Diagnosis Of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Research Articles

Influencing factors of hospitalization in maintenance haemodialysis outpatients after a diagnosis of COVID-19

Background The clinical manifestations of maintenance haemodialysis (MHD) outpatients diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are highly heterogeneous. They are prone to progress to severe conditions, and they often require hospitalization. To better guide the management of MHD outpatients, this retrospective observational study assessed risk factors for hospitalization of MHD patients after a diagnosis of COVID-19. Methods The demographic data, comorbidities, laboratory indicators and imaging data of 128 MHD outpatients at our haemodialysis centre with confirmed COVID-19 infection from December 2022 to January 2023 were collected. The relationships between these factors and hospitalization of patients were analyzed. Results Among the 128 patients, 25 (19.53%) were hospitalized. One of the 25 inpatients was mechanically ventilated, and two of them died. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the hospitalization rate was correlated with age, comorbid diabetes and peripheral blood lymphocyte count. Conclusion Older age, comorbid diabetes and lower lymphocyte count are important risk factors for hospitalization of MHD outpatients after a diagnosis of COVID-19. Focusing on these factors may help in early identification of patients who may need to be admitted due to potential disease progression.

Application of plasma SARS-CoV-2 quantitative antigen detection in the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19

The corona virus disease 2019(COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2), has created an urgent need of scientific and effective biomarkers for the purpose of prevention and control. Currently, commonly employed viral nucleic acids, antibodies, and rapid antigen test detection technologies all exhibit a range of limitations, including restricted applicability, inadequate sensitivity and specificity. Plasma SARS-CoV-2 quantitative antigen, as an emerging biomarker, has garnered significant attention due to its potential clinical value in the diagnosis and management of COVID-19. This article comprehensively analyzes the principles and clinical applications of quantitative detection technology for plasma SARS-CoV-2 antigen. Additionally, it explores the challenges encountered in this field and provides insights into future prospects.

COVID-19 diagnosis based on swin transformer model with demographic information fusion and enhanced multi-head attention mechanism

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an acute disease, which can rapidly become severe. Hence, it is of great significance to realize the automatic diagnosis of COVID-19. However, existing models are often inapplicable for fusing patients’ demographic information due to its low dimensionality. To address this, we propose a COVID-19 patient diagnosis method with feature fusion and a model based on Swin Transformer. Specifically, two auxiliary tasks are added for fusing computed tomography (CT) images and patients’ demographic information, which utilizes the patients’ demographic information as the label for the auxiliary tasks. Besides, our approach involves designing a Swin Transformer model with Enhanced Multi-head Self-Attention (EMSA) to capture different features from CT data. Meanwhile, the EMSA module is able to extract and fuse attention information in different representation subspaces, further enhancing the performance of the model. Furthermore, we evaluate our model in COVIDx CT-3 dataset with different tasks to classify Normal Controls (NC), COVID-19 cases and community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) cases and compare the performance of our method with other models, which show the effectiveness of our model. In addition, we have conducted various visualization efforts to demonstrate the interpretability of our model, including principal component analysis, attention heatmaps, etc. Various results indicate that our model is capable of making reasonable diagnosis.

Active ingredient and mechanistic analysis of traditional Chinese medicine formulas for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19: Insights from bioinformatics and in vitro experiments.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an acute infectious disease caused by a novel coronavirus. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been proven to have a potential curative effect on COVID-19. This study preliminarily analyzed the existing TCM prescription's key components and action mechanisms for preventing and treating COVID-19 using bioinformatic and experimental methods. Association and clustering analysis reveals that the "HQ + FF + BZ" drug combination had a strong correlation and confidence in 93 TCM prescriptions and may affect the progression of COVID-19 through inflammatory pathways such as the TNF signaling pathway. Further molecular docking revealed that quercetin has a higher affinity for IL6 and IL10 in the TNF signaling pathway associated with COVID-19. In vitro experiments demonstrated that quercetin could effectively reduce the levels of the inflammatory factor IL-6 and increase the anti-inflammatory factor IL-10, alleviating inflammation impact on cells. Our results provide a new understanding of the molecular mechanism of TCM prevention and treatment of COVID-19, which is helpful to the development of new diagnosis and treatment schemes for COVID-19.

COVID-19 outcome is not affected by anti-CD20 or high-titer convalescent plasma in immunosuppressed patients

The role of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) convalescent plasma in the treatment of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in immunosuppressed individuals remains controversial. We describe the course of COVID-19 in patients who had received anti-CD20 therapy within the 3 years prior to infection. We compared outcomes between those treated with and those not treated with high titer SARS-CoV2 convalescent plasma. We identified 144 adults treated at Mayo clinic sites who had received anti-CD20 therapies within a median of 5.9 months prior to the COVID-19 index date. About one-third (34.7%) were hospitalized within 14 days and nearly half (47.9%) within 90 days. COVID-19 directed therapy included anti-spike monoclonal antibodies (n = 30, 20.8%), and, among those hospitalized within 14 days (n = 50), remdesivir (n = 45, 90.0%), glucocorticoids (n = 36, 72.0%) and convalescent plasma (n = 24, 48.0%). The duration from receipt of last dose of anti-CD20 therapy did not correlate with outcomes. The overall 90-day mortality rate was 14.7%. Administration of convalescent plasma within 14 days of the COVID-19 diagnosis was not significantly associated with any study outcome. Further study of COVID-19 in CD20-depleted individuals is needed focusing on the early administration of new and potentially combination antiviral agents, associated or not with vaccine-boosted convalescent plasma.

The prevalence of long COVID symptoms in Indonesia: a cross-sectional study in Aceh

Introduction: It is estimated that the long-term consequences of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) can be significant problems since they cause prolonged clinical manifestations after COVID-19. The aim of this study was to investigate patients with long-term effects of COVID-19 in Aceh Province, Indonesia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on COVID-19 patients in Aceh, Indonesia using an online survey software tool. The COVID-19 survivors were contacted after a diagnosis of COVID-19 at least 14 days after a negative real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) result. Results: A total of 303 respondents were contacted after a diagnosis of COVID-19 at least 14 days after a negative RT-PCR result. The results showed that 31% experienced long COVID until the 14th to 15th day of the month, while 69% did not offer long COVID symptoms. The most common symptoms experienced by the patients were fatigue (9.9%), headache (8.7%), and joint and muscle pain (8.1%). Other symptoms reported by COVID-19 survivors were polypnea and shortness of breath, sleep disturbances, coughing, hair loss, palpitations, runny nose, stuffy nose, mental health problems such as anxiety, impaired concentration and depression. The long COVID symptoms were more experienced by female respondents (64.9%) than male respondents (35.1%). Conclusion: Our data suggested that the symptoms of long COVID or long-term consequences of COVID-19 were relatively high. Therefore, measures should be taken to prevent long-term effects among COVID-19 survivors.

Real-World Analysis of Obinutuzumab-Based Immunochemotherapy in Follicular Lymphoma in Chinese Population

Background Obinutuzumab is a first-in-class glycoengineered humanized type II anti-CD20 antibody. Immunochemotherapy based on obinutuzumab has demonstrated an advantage in prolonging progression-free survival (PFS) in pts with follicular lymphoma(FL) in a number of clinical trials(Marcus R, et al. N Engl J Med. 2017; Cheson BD, et al. J Clin Oncol. 2018). In Jun, 2021, obinutuzumab came into the market of China. However, few studies have investigated the efficacy and safety of obinutuzumab-based immunochemotherapy aiming at Chinese population. Therefore, we retrospectively analyzed the data of Chinese pts with treatment-naïve(TN) or relapsed/refractory(R/R) follicular lymphoma who received obinutuzumab-based immunochemotherapy in our center, hoping to provide treatment reference for Chinese pts. Methods Eligible pts were age ≥18 years with histologically documented, CD20-positive follicular lymphoma (grade 1 to 3a, stage III/IV or stage II with tumor ≥7 cm in the greatest dimension), and at least 2 cycles of obinutuzumab-based treatment. Efficacy was assessed by objective response rate (ORR) and best of response (BOR), with toxicity evaluated based on the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) (The 5th Edition). In addition, we recorded the incidence and severity of corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection according to Scheme for Diagnosis and Treatment of COVID-19 (The 10th Trial Edition). Results Between Nov 1, 2021 and Apr 1, 2023, the data of 27 pts with TN FL who received G-CHOP (obinutuzumab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone) regimen and 7 R/R pts treated with GB (Obinutuzumab, bendamustine) regimen was collected. The demographic and clinical characteristics at baseline were shown in Table 1. The median age of TN pts was 52 years, and 63.0% were female. The efficacy evaluation of TN pts was displayed in Figure 1. All of 27 pts achieved partial response (PR) after 2 cycles of GCHOP regimen. Eventually, 21 patiens completed 6 cycles of treatment, with 95.5% (21/22) assessed as complete response (CR) and 4.5% (1/21) maintaining PR. Three pts discontinued treatment due to COVID-19 infection and 2 for severe infections of other reasons. The end of treatment (EOT) ORR was 100% and the BOR of 96.3% (26/27) pts was assessed as CR. In 7 R/R pts, 5, 1 and 1 pts received 1, 2 and 3 lines of previous treatment regimens, respectively. The median age of this subgroup was 56 years. Totally, 6 pts achieved CR with an ORR of 85.7%, except for one pt who was evaluated as SD after 2 cycles of GB regimen and switched to another regimen. Two pts continued with maintenance therapy of obinutuzumab, and the rest 5 pts went on with autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. By the end of follow-up, no pts showed progressive disease (PD) except for one who died of COVID-19 infection. All these pts in this study were infected with COVID-19 during the pandemic in China. For TN pts, mild, ordinary, severe and critical cases accounted for 14.8%, 44.4%, 29.6% and 11.1% respectively, and no pt died of COVID-19 infection. The median duration of COVID-19 infection was 23 (14-68) days, and over half of them were tested positive for more than 3 weeks. Of the R/R pts, 57.1% (4/7) presented severe, 14.3% (1/7) was critical and finally died of respiratory failure. The median duration of positive was 26 (21-95) days. Among pts treated wih GCHOP regimen, common grade 3-5 adverse events included infection (excluding COVID-19 infection) (25.9%) and hematological adverse events consisting of neutropenia (51.8%), thrombocytopenia (22.2%). Grade 3 infection, neutropenia and thrombocytopenia were observed in 14.3% (1/7) R/R pt each. The median follow-up time of TN pts and R/R pts was 8.9 (12.1-13.7) months and 11.7 (11.2-14.0) months, respectively. The median PFS of both was not achieved, 1-year PFS rate was 100% and 85.7% in TN and RR pts, respectively. Conclusions This real-world analysis with small sample size indicates that similar efficacy and toxicity was observed in Chinese patients with FL who were treated with obinutuzumab-based immunochemotherapy to that reported in literature. However, it is noteworthy that long-lasting immunosuppression may result in higher incidence and severity of COVID-19 infection in these patients compared to the general population.

416. Poor clinical outcomes of COVID-19 patients receiving rituximab during the Omicron era

Abstract Background Rituximab (RTX), a widely used anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, has been suggested as a risk factor for poor outcomes of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, it remains largely unknown whether COVID-19 outcomes remain worse in patients receiving RTX compared to those not being treated with RTX during the Omicron-dominant period, when patient fatality has significantly decreased compared to the Delta-dominant period. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the outcomes of COVID-19 patients receiving RTX during the Omicron-dominant period. Methods Among all laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients who were admitted to Seoul National University Hospital from February 2022 to January 2023, those who had received RTX before diagnosis of COVID-19 were included in the RTX group, while those who had the same underlying diseases but had not received RTX were included in the non-RTX group. The COVID-19-related outcomes were compared between the RTX and non-RTX groups. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to identify factors associated with severe to critical COVID-19 and COVID-19-related mortality. Results The proportion of severe to critical COVID-19 and COVID-19-related mortality were significantly higher in the RTX group than in the non-RTX group (41.9% vs. 28.3%, P = 0.030; 11.8% vs. 2.8%, P = 0.005). RTX therapy (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.21, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.21–4.04, P = 0.010) and chronic kidney disease (aOR 3.28, 95% CI 1.56–6.91, P = 0.002) were independent risk factors for severe to critical COVID-19, whereas being effectively vaccinated (aOR 0.47, 95% CI 0.25–0.85, P = 0.013) was a protective factor. In addition, only RTX therapy was independently associated with COVID-19-related mortality (aOR 4.03, 95% CI 1.17–13.86, P = 0.027). Conclusion RTX therapy was associated with poor clinical outcomes of COVID-19, even in the Omicron-dominant period. This suggests that RTX should be used with caution even during the Omicron-dominant period. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

525. Comparison of the acceptability and safety of molnupiravir in COVID-19 patients aged over and under 80 years

Abstract Background Molnupiravir is being widely used as a treatment for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); however, its acceptability and safety in older patients aged ≥ 80 years in real-world clinical practice is not well understood. Methods We conducted a single-centre retrospective study and assessed the outcome of patients with COVID-19 treated with molnupiravir according to the following criteria: (A) discontinuation rate of molnupiravir; (B) type, frequency, and severity of adverse events; (C) all-cause mortality within 30 days of the diagnosis of COVID-19. Results Forty-seven patients (46.1%) were aged ≥ 80 years (older patients) and 55 (53.9%) were aged < 80 years (younger patients). There were no significant differences in coexisting diseases and history of vaccination for COVID-19 between older and younger patients. Older patients were significantly more likely to have moderate disease (moderate 1 and 2) according to the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare classification than younger patients. During treatment, 8.5% of older patients and 1.8% of younger patients stopped taking molnupiravir, but the difference was not significant. Adverse events were observed in 39/102 (38.2%) patients. The most common adverse events were diarrhoea (9.8%), exacerbation of coexisting diseases (6.9%), bone marrow suppression (6.9%), liver dysfunction (5.9%), and loss of appetite (4.9%). Most adverse events were minor, ranging from grades 1 to 3. The all-cause mortality rate was 10.8%, and no molnupiravir-related deaths were observed. Conclusion Molnupiravir treatment is acceptable and safe in older patients with COVID-19 aged ≥ 80 years. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

Study on brain damage patterns of COVID-19 patients based on EEG signals

ObjectiveThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an acute respiratory infectious disease caused by the SARA-CoV-2, characterized by high infectivity and incidence. Clinical data indicates that COVID-19 significantly damages patients’ perception, motor function, and cognitive function. However, the electrophysiological mechanism by which the disease affects the patient’s nervous system is not yet clear. Our aim is to investigate the abnormal levels of brain activity and changes in brain functional connectivity network in patients with COVID-19.MethodsWe compared and analyzed electroencephalography signal sample entropy, energy spectrum, and brain network characteristic parameters in the delta (1–4 Hz), theta (4–8 Hz), alpha (8–13 Hz), and beta (13–30 Hz) bands of 15 patients with COVID-19 and 15 healthy controls at rest.ResultsAt rest, energy values of the four frequency bands in the frontal and temporal lobes of COVID-19 patients were significantly reduced. At the same time, the sample entropy value of the delta band in COVID-19 patients was significantly increased, while the value of the beta band was significantly decreased. However, the average value of the directed transfer function of patients did not show any abnormalities under the four frequency bands. Furthermore, node degree in the temporal lobe of patients was significantly increased, while the input degree of the frontal and temporal lobes was significantly decreased, and the output degree of the frontal and occipital lobes was significantly increased.ConclusionThe level of brain activity in COVID-19 patients at rest is reduced, and the brain functional network undergoes a rearrangement. These results preliminarily demonstrate that COVID-19 patients exhibit certain brain abnormalities during rest, it is feasible to explore the neurophysiological mechanism of COVID-19’s impact on the nervous system by using EEG signals, which can provide a certain technical basis for the subsequent diagnosis and evaluation of COVID-19 using artificial intelligence and the prevention of brain nervous system diseases after COVID-19 infection.

Summarizing Evidence of Associations of COVID-19 With a Future Diagnosis of Inflammatory Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases: A Rapid Review.

Musculoskeletal symptoms are commonly reported following acute COVID-19. It is unclear whether those with musculoskeletal symptoms subsequently develop inflammatory rheumatic musculoskeletal disease (iRMD). This review seeks to identify evidence for an association between acute COVID-19 and subsequent iRMD diagnosis. A rapid review of the literature using a systematic search of Medline, EMBASE and two COVID-19 databases was undertaken until August 2022. Case studies, case series, cross-sectional, case-control, and cohort studies reporting patients with an incident iRMD following COVID-19 were included. Title and abstract screening were conducted by one reviewer and full text screening by two reviewers. Data extraction and quality appraisal were by one reviewer, with a second verifying. Study-type specific critical appraisal tools were used. Results were narratively synthesized. A total of 80 studies were included (69 case reports, 10 case series and 1 cross-sectional study). Commonly reported iRMDs were "reactive arthropathies" (n=47), "inflammatory arthropathies unspecified" (n=18), rheumatoid arthritis (n=12) and systemic lupus erythematosus (n=11). The cross-sectional study reported 37% of those with COVID-19 developed "post COVID arthritis." Time from diagnosis of COVID-19 to iRMD presentation ranged from 0 to 120 days. Several mechanisms were proposed to explain the association between COVID-19 and iRMD development: autoimmune processes, aberrant inflammatory responses, colonization of joint spaces, direct damage from the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 virus and genetic predisposition. The level of evidence of the studies included in this review was low and the quality generally poor. Prospective observational studies are required to confirm associations and likely impact of post COVID-19 iRMDs at a population level.

A Comparison of the Epidemiological Characteristics Between Influenza and COVID-19 Patients: A Retrospective, Observational Cohort Study.

Background and objective It is crucial to make early differentiation between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and seasonal influenza infections at the time of a patient's presentation to the emergency department (ED). In light of this, this study aimed to identify key epidemiological, initial laboratory, and radiological differences that would enable early recognition during co-circulation. Methods This was a retrospective, observational cohort study. All adult patients presenting to our ED at the Watford General Hospital, UK, with a laboratory-confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 (2019/20) or influenza (2018/19) infection were included in this study. Demographic, laboratory, and radiological data were collected. Binary logistic regression was employed to determinefeatures associated with COVID-19 infection rather than influenza. Results Chest radiographs suggestive of viral pneumonitis and older age (≥80 years) were associated with increased odds of having COVID-19 [odds ratio (OR): 47.00, 95% confidence interval (CI): 21.63-102.13and OR: 64.85, 95% CI: 19.96-210.69respectively]. Low eosinophils (<0.02 x 109/L) were found to increasethe odds of COVID-19 (OR: 2.12, 95% CI: 1.44-3.10, p<0.001). Conclusions Gaining awareness about the epidemiological, biological, and radiologic presentation of influenza-like illness can be useful for clinicians in ED to differentiate between COVID-19 and influenza. This study showed that older age, eosinopenia, and radiographic evidence of viral pneumonitis significantly increase the odds of having COVID-19 compared to influenza. Further research is needed to determine if these findings are affected by acquired or natural immunity.

Association between sequelae of COVID-19 with periodontal disease and obesity: A cross-sectional study.

To assess the sequelae of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and associated factors, such as obesity and periodontitis in adults. The study included 128 individuals aged ≥35 years with a history of a diagnosis of COVID-19 through real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), from Pelotas, Brazil. Self-report sequelae from COVID-19 were defined as the primary outcome. A questionnaire containing sociodemographic, medical, behavioral and self-report of sequelae of COVID-19 was applied. A complete periodontal clinical examination was performed. Weight and height were assessed. Uni-, bi- and multivariate analyses were performed using Poisson regression with robust variance. Additional analyses were performed considering obesity as a subgroup. When considering the whole sample, no statistically significant associations between sequelae of COVID-19 with periodontitis (prevalence ratio [PR]:1.14;95% confidence interval [95%CI]: 0.80-1.61) and obesity (0.93 [0.68-1.26]) were identified. In the subgroup analysis, considering only individuals with obesity, those diagnosed with generalized periodontitis had 86% higher probability to have sequelae of COVID-19 when compared to individuals with periodontal health or localized periodontitis. However, when only those without obesity were considered, no significant association with periodontal status was detected (0.82 [0.55-1.23). No significant association with periodontal status were observed when the severity of sequelae (no sequelae, 1 sequela, and >1 sequela) were considered (p>0.05). Individuals diagnosed with obesity and periodontitis have a higher PR of reporting sequelae from COVID-19 compared to individuals with only obesity.

Utility of Bronchoalveolar Lavage for the Diagnosis and Management of COVID-19 in Patients With Cancer.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on nasopharyngeal swab (NPS), remains the most reliable and practical test to diagnose coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Current literature is sparse regarding the rates of discordance between NPS and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) in patients with cancer. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of adult patients with cancer who had BAL samples tested for SARS-CoV-2 at a comprehensive cancer center. Patients without NPS PCR for SARS-CoV-2 before BAL were excluded. In a cohort of 345 patients, 12% and 17% tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 on NPS and BAL, respectively. There was a 6.3% NPS-/BAL+ discordance rate and a 9.5% NPS+/BAL- discordance rate. Patients with lymphoma (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 4.06; P = .007) and Hispanic patients (aOR = 3.76; P = .009) were more likely to have NPS-/BAL+ discordance on multivariate analysis. Among patients with NPS- /BAL- for SARS-CoV-2, an alternate infectious (23%) and a noninfectious etiology (16%) were identified in BAL. Our discordance rates between NPS and BAL were sufficient to recommend BAL in certain patients with cancer with a high clinical suspicion of COVID-19. BAL has value in identifying alternative etiologies of illness in patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19.

The relation between vaccination status and referral to a consultation–liaison psychiatry service for hospitalized patients with COVID-19

BackgroundPrevious studies have shown that patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) are likely to be affected by delirium and other psychiatric complications. We aimed to evaluate the relation between COVID-19 vaccination status and referral of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 for consultation–liaison psychiatry services.MethodFrom the medical records used for this retrospective, single hospital-based study, 576 patients were identified who were over 18 years-of-age and hospitalized with a diagnosis of COVID-19 between March 2020 and March 2022. The data of 531 for whom the vaccine history was obtained from the medical records were available for analysis: 455 without and 76 with referral to consultation–liaison psychiatry. A history of COVID-19 vaccination at least two times was used in the analysis of the odds for referral to liaison psychiatric consultation: 95% confidence interval (CI) in multivariable logistic regression. The adjustment factors included sex, age, body mass index (BMI), severity of COVID-19, C-reactive protein level, medical history, and therapeutic factors such as the use of remdesivir, steroids, or mechanical ventilation.ResultsThe prevalence of psychiatric consultation was 14.3%. Patients without vaccination had a 7-times greater OR (95%CI:2.08–23.58) than vaccinated patients for a referral for consultation–liaison psychiatry services after adjusting for confounding factors.ConclusionNon-vaccination was associated with a greater likelihood of referral for consultation–liaison psychiatry service among these hospitalized Japanese patients with COVID-19, even after adjusting for clinical and therapeutic factors. It is possible that vaccination greatly lessens the need for the referral of COVID-19 patients for consultation–liaison psychiatry services.

COVID-19 Detection via Ultra-Low-Dose X-ray Images Enabled by Deep Learning.

The detection of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is crucial for controlling the spread of the virus. Current research utilizes X-ray imaging and artificial intelligence for COVID-19 diagnosis. However, conventional X-ray scans expose patients to excessive radiation, rendering repeated examinations impractical. Ultra-low-dose X-ray imaging technology enables rapid and accurate COVID-19 detection with minimal additional radiation exposure. In this retrospective cohort study, ULTRA-X-COVID, a deep neural network specifically designed for automatic detection of COVID-19 infections using ultra-low-dose X-ray images, is presented. The study included a multinational and multicenter dataset consisting of 30,882 X-ray images obtained from approximately 16,600 patients across 51 countries. It is important to note that there was no overlap between the training and test sets. The data analysis was conducted from 1 April 2020 to 1 January 2022. To evaluate the effectiveness of the model, various metrics such as the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, receiver operating characteristic, accuracy, specificity, and F1 score were utilized. In the test set, the model demonstrated an AUC of 0.968 (95% CI, 0.956-0.983), accuracy of 94.3%, specificity of 88.9%, and F1 score of 99.0%. Notably, the ULTRA-X-COVID model demonstrated a performance comparable to conventional X-ray doses, with a prediction time of only 0.1 s per image. These findings suggest that the ULTRA-X-COVID model can effectively identify COVID-19 cases using ultra-low-dose X-ray scans, providing a novel alternative for COVID-19 detection. Moreover, the model exhibits potential adaptability for diagnoses of various other diseases.

Longitudinal Analysis of Antibody Response Following SARS-CoV-2 Infection Depending on Disease Severity: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Severe coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) is characterized by a dysregulated inflammatory response, with humoral immunity playing a central role in the disease course. The objective of this study was to assess the immune response and the effects of vaccination in recovered individuals with variable disease severity up to one year following natural infection. A prospective cohort study was conducted including patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19. Disease severity was classified as mild, moderate, and severe based on clinical presentation and outcomes. Anti-RBD (receptor binding domain) and neutralizing antibodies were evaluated at multiple timepoints during the first year after COVID-19 diagnosis. A total of 106 patients were included; of them, 28 were diagnosed with mild, 38 with moderate, and 40 with severe disease. At least one vaccine dose was administered in 58 individuals during the follow-up. Participants with mild disease presented significantly lower anti-RBD and neutralizing antibodies compared to those with moderate and severe disease up to the 3rd and 6th months after the infection, respectively. After adjusting for covariates, in the third month, severe COVID-19 was associated with significantly higher anti-RBD (β: 563.09; 95% confidence intervals (CI): 257.02 to 869.17) and neutralizing (β: 21.47; 95% CI: 12.04 to 30.90) antibodies. Among vaccinated individuals, at the 12th month, a history of moderate disease was associated with significantly higher anti-RBD levels (β: 5615.19; 95% CI: 657.92 to 10,572.46). Severe COVID-19 is associated with higher anti-RBD and neutralizing antibodies up to 6 months after the infection. Vaccination of recovered patients is associated with a remarkable augmentation of antibody titers up to one year after COVID-19 diagnosis, regardless of disease severity.

Lower ventricular and atrial strain in patients who recovered from COVID-19 assessed by cardiovascular magnetic resonance feature tracking.

One of the most common complications of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is myocardial injury, and although its cause is unclear, it can alter the heart's contractility. This study aimed to characterize the ventricular and atrial strain in patients who recovered from COVID-19 using cardiovascular magnetic resonance feature-tracking (CMR-FT). In this single-center study, we assessed left ventricle (LV) and right ventricular (RV) global circumferential strain (GCS), global longitudinal strain (GLS), global radial strain (GRS), left atrial (LA) and right atrial (RA) longitudinal strain (LS) parameters by CMR-FT. The student's t-test and Wilcoxon rank-sum test were used to compare the variables. We compared seventy-two patients who recovered from COVID-19 (49 ± 16 years) to fifty-four controls (49 ± 12 years, p = 0.752). The patients received a CMR examination 48 (34 to 165) days after the COVID-19 diagnosis. 28% had LGE. Both groups had normal LV systolic function. Strain parameters were significantly lower in the COVID-19 survivors than in controls. Patients who recovered from COVID-19 exhibited significantly lower strain in the left ventricle (through LVGCS, LVGLS, LVGRS), right ventricle (through RVGLS and RVGRS), left atrium (through LALS), and right atrium (through RALS) than controls.

Changes in Site of Death Among Older Adults Without a COVID-19 Diagnosis During the COVID-19 Pandemic

BackgroundUnderstanding how the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic affected site of death—an important patient-centered outcome related to end-of-life care—would inform healthcare system resiliency in future public health emergencies.ObjectiveTo evaluate the changes in site of death during the COVID-19 pandemic among older adults without a COVID-19 diagnosis.DesignUsing a quasi-experimental difference-in-differences method, we estimated net changes in site of death during the pandemic period (March–December 2020) from the pre-pandemic period (January–February 2020), using data on the same months in prior years (2016–2019) as the control.ParticipantsA 20% sample of Medicare Fee-for-Service beneficiaries aged 66 years and older who died in 2016–2020. We excluded beneficiaries with a hospital diagnosis of COVID-19.Main MeasuresWe assessed each of the following sites of death separately: (1) home or community; (2) acute care hospital; and (3) nursing home.Key ResultsWe included 1,133,273 beneficiaries without a hospital diagnosis of COVID-19. We found that the proportion of Medicare beneficiaries who died at home or in the community setting increased (difference-in-differences [DID] estimate, + 3.1 percentage points [pp]; 95% CI, + 2.6 to + 3.6 pp; P < 0.001) and the proportion of beneficiaries who died (without COVID-19 diagnosis) in an acute care hospital decreased (− 0.8 pp; 95% CI, − 1.2 to − 0.4 pp; P < 0.001) during the pandemic. We found no evidence that the proportion of deaths in nursing homes changed during the pandemic.ConclusionsUsing national data on older adults without a COVID-19 diagnosis, we found that site of death shifted toward home or community settings during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings may inform clinicians and policymakers in supporting end-of-life care during future public health emergencies.

Comparing the effect of obesity on major adverse cardiovascular events in patients hospitalized with coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19): insights from the national inpatient sample (NIS) database

Abstract Introduction Recent studies have shown an ‘obesity paradox,’ which refers to improved hospital outcomes and prognosis in obese individuals when compared to their non-obese counterparts. This paradox is evident when myocardial infarction (MI), venous thromboembolism (VTE), and cardiovascular mortality are considered. There is limited information extrapolated from large inpatient databases describing inpatient hospital outcomes of patients with obesity and concomitant COVID-19. Purpose To determine the association of obesity with inpatient mortality of acute (MI), cerebrovascular accidents (CVA) and cardiovascular death in patients with COVID-19 using the NIS database. Methods The NIS database for calendar year 2020 was queried to identify adult hospitalizations with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19 and a secondary diagnosis of obesity. Cases were identified using International Classification of Diseases – 10 Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) codes. The primary outcome was inpatient mortality; secondary outcomes were length of stay (LOS), total hospital charge (THC), and inpatient complications. Linear, univariate, and multivariate logistic regression were used to analyze the outcomes and adjust for confounders. Results A total of 1,050,045 hospitalizations for COVID-19 were identified, 292,800 (27.9%) of which had the co-diagnosis of obesity. Out of the identified hospitalizations with COVID-19 and obesity, 29,290 (10%) died. After multivariate adjustment for confounding variables, obesity was associated with increased inpatient mortality (adjusted odds [aOR] 1.37; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.32-1.42, p &amp;lt; 0.001), while CVA and acute MI were negatively associated with obesity (aOR 0.81; CI 0.68-0.97, p = 0.023 and aOR 0.92; CI 0.86-0.99, p = 0.026, respectively). Additionally, obesity was associated with multiple inpatient complications, including but not limited to: sepsis (aOR 1.44; CI 1.38-1.51, p &amp;lt; 0.001); acute respiratory failure (aOR 1.46; CI 1.43-1.50, p &amp;lt; 0.001), need for intubation (aOR 1.66; CI 1.60-1.73, p &amp;lt; 0.001), need for mechanical ventilation (aOR 1.69; CI 1.62-1.75, p &amp;lt; 0.001); cardiac arrest (aOR 1.32; CI 1.23-1.42, p &amp;lt; 0.001); and need for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (aOR 1.37; CI 1.26-1.50, p &amp;lt; 0.001). Conclusion The findings of this study are inconsistent with the obesity paradox. Obese patients hospitalized with COVID-19 had an increased association of mortality and inpatient complications; however, there was a negative association between obesity and CVA and acute MI.