Plos One
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Meta Analysis
The prognostic value of comorbidity for the severity of COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis study.
With the increase in the number of COVID-19 infections, the global health apparatus is facing insufficient resources. The main objective of the current study is to provide additional data regarding the clinical characteristics of the patients diagnosed with COVID-19, and in particular to analyze the factors associated with disease severity, lack of improvement, and mortality. ⋯ We evaluated the prevalence of some of the most important comorbidities in COVID-19 patients, indicating that some underlying disorders, including hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and chronic kidney disease, can be considered as risk factors for patients with COVID-19 infection. Furthermore, the results show that an elderly male with underlying diseases is more likely to have severe COVID-19.
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Tracking genetic variations from positive SARS-CoV-2 samples yields crucial information about the number of variants circulating in an outbreak and the possible lines of transmission but sequencing every positive SARS-CoV-2 sample would be prohibitively costly for population-scale test and trace operations. Genotyping is a rapid, high-throughput and low-cost alternative for screening positive SARS-CoV-2 samples in many settings. We have designed a SNP identification pipeline to identify genetic variation using sequenced SARS-CoV-2 samples. ⋯ In a high throughput laboratory, qRT-PCR positive samples pooled into 384-well plates could be screened with a marker panel at a cost of < £1.50 per sample. Our results demonstrate the usefulness of a SNP genotyping panel to provide a rapid, cost-effective, and reliable way to monitor SARS-CoV-2 variants circulating in an outbreak. Our analysis pipeline is publicly available and will allow for marker panels to be updated periodically as viral genotypes arise or disappear from circulation.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
The effects of 0.9% saline versus Plasma-Lyte 148 on renal function as assessed by creatinine concentration in patients undergoing major surgery: A single-centre double-blinded cluster crossover trial.
Saline and Plasma-Lyte have different physiochemical contents; consequently, they may differently affect patients' renal function. We compared the effects of fluid therapy with 0.9% saline and with Plasma-Lyte 148 on renal function as assessed by creatinine concentration among patients undergoing major surgery. ⋯ The study design was feasible to support a future follow-up larger clinical trial. Patients treated with saline did not demonstrate an increased incidence of postoperative AKI (defined as changes in creatinine) compared to those treated with Plasma-Lyte. Our findings imply that clinicians can reasonably use either solution intraoperatively for adult patients undergoing major surgery.
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Multiple studies have highlighted the negative impact of COVID-19 and its particular effects on vulnerable sub-populations. Complementing this work, here, we report on the social patterning of self-reported positive changes experienced during COVID-19 national lockdown in Scotland. ⋯ Overall our results highlight the social patterning of positive changes during lockdown in Scotland. These findings begin to illuminate the complexity of the unanticipated effects of national lockdown and will be used to support future intervention development work sharing lessons learned from lockdown to increase positive health change amongst those who may benefit.
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Validated tools for predicting individual in-hospital mortality of COVID-19 are lacking. We aimed to develop and to validate a simple clinical prediction rule for early identification of in-hospital mortality of patients with COVID-19. ⋯ A validated simple clinical prediction rule can promptly and accurately assess the risk for in-hospital mortality, improving triage and the management of patients with COVID-19.