Association and risk factors of pediatric pulmonary hypertension with obstructive sleep apnea: A national study utilizing the Kids' Inpatient Database (KID).

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Assess the prevalence of and risk factors for pediatric pulmonary hypertension (PH) in the 2016 Kids' Inpatient Database (KID), including obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and obesity. METHODS: Retrospective cross-sectional cohort study utilizing 6,081,132 weighted pediatric discharges from the 2016 KID. Study variables included age, length of stay, mortality, gender, hospital region, primary payer, race, median household income for patient's ZIP code, OSA, central sleep apnea (CSA), obesity, Down syndrome, sickle cell disease (SCD), thalassemia, congenital heart disease (CHD), hypertension, asthma and chronic lung disease of prematurity (CLDP). PH was the primary outcome of interest. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression models were utilized with odds ratios and 95 % confidence intervals. RESULTS: The mean age was 3.76 years, the mean hospital length of stay was 3.85 days, 48.9 % were male, 52.6 % had government health insurance, 51.0 % were White, 16.1 % were Black, 21.1 % were Hispanic, 5.0 % were Asian or Pacific Islander, 0.80 % were Native American and 6.1 % identified as "other". The prevalence of PH was 0.21 % (12,777 patients). There were 37,631 patients with OSA and the prevalence of PH among this cohort was 3.3 %, over 10x greater than the overall prevalence of PH in the 2016 KID (0.21 %). Risk factors associated with PH included CLDP, CHD, Down syndrome, asthma, OSA, CSA, hypertension, SCD, obesity, race/ethnicity, government insurance, age, male gender (p < 0.0001), and hospital region (p = 0.0002). CONCLUSIONS: Several risk factors were independently associated with PH, such as OSA, CSA, obesity, asthma, and insurance status. Prospective multi-institutional studies are needed to assess the relationships between these risk factors, severity metrics, and causative links in the development of PH; in addition to identifying children with OSA who are most likely to benefit from cardiopulmonary screening prior to adenotonsillectomy. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III.

Tonsillectomy and poliomyelitis: Development of causality.

OBJECTIVE: This paper serves to review the historical progression of clinical, epidemiological and immunological evidence on the relationship between tonsillectomy and poliomyelitis and its influence on clinical medicine. METHODS: A literature review was conducted using terms relating to poliomyelitis, tonsillectomy, and immunology. Primary sources published between 1900 and 2000 were reviewed, analyzed and evaluated based on their historical, clinical, epidemiological, scientific and immunological pertinence towards the relationship between tonsillectomy, and poliomyelitis during epidemics. RESULTS: The first study proposing a relationship between poliomyelitis and tonsillectomy was a case report published in 1910 by Phillip Sheppard. In response, other physicians began conducting clinical and epidemiological studies investigating the relationship between recent tonsillectomy and poliomyelitis in children. While the results of many of these studies demonstrated an increased morbidity and mortality rate associated with poliomyelitis in children who underwent recent tonsillectomy, other studies claimed there was no connection. Opposing study results and diverging physician views on this relationship left the medical community divided on whether to recommend against elective tonsillectomies during poliomyelitis outbreaks. The relationship between tonsillectomy and poliomyelitis was established after many years of clinical and epidemiological studies. Further scientific and immunological investigations revealed the causal nature of this relationship.

The Comparative Effectiveness of Virtual Reality Versus E-Module on the Training of Donning and Doffing Personal Protective Equipment: A Randomized, Simulation-Based Educational Study.

Introduction Preventing errors in donning and doffing of personal protective equipment (PPE) is critical for limiting the spread of infectious diseases. Virtual reality (VR) has demonstrated itself as an effective tool for asynchronous learning, but its use in PPE training has not been tested. The objective of this study was to compare donning and doffing performance between VR and e-module PPE training. Methods A prospective randomized open-blinded controlled trial was conducted to determine differences in donning and doffing performance after VR and e-module PPE training among medical staff and medical students at a single institution. The primary outcome was donning and doffing performance with real PPE, assessed using a 64-point checklist. The secondary outcome was participant preparedness and confidence level after training.  Results Fifty-four participants were randomized, mostly consisting of medical students (n=24 {44%}) or emergency medicine and otolaryngology residents (n=19 {35%}). The VR group (n=27 {50%}) performed better than the control in the overall PPE scores but this was not statistically significant (mean {SD}, VR: 55.4 {4.4} vs e-module: 53.3 {8.1}; p = 0.40). VR participants also reported higher levels of preparedness and confidence after training. Residents as a subgroup achieved the highest increases after VR training compared to their counterparts in the control training group (mean {SD}, VR: 55.6 {4.9} vs e-module 48.4 {5.5}, p = 0.009).  Conclusion In this randomized trial, VR training was found to be non-inferior to e-module for asynchronous PPE training. Our results suggest that in particular residents may benefit most from VR PPE training. Additionally, VR participants felt more confident and prepared to don and doff PPE after training compared to e-module participants. These findings are particularly relevant given the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Future studies need to focus on VR integration into residency curriculum and monitoring for long-term skill retention.

Severity of Sleep Apnea and COVID-19 Illness.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the relationship between severity of sleep apnea and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) hospitalization and severe illness. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Montefiore Health System in the Bronx, New York. METHODS: The data set consisted of adult patients with an active diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea in the past 2 years and a positive severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 quantitative polymerase chain reaction test at our institution between March 16, 2020, and May 26, 2020. Sleep apnea severity and continuous positive airway pressure compliance data were abstracted from the electronic medical record. The International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision was used to classify comorbidities. RESULTS: A total of 461 patients with sleep apnea tested positive for COVID-19, of whom 149 were excluded for missing data in the electronic medical record. Patients with moderate and severe sleep apnea had higher rates of COVID-19 hospitalization compared to those with mild sleep apnea (P = .003). This association was reduced when accounting for confounders, most notably the Charlson Comorbidity Index, a measure of comorbid illness burden. Moderate and severe sleep apnea were associated with increased Charlson Comorbidity Indices, compared to mild sleep apnea (P = .01). Sleep apnea severity was not associated with a composite outcome of mechanical ventilation, intensive care unit admission, and death. CONCLUSION: Sleep apnea severity was associated with the Charlson Comorbidity Index and may be a risk factor for COVID-19 hospitalization. We found no evidence that sleep apnea severity among hospitalized patients was associated with a composite outcome of mechanical ventilation, intensive care unit admission, and death.

COVID-19-Induced Anosmia and Ageusia Are Associated With Younger Age and Lower Blood Eosinophil Counts.

BACKGROUND: Anosmia and ageusia are symptoms commonly associated with COVID-19, but the relationship with disease severity, onset and recovery are unclear. OBJECTIVE: To examine factors associated with anosmia and ageusia and the recovery from these symptoms in an ethnically diverse cohort. METHODS: Individuals tested for SARS-CoV-2 between March and April 2020 were eligible for the study. Randomly selected participants answered a telephone questionnaire on COVID-19 symptoms with a focus on anosmia and ageusia. Additionally, relevant past medical history and data on the COVID-19 clinical course were obtained from electronic medical records. 486 patients were in the COVID-19 group and 103 were COVID-19-negative. RESULTS: Patients who were younger were more likely to report anosmia and/or ageusia (odds ratio (OR) for anosmia per 1-year increase in age: 0·98, 95%CI:0-97-0·99, p = 0·003; for ageusia: 0·98, 95%CI:0·97-0·99, p = 0·005) as were patients with lower eosinophil counts (OR for anosmia per 0.1-K/µL increase in eosinophils: 0·02, 95%CI:0·001-0·46, p = 0·01, for ageusia 0·10, 95%CI:0·01-0·97, p = 0·047). Male gender was independently associated with a lower probability of ageusia (OR:0·56, 95%CI:0·38-0·82, p = 0·003) and earlier sense of taste recovery (HR:1·44, 95%CI:1·05-1·98, p = 0·02). Latinos showed earlier sense of taste recovery than white patients (HR:1·82, 95%CI:1·05-3·18, p = 0·03). CONCLUSION: Anosmia and ageusia were more common among younger patients and those with lower blood eosinophil counts. Ageusia was less commonly reported among men, and time to taste recovery was earlier among both men and Latinos.