Corticosteroids Treatment of Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019:A Propensity Score Matching Study

The role of corticosteroids in the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)is controversial.In the present study,we evaluated the effects of adjuvant corticosteroids treatment on the outcome of patients with COVID-19(n=966),using Propensity Score Matching to adjust for potential differences between the corticosteroids group(n=289)and the non-corticosteroids group(n=677).Analysis of data without adjusting differences in baseline characteristics indicated that the proportion of mechanical ventilation and the mortality was higher in the corticosteroids treatment group in total or severe/critical patients.The duration of viral shedding was longer in the non-corticosteroids treatment group in total or general/mild patients.After adjusting the difference between the corticosteroids and non-corticosteroids treatment group,the analysis revealed that the use of corticosteroids had no effect on the duration of viral shedding,in-hospital mortality or 28-day mortality.

Prolonged SARS-CoV-2 Viral Shedding in Patients with COVID-19 was Associated with Delayed Initiation of Arbidol Treatment and Consulting Doctor Later: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Objective:To study data about SARS-CoV-2 virus shedding and clarify the risk factors for prolonged virus shedding.Methods:Data were retrospectively collected from adults hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed coronavirus disease-19(COVID-19)in Wuhan Union Hospital.We compared clinical features among patients with prolonged(a positive SARS-CoV-2 RNA on day 23 after illness onset)and short virus shedding and evaluated risk factors associated with prolonged virus shedding by multivariate regression analysis.Results:Among 238 patients,the median age was 55.5 years,57.1%were female,92.9%(221/238)were administered with arbidol,58.4%(139/238)were given arbidol in combination with interferon.The median duration of SARS-CoV-2 virus shedding was 23 days(IQR,17.8-30 days)with a longest one of 51 days.The patients with prolonged virus shedding had higher value of D-dimer(P=0.002),IL-6(P<0.001),CRP(P=0.005)and more lobes lung lesion(P=0.014)on admission,as well as older age(P=0.017)and more patients with hypertension(P=0.044)than in those the virus shedding less than 23 days.Multivariate regression analysis revealed that prolonged viral shedding was significantly associated with initiation arbidol≥8 days after symptom onset[OR:2.447,95%CI(1.351-4.431)],≥3 days from onset of symptoms to first medical visitation[OR:1.880,95%CI(1.035-3.416)],illness onset before Jan.31,2020[OR:3.289,95%CI(1.474-7.337)].Arbidol in combination with interferon was also significantly associated with shorter virus shedding[OR:0.363,95%CI(0.191-0.690)].Conclusion:Duration of SARS-CoV-2 virus shedding was long.Early initiation of arbidol and arbidol in combination with interferon as well as consulting doctor timely after illness onset were helpful for SARS-CoV-2 clearance.

Spreading of extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli ST131 and Klebsiella pneumoniae ST11 in patients with pneumonia a molecular epidemiological study

Background: Extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) are the important pathogens causing pneumonia. This study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics and molecular epidemiology of ESBL-producing E. coli and K. pneumoniae causing pneumonia at a large teaching hospital in China. Methods: We collected patient's clinical data and ESBL-producing E. coli and K. pneumoniae strains causing pneumonia (from December 2015 to June 2016) at a hospital in Wuhan. The susceptibilities, multi-locus sequence typing, homologous analysis, ESBL genes by polymerase chain reaction and sequencing were determined. Results: A total of 59 ESBL-producing strains (31 E. coli and 28 K. pneumoniae) isolated from patients with pneumonia were analyzed. The majority of strains were isolated from patients were with hospital-acquired pneumonia (37/59, 62.7%), followed by community-acquired pneumonia (13/59, 22.0%), and ventilator-related pneumonia (9/59, 15.3%). The E. coli ST131 (9 isolates, 29.0%) and K. pneumoniae ST11 (5 isolates, 17.9%) were the predominant sub-types. The most prevalent ESBL gene was CTX-M-14, followed by SHV-77, CTX-M-3, SHV-11, and CTX-M-27. At least 33 (55.9%) of the ESBL-producing strains carried two or more ESBL genes. The ISEcp1 and IS26 were found upstream of all blaCTX-M (CTX-Ms) and of most blaSHV (SHVs)(57.6%), respectively. Moreover, three ESBL-producing K. pneumoniae ST11 strains which were resistant to carbapenems carried the blaNDM-1 and blaKPC-2, two of which also bearing blaOXA-48 were resistant to all antibiotics (including Tigecycline). Conclusions: Hospital-acquired pneumonia is more likely correlated with ESBL-producing E. coli and K. pneumoniae. ESBL-producing E. coli ST131 and multi-drug resistance ESBL-producing, as well as New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase-1 (NDM-1) and Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemases-2 (KPC-2) bearing K. pneumoniae ST11 are spreading in patients with pneumonia in hospital.