Anticoagulant use before COVID-19 diagnosis prevent COVID-19 associated acute venous thromboembolism or not:A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND Coagulopathy and thromboembolic events are associated with poor outcomes in coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)patients.There is conflicting evidence on the effects of chronic anticoagulation on mortality and severity of COVID-19 disease.AIM To summarize the body of evidence on the effects of pre-hospital anticoagulation on outcomes in COVID-19 patients.METHODS A Literature search was performed on LitCovid PubMed,WHO,and Scopus databases from inception(December 2019)till June 2023 for original studies reporting an association between prior use of anticoagulants and patient outcomes in adults with COVID-19.The primary outcome was the risk of thromboembolic events in COVID-19 patients taking anticoagulants.Secondary outcomes included COVID-19 disease severity,in terms of intensive care unit admission or invasive mechanical ventilation/intubation requirement in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 infection,and mortality.The random effects models were used to calculate crude and adjusted odds ratios(aORs)with 95%confidence intervals(95%CIs).RESULTS Forty-six observational studies met our inclusion criteria.The unadjusted analysis found no association between prior anticoagulation and thromboembolic event risk[n=43851,9 studies,odds ratio(OR)=0.67(0.22,2.07);P=0.49;I2=95%].The association between prior anticoagulation and disease severity was non-significant[n=186782;22 studies,OR=1.08(0.78,1.49);P=0.64;I2=89%].However,pre-hospital anticoagulation significantly increased all-cause mortality risk[n=207292;35 studies,OR=1.72(1.37,2.17);P<0.00001;I2=93%].Pooling adjusted estimates revealed a statistically non-significant association between pre-hospital anticoagulation and thromboembolic event risk[aOR=0.87(0.42,1.80);P=0.71],mortality[aOR=0.94(0.84,1.05);P=0.31],and disease severity[aOR=0.96(0.72,1.26);P=0.76].CONCLUSION Prehospital anticoagulation was not significantly associated with reduced risk of thromboembolic events,improved survival,and lower disease severity in COVID-19 patients.

Impact of diabetes mellitus on mortality in pulmonary hypertension:A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND Pulmonary hypertension(PH)is a progressive disease characterized by endothelial dysfunction and vascular remodeling and is a leading cause of mortality worldwide.Although it is independently associated with multiple comorbidities,the impact of diabetes mellitus(DM)on mortality in patients with PH remains uncertain.To address this issue,we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the effect of DM on survival in patients with pulmonary hypertension.AIM To investigate the impact of diabetes mellitus on mortality in pulmonary hypertension patients.METHODS We conducted a comprehensive search of four major electronic bibliographic databases like PubMed,Google Scholar,Scopus,and Embase,and identified 106 relevant studies,out of 1561 articles,published since the year 2000 for full-text review.Fourteen retrospective and prospective cohort studies that compared survival between patients with DM and those without DM in the context of PH were deemed eligible for inclusion in our meta-analysis.The study was registered on PROSPERO with the identifier CRD42023390232.RESULTS A total of 116455 patients with PH were included in the meta-analysis,of whom 41228 suffered from DM and 75227 did not.The results of our meta-analysis indicate an elevated mortality rate among PH patients with diabetes mellitus in comparison to those without DM[odds ratio(OR)=1.40,95%CI:1.15–1.70,P=0.0006].The metaregression analysis unveiled a statistically significant negative association between mean age and effect size(coefficient=-0.036,P value=0.018).Conversely,a statistically significant positive association was detected between female proportion and effect size(coefficient=0.000,P value<0.001).CONCLUSION Our meta-analysis,which included approximately 116500 PH patients,revealed that the presence of diabetes mellitus was associated with increased odds of mortality when compared to non-diabetic patients.The metaregression analysis indicates that studies with older participants and lower proportions of females tend to exhibit smaller effect sizes.Clinically,these findings underscore the importance of incorporating diabetes status into the risk stratification of patients with PH with more aggressive monitoring and early intervention to improve prognosis potentially.

Association of non-alcoholic fatty liver and metabolic-associated fatty liver with COVID-19 outcomes:A systematic review and metaanalysis

BACKGROUND Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)and metabolic-associated fatty liver disease(MAFLD)are on the rise like any other liver disease,and tend to affect 25%of the United States population.The impact of NAFLD and MAFLD on patients with coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)remains unclear.AIM To identify the association of NAFLD and MAFLD with mortality,hospitalization,hospital length of stay,and supplemental oxygen utilization in COVID-19 patients.METHODS A systematic review of literature on Cochrane,Embase,PubMed,ScienceDirect,and Web of Science databases was conducted from January 2019 to July 2022.Studies that evaluated NAFLD/MAFLD using laboratory methods,noninvasive imaging,or liver biopsy were included.The study protocol was registered in PROSPERO(ID CRD42022313259)and PRISMA guidelines were followed.The National Institutes of Health quality assessment tool was used to assess the quality of the studies.Pooled analysis was conducted using software Rev Man version 5.3.The stability of the results was assessed using sensitivity analysis.RESULTS Thirty-two studies with 43388 patients were included in the meta-analysis of whom 8538(20%)patients were observed to have NAFLD.There were 42254 patients from 28 studies included in the mortality analysis.A total of 2008 patients died from COVID-19;837(10.52%)in the NAFLD group and 1171(3.41%)in the non-NAFLD group.The odds ratio(OR)was 1.38 for mortality with a 95%confidence interval(95%CI)=0.97-1.95 and P=0.07.A total of 5043 patients from eight studies were included in the hospital length of stay analysis.There were 1318 patients in the NAFLD group and 3725 patients in the non-NAFLD group.A qualitative synthesis showed that the mean difference in hospital length of stay was about 2 d between the NAFLD and non-NAFLD groups with a 95%CI=0.71-3.27 and P=0.002.For hospitalization rates,the OR was 3.25 with a 95%CI of 1.73-6.10 and P=0.0002.For supplemental oxygen utilization,the OR was 2.04 with a 95%CI of 1.17-3.53 and P=0.01.CONCLUSION Our meta-analysis suggests that there are increased odds of hospitalization,longer hospital length of stay,and increased use of supplemental oxygen in NAFLD/MAFLD patients.

Critical care practice in India:Results of the intensive care unit need assessment survey(ININ2018)

BACKGROUND A diverse country like India may have variable intensive care units(ICUs)practices at state and city levels.AIM To gain insight into clinical services and processes of care in ICUs in India,this would help plan for potential educational and quality improvement interventions.METHODS The Indian ICU needs assessment research group of diverse-skilled individuals was formed.A pan-India survey"Indian National ICU Needs"assessment(ININ 2018-I)was designed on google forms and deployed from July 23rd-August 25th,2018.The survey was sent to select distribution lists of ICU providers from all 29 states and 7 union territories(UTs).In addition to emails and phone calls,social medial applications-WhatsApp™,Facebook™and LinkedIn™were used to remind and motivate providers.By completing and submitting the survey,providers gave their consent for research purposes.This study was deemed eligible for category-2 Institutional Review Board exempt status.RESULTS There were total 134 adult/adult-pediatrics ICU responses from 24(83%out of 29)states,and two(28%out of 7)UTs in 61 cities.They had median(IQR)16(10-25)beds and most,were mixed medical-surgical,111(83%),with 108(81%)being adult-only ICUs.Representative responders were young,median(IQR),38(32-44)years age and majority,n=108(81%)were males.The consultants were,n=101(75%).A total of 77(57%)reported to have 24 h in-house intensivist.A total of 68(51%)ICUs reported to have either 2:1 or 2≥:1 patient:nurse ratio.More than 80%of the ICUs were open,and mixed type.Protocols followed regularly by the ICUs included sepsis care,ventilator-associated pneumonia(83%each);nutrition(82%),deep vein thrombosis prophylaxis(87%),stress ulcer prophylaxis(88%)and glycemic control(92%).Digital infrastructure was found to be poor,with only 46%of the ICUs reporting high-speed internet availability.CONCLUSION In this large,national,semi-structured,need-assessment survey,the need for improved manpower including;in-house intensivists,and decreasing patient-tonurse ratios was evident.Sepsis was the most common diagnosis and quality and research initiatives to decrease sepsis mortality and ICU length of stay could be prioritized.Additionally,subsequent surveys can focus on digital infrastructure for standardized care and efficient resource utilization and enhancing compliance with existing protocols.

Genomics in medicine: A new era in medicine

The sequencing of complete human genome revolutionized the genomic medicine.However,the complex interplay of gene-environment-lifestyle and influence of non-coding genomic regions on human health remain largely unexplored.Genomic medicine has great potential for diagnoses or disease prediction,disease prevention and,targeted treatment.However,many of the promising tools of genomic medicine are still in their infancy and their application may be limited because of the limited knowledge we have that precludes its use in many clinical settings.In this review article,we have reviewed the evolution of genomic methodologies/tools,their limitations,and scope,for current and future clinical application.

Association of latitude and altitude with adverse outcomes in patients with COVID-19: The VIRUS registry

BACKGROUND The coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)course may be affected by environmental factors.Ecological studies previously suggested a link between climatological factors and COVID-19 fatality rates.However,individual-level impact of these factors has not been thoroughly evaluated yet.AIM To study the association of climatological factors related to patient location with unfavorable outcomes in patients.METHODS In this observational analysis of the Society of Critical Care Medicine Discovery Viral Infection and Respiratory Illness Universal Study:COVID-19 Registry cohort,the latitudes and altitudes of hospitals were examined as a covariate for mortality within 28 d of admission and the length of hospital stay.Adjusting for baseline parameters and admission date,multivariable regression modeling was utilized.Generalized estimating equations were used to fit the models.RESULTS Twenty-two thousand one hundred eight patients from over 20 countries were evaluated.The median age was 62(interquartile range:49-74)years,and 54%of the included patients were males.The median age increased with increasing latitude as well as the frequency of comorbidities.Contrarily,the percentage of comorbidities was lower in elevated altitudes.Mortality within 28 d of hospital admission was found to be 25%.The median hospital-free days among all included patients was 20 d.Despite the significant linear relationship between mortality and hospital-free days(adjusted odds ratio(aOR)=1.39(1.04,1.86),P=0.025 for mortality within 28 d of admission;aOR=-1.47(-2.60,-0.33),P=0.011 for hospital-free days),suggesting that adverse patient outcomes were more common in locations further away from the Equator;the results were no longer significant when adjusted for baseline differences(aOR=1.32(1.00,1.74),P=0.051 for 28-day mortality;aOR=-1.07(-2.13,-0.01),P=0.050 for hospital-free days).When we looked at the altitude’s effect,we discovered that it demonstrated a non-linear association with mortality within 28 d of hospital admission(aOR=0.96(0.62,1.47),1.04(0.92,1.19),0.49(0.22,0.90),and 0.51(0.27,0.98),for the altitude points of 75 MASL,125 MASL,400 MASL,and 600 MASL,in comparison to the reference altitude of 148 m.a.s.l,respectively.P=0.001).We detected an association between latitude and 28-day mortality as well as hospital-free days in this worldwide study.When the baseline features were taken into account,however,this did not stay significant.CONCLUSION Our findings suggest that differences observed in previous epidemiological studies may be due to ecological fallacy rather than implying a causal relationship at the patient level.

Hypotension after intensive care unit drop-off in adult cardiac surgery patients

BACKGROUND Hypotension is a frequent complication in the intensive care unit(ICU)after adult cardiac surgery.AIM To describe frequency of hypotension in the ICU following adult cardiac surgery and its relation to the hospital outcomes.METHODS A retrospective study of post-cardiac adult surgical patients at a tertiary academic medical center in a two-year period.We abstracted baseline demographics,comorbidities,and all pertinent clinical variables.The primary predictor variable was the development of hypotension within the first 30 min upon arrival to the ICU from the operating room(OR).The primary outcome was hospital mortality,and other outcomes included duration of mechanical ventilation(MV)in hours,and ICU and hospital length of stay in days.RESULTS Of 417 patients,more than half(54%)experienced hypotension within 30 min upon arrival to the ICU.Presence of OR hypotension immediately prior to ICU transfer was significantly associated with ICU hypotension(odds ratio=1.9;95%confidence interval:1.21-2.98;P<0.006).ICU hypotensive patients had longer MV,5(interquartile ranges 3,15)vs 4 h(interquartile ranges 3,6),P=0.012.The patients who received vasopressor boluses(n=212)were more likely to experience ICU drop-off hypotension(odds ratio=1.45,95%confidence interval:0.98-2.13;P=0.062),and they experienced longer MV,ICU and hospital length of stay(P<0.001,for all).CONCLUSION Hypotension upon anesthesia-to-ICU drop-off is more frequent than previously reported and may be associated with adverse clinical outcomes.