A Multicenter Retrospective Cohort Study to Characterize Patients Hospitalized With Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Adults and Coronavirus Disease 2019 in the United States, 2020-2021.

BACKGROUND: The diagnosis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-associated multisystem inflammatory syndrome in adults (MIS-A) requires distinguishing it from acute coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and may affect clinical management. METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, we applied the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention case definition to identify adults hospitalized with MIS-A at 6 academic medical centers from 1 March 2020 to 31 December 2021. Patients MIS-A were matched by age group, sex, site, and admission date at a 1:2 ratio to patients hospitalized with acute symptomatic COVID-19. Conditional logistic regression was used to compare demographic characteristics, presenting symptoms, laboratory and imaging results, treatments administered, and outcomes between cohorts. RESULTS: Through medical record review of 10 223 patients hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2-associated illness, we identified 53 MIS-A cases. Compared with 106 matched patients with COVID-19, those with MIS-A were more likely to be non-Hispanic black and less likely to be non-Hispanic white. They more likely had laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 ≥14 days before hospitalization, more likely had positive in-hospital SARS-CoV-2 serologic testing, and more often presented with gastrointestinal symptoms and chest pain. They were less likely to have underlying medical conditions and to present with cough and dyspnea. On admission, patients with MIS-A had higher neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and higher levels of C-reactive protein, ferritin, procalcitonin, and D-dimer than patients with COVID-19. They also had longer hospitalization and more likely required intensive care admission, invasive mechanical ventilation, and vasopressors. The mortality rate was 6% in both cohorts. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with patients with acute symptomatic COVID-19, adults with MIS-A more often manifest certain symptoms and laboratory findings early during hospitalization. These features may facilitate diagnosis and management.

Burnout syndrome among frontline doctors of secondary and tertiary care hospitals of Bangladesh during COVID-19 pandemic.

INTRODUCTION: During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers had a high workload and were exposed to multiple psychosocial stressors. However, a knowledge gap exists about the levels of burnout among Bangladeshi frontline doctors during this COVID-19 pandemic. The study investigated burnout syndrome (BOS) among frontline doctors in two public secondary and tertiary care hospitals in Chattogram, Bangladesh. MATERIALS & METHODS: This cross-sectional study involved frontline doctors working at two hospitals treating COVID-19 and non-COVID patients from June to August 2020. A self-administered questionnaire that included Maslach Burnout Inventory for Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) was used to capture demographic and workplace environment information. ANOVA and t-test were used to determine the statistical differences in the mean values of the three dimensions of MBI-HSS. Scores for three domains of burnout: emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and personal accomplishment (PA) were calculated. Post-hoc analysis was done to identify the significant pair-wise differences when the ANOVA test result was significant. Multiple logistic regression was performed to determine the influence of factors associated with BOS. RESULTS: A total of 185 frontline doctors were invited to participate by convenience sampling, and 168 responded. The response rate was 90.81%. The overall prevalence of BOS was 55.4% (93/168) (95% CI: 47.5% to 63.0%). Moderate to high levels of EE was found in 95.8% of the participants. High DP and reduced PA were observed in 98.2% and 97% of participants. Younger age (25-29 years), being female, and working as a medical officer were independently associated with high levels of burnout in all three domains. EE was significantly higher in females (P = 0.011). DP was significantly higher in medical officers, those at earlier job periods, and those working more than 8 hours per day. CONCLUSION: During the COVID-19 outbreak, BOS was common among Bangladeshi frontline doctors. Females, medical officers, and younger doctors tended to be more susceptible to BOS. Less BOS was experienced when working in the non-COVID ward than in the mixed ward.

The effect of extracellular calcium ion on gene expression of bone-related proteins in human pulp cells.

Calcium hydroxide is often used for induction of reparative dentin formation in endodontic treatment. However, little is known about the mechanism by which calcium hydroxide works. The calcium ion (Ca2+) is an important regulator of cell functions. In this study, we examined the effect of extracellular Ca2+ on gene expression of bone-related proteins in human cultured pulp cells in serum-free conditions. A Ca2+ level elevated by 0.7 mM induced an increase in mRNA expression of osteopontin and bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-2. However, mRNA levels of BMP-4 and alkaline phosphatase decreased under the elevated Ca2+ culture condition. The same concentration of additional magnesium ions had little effect on expressions of the examined bone-related protein mRNAs. These findings suggest that Ca2+ in Ca(OH)2 specifically modulates osteopontin and BMP-2 levels during calcification in pulp.

Proliferative ability and alkaline phosphatase activity with in vivo cellular aging in human pulp cells.

Little is known about the effect of aging on characteristic functions of pulp cells. When damaged pulp is recovered and mineralized tissue is formed to protect remaining pulp tissue, the general responses of pulp tissue after adequate stimuli (pulp cell proliferation and activation of alkaline phosphatase [ALPase]) are thought to be essential. In this study, we compared proliferative ability and ALPase activity between cultures of human pulp (HP) cells obtained from young and aged donors. The in vitro proliferative lifespan of HP cells from young donors was longer than HP cells from aged donors. Growth rates and ALPase activity of HP cells decreased with increasing donor age. These findings suggest that impaired repair of pulp and dentin in aged patients is partly due to a decrease in the proliferative ability and ALPase activity in aged pulp cells.