died in hospital. The odds of moderate to severe disease were 3.8 for second wave, 1.9 for fever and 1.1 for raised C reactive protein (CRP). Conclusion: In our single-center study from northern India, adolescents admitted with COVID-19 had predominantly asymptomatic or mild disease. Admission during the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic, presence of fever and raised CRP were risk factors for moderate or severe disease.

A Transfer Learning Approach for Diabetic Retinopathy and Diabetic Macular Edema Severity Grading

Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) and Diabetic Macular Edema (DME) are complication that occurs in diabetic patient especially among working age group that leads to vision impairment problem and sometimes even permanent blindness. Early detection is very much needed for diagnosis and to reduce blindness or deterioration. The diagnosis phase of DR consumes more time, effort and cost when manually performed by ophthalmologists and more chances of misdiagnosis still there. Research community is working on to design computer aided diagnosis system for prior detection and for DR grading based on its severity. Ongoing researches in Artificial Intelligence (AI) have set out the advancement of deep learning technique which comes as a best technique to perform analysis and classification of medical images. In this paper, research is applied on Resnet50 model for classification of DR and DME based on its severity grading on public benchmark dataset. Transfer learning approach accomplishes the best outcome on Indian Diabetic Retinopathy Image Dataset (IDRiD).

Quality Of Life In Nepalese Patients With Alopecia: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study At A Tertiary Center (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Alopecia areata (AA) and Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) are fairly common hair disorders. Hair loss causes a significant impact in person’s life which may lead to loss of self-confidence and distorted body image. OBJECTIVE To find the level of impairment in the quality of life in patients with AA and AGA and compare findings between sexes and diagnoses. METHODS All consenting patients with hair loss presenting to the clinic from September 2020 to August 2021 were enrolled in this observational study. Clinical evaluation for AA and severity grading as percentage of scalp involved was recorded. Similarly, alopecia severity grading in AGA was done using Norwood and Hamilton grading in males and Ludwig grading in females. All participants were asked to complete the Nepali Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) questionnaire. RESULTS Out of 142 patients, there were 79 (55.6%) males and 63 (44.4%) females. There were 48 (33.8%) patients of AA while ninety-four (66.2%) had AGA. The mean total DLQI score was 8.16 (±6.126). Mean DLQI score of females was 9.16±5.858 which was significantly higher than that of males 7.37±6.258 (P<0.05). DLQI of the AGA patients (9.45±6.094) was significantly higher than that of AA patients (5.65±5.417) (P<0.001). All sub-domains of the DLQI in females were impaired more than in males. Increasing duration of the disease increased the impairment in quality of life significantly. CONCLUSIONS The quality of life in females was more affected as compared to males in both kinds of hair loss. However, patients with AGA had a greater impairment than patients with AA in our population. Hair loss specific questionnaires in local language would better measure the psychological impairment.

Botulinum Toxin Therapy: A Series of Clinical Studies on Patients with Spasmodic Dysphonia in Japan

Spasmodic dysphonia (SD) is a rare voice disorder caused by involuntary and intermittent spasms of the laryngeal muscles. Both diagnosis and treatment have been controversial. Therefore, a series of clinical studies has recently been conducted in Japan. A nationwide epidemiological survey revealed that adductor SD predominated (90–95% of all cases; 3.5–7.0/100,000), principally among young women in their 20s and 30s. To facilitate early diagnosis, we created diagnostic criteria for SD and a severity grading system. The diagnostic criteria include the principal and accompanying symptoms, clinical findings during phonation, the treatment response, and the differential diagnoses. The severity grade is determined using a combination of subjective and objective assessments. Botulinum toxin (BT) injection is the treatment of choice; however, there have been few high-quality clinical studies and BT has been used off-label. We conducted a placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blinded clinical trial of BT therapy; this was effective and safe. BT treatment is now funded by the Japanese medical insurance scheme. Studies thus far have facilitated early diagnosis and appropriate therapy; they have fostered patient awareness of SD.

Relationship between Serum Thyroid-stimulating Hormone Receptor Autoantibodies and Activity and Severity of Thyroid Eye Disease

Purpose: To study the relationship between the levels of serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH)-receptor autoantibodies (TRAbs) and thyroid eye disease (TED) activity and severity scores.Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed. The medical records of 315 patients diagnosed with TED between March 2014 and December 2019 were reviewed. The clinical activity score (CAS) was used to assess TED activity and a modified NOSPECS score was used for severity grading. The serum TRAb level was measured using two assays: a TSHR binding inhibitory immunoglobulin (TBII) assay and thyroid stimulating immunoglobulin (TSI) bioassay.Results: The TBII and TSI assay results were significantly positively correlated with the CAS (R = 0.113 and 0.211, respectively; p < 0.05), modified NOSPECS score (R = 0.173 and 0.316, respectively; p < 0.05), and proptosis (R = 0.136 and 0.167, respectively; p < 0.05). Both assays demonstrated significant differences in the level of TRAb between patients with and without compressive optic neuropathy or corneal epithelial defects.Conclusions: The levels of TRAbs according to both TBII and TSI assays showed significant correlations with clinical signs of corneal involvement, optic neuropathy, and TED activity and severity.

Validating Consensus-Defined Severity Grading of Lymphatic Complications after Kidney Transplant

Lymphatic complications after kidney transplantation (KTx) are associated with morbidities such as impaired wound healing, thrombosis, and organ failure. Recently, a consensus regarding the definition and severity grading of lymphoceles has been suggested. The aim of the present study was to validate this classification method. All adult patients who underwent KTx between December 2011 and September 2016 in our department were evaluated regarding lymphoceles that were diagnosed within 6 months after KTx based on the recent definition. Patients with lymphoceles were categorized according to the classification criteria, and clinical outcomes were compared between the groups. In our department, a total of 587 patients underwent KTx between 2011 and 2016. Lymphoceles were detected after KTx in 90 patients (15.3%). Among these patients, 24 (26.6%) had grade A lymphoceles, 14 (15.6%) had grade B, and 52 (57.8%) had grade C. The median duration times of intermediate care (IMC) and hospital stay were significantly higher among patients with grade C lymphoceles than they were among patients with grade A and B lymphoceles. Significantly more patients with grade C lymphoceles were readmitted to the hospital for treatment. The recently published definition and severity grading of lymphoceles after KTx is an easy-to-use and valid classification system, which may facilitate the comparison of results from different studies on lymphoceles after KTx.

Severity Grading, Risk Factors, and Prediction Model of Complications After Epilepsy Surgery: A Large-Scale and Retrospective Study

Purpose: To report complications after epilepsy surgery, grade the severity of complications, investigate risk factors, and develop a nomogram for risk prediction of complications.Methods: Patients with epilepsy surgery performed by a single surgeon at a single center between October 1, 2003 and April 30, 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Study outcomes included severity grading of complications occurring during the 3-month period after surgery, risk factors, and a prediction model of these complications. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to calculate odds ratio and 95% confidence interval to identify risk factors.Results: In total, 2,026 surgical procedures were eligible. There were 380 patients with mild complications, 23 with moderate complications, and 82 with severe complications. Being male (odds ratio 1.29, 95% confidence interval 1.02–1.64), age at surgery (&gt;40 years: 2.58, 1.55–4.31; ≤ 40: 2.25, 1.39–3.65; ≤ 30: 1.83, 1.18–2.84; ≤ 20: 1.71, 1.11–2.63), intracranial hemorrhage in infancy (2.28, 1.14–4.57), serial number of surgery ( ≤ 1,000: 1.41, 1.01–1.97; ≤ 1,500: 1.63, 1.18–2.25), type of surgical procedure (extratemporal resections: 2.04, 1.55–2.70; extratemporal plus temporal resections: 2.56, 1.80–3.65), surgery duration (&gt;6 h: 1.94, 1.25–3.00; ≤ 6: 1.92, 1.39–2.65), and acute postoperative seizure (1.44, 1.06–1.97) were independent risk factors of complications. A nomogram including age at surgery, type of surgical procedure, and surgery duration was developed to predict the probability of complications.Conclusions: Although epilepsy surgery has a potential adverse effect on the patients, most complications are mild and severe complications are few. Risk factors should be considered during the perioperative period. Patients with the above risk factors should be closely monitored to identify and treat complications timely. The prediction model is very useful for surgeons to improve postoperative management.

The most prevalent allergenic airborne pollens among Egyptian patients with respiratory allergy

Background Allergy symptoms occur when the immune system overreacts to environmental allergens, such as pollen or dust, which are typically harmless to most individuals but induce a potentially severe reaction to those who are sensitive to them. Pollen is one of the main reasons to cause seasonal allergic respiratory diseases and it is influenced by multiple risk factors. Objective To determine the most prevalent types of allergenic pollens by skin prick testing among Egyptian patients with respiratory allergy (asthma and/or allergic rhinitis). Methods 200 adult patients, all were subjected to the following: full detailed medical history, clinical examination, asthma severity grading according to the GINA Guidelines, allergic rhinitis severity grading according to ARIA Guidelines, pulmonary Function tests for asthmatic patients. (PFTs), CBC with differential for detection of eosinophilic count, Skin prick testing (SPT) to common environmental allergens and common food allergen. Results The present study proved that the grass pollens; timothy grass and maize were the most prevalent pollens among Egyptian respiratory allergy patients. Conclusion Difference in results of SPT performed to patients across different countries is explained by the difference in climates, which affects pollination, Egypt is considered to have a dry, desert-like climate in addition to its coastal regions. Our results revealed that both timothy grass and maize pollens were the most prevalent among Egyptian respiratory allergy patients.