Factores de riesgo asociados a ingreso a Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos en pacientes con COVID-19 en hospitales colombianos, estudio de cohorte

Introducción: Los pacientes hospitalizados con COVID-19 presentan un espectro clínico variable y su gravedad puede ser predicha por la presencia de factores de riesgo. Objetivo: Determinar los factores asociados al ingreso a UCI en pacientes internados por COVID-19 en Colombia. Pacientes y Métodos: Estudio de cohorte multicéntrico, retrospectivo, en pacientes adultos hospitalizados por COVID-19 en Colombia, desde marzo de 2020 a enero de 2021. Se describieron las características de los pacientes y se establecieron predictores de ingreso a la UCI mediante un modelo de regresión logística. Resultados: Se incluyeron 1.160 pacientes, edad media de 55 años, 59,7% fueron hombres y 426 pacientes (36,7%) ingresaron a UCI. Los factores asociados al ingreso a UCI fueron edad (OR 1,25; IC 95%: 1,14-1,37), sobrepeso (OR 2,82; IC 95%: 1,98-4,02) y obesidad (OR 2,97; IC 95%: 2,03-4,37), antecedente de cardiopatía valvular (OR 6,46; IC 95%: 1,84-27,48), hipotensión arterial al ingreso (OR 2,35; IC 95%: 1,40-3,97), SIRS (OR 2,03; IC 95%: 1,50-2,74), disnea (OR 1,52; IC 95%: 1,09-2.14), requerimiento de oxígeno (OR 2,64; IC 95%: 1,67-4,30), neutrofilia (OR1,09; IC 95%: 1,05-1,13), elevación de dímero D (OR 1,09; IC 95%: 1,03-1,18), compromiso multilobar (OR 2,19; IC 95%: 1,58-3,07) y consolidación pulmonar (OR1,52; IC 95%: 1,13-2,04). La mortalidad intrahospitalaria fue de 14,4% (166 pacientes), 2,3% entre los que no ingresaron a la UCI y 35,2% entre los que sí lo hicieron. Conclusión: El 36,7% de pacientes hospitalizados por COVID-19 ingresó a UCI, identificándose predictores clínicos y de laboratorio asociados con este desenlace. La elaboración de modelos predictores con estos parámetros podría mejorar el pronóstico de los pacientes con COVID-19 que se hospitalizan.

Background: Hospitalized patients with COVID-19 present a variable clinical spectrum and its severity might be predicted by the presence of risk factors. Aim: To determine the factors associated with ICU admission in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 in Colombia. Method: Retrospective multicenter cohort study, in adult patients hospitalized for COVID-19 in Colombia, from March 2020 to January 2021. Population characteristics were described and ICU admission predictors were established using a logistic regression model. Results: 1,160 patients were included, mean age 55 years, 59.7% were men and 426 patients (36.7%) were admitted to the ICU. The associated factors were age (OR 1.25, 95% CI: 1.14-1.37), overweight (OR 2.82, 95% CI: 1.98-4.02) and obesity (OR 2.97, 95% CI: 2.03-4.37), valvular heart disease (OR 6.46, 95% CI: 1.84-27.48) hypotension at admission (OR 2.35, 95% CI: 1.40-3, 97), SIRS (OR 2.03, 95% CI: 1.50-2.74), dyspnea (OR 1.52, 95% CI: 1.09-2.14), oxygen requirement (OR 2.64, 95% CI: 1.67-4.30), neutrophilia (OR 1.09, 95% CI: 1.05-1.13), elevated D-dimer (OR 1.09, 95% CI: 1.03-1.18), multilobar lung involvement (OR 2.19, 95% CI: 1.58-3.07) and pulmonary consolidation (OR 1.52, 95% CI: 1.13-2.04). In-hospital mortality was 14.4% (166 patients), 2.3% among those that did not enter to the ICU and 35.2% among those who did. Conclusion: 36.7% of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 were admitted to the ICU. We identified clinical predictors associated with this outcome. Predictive models using these parameters could improve the prognostic of those patients with COVID-19 that are hospitalized.

Clinicopathological characteristics of cutaneous and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis in patients treated with TNF-α inhibitors.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The increasing use of biologics in the treatment of inflammatory diseases has led to more cases of leishmaniasis in patients subjected to iatrogenic immunosuppression. The main objective was to describe the characteristics of the patients with cutaneous (CL) or mucocutaneous (MCL) leishmaniasis who were receiving a biological therapy at the time of diagnosis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A multicenter retrospective study was design based on a cohort of patients diagnosed with CL or MCL. All patients who were being treated with biologicals were included. For each case, two matched non-exposed patients were included for comparison. RESULTS: 38 patients were diagnosed with CL or MCL while being treated with tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) inhibitors. Leishmaniasis presented more frequently as a plaque (58.3%) with a larger median lesion size (2.5 cm), ulceration (92.1%), and required a greater median number of intralesional meglumine antimoniate infiltrations (3 doses) (P < 0.05) than in non-exposed patients. We found no systemic involvement in patients being treated with anti-TNF-α. We did not find differences regarding the treatment characteristics whether biologic therapy was modified or not. CONCLUSIONS: Although management should be individualized, maintenance of biologic therapy does not seem to interfere with treatment of CL or MCL.

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to COVID-19 among patients at Hospital Universitario de Caracas triage tent: A cross-sectional study. / Conocimientos, actitudes y prácticas relacionadas con COVID-19 en pacientes de la carpa de triaje del Hospital Universitario de Caracas: un estudio transversal

INTRODUCTION: The studies on knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) regarding COVID-19 help to identify erroneous concepts and inadequate practices related to the disease. This baseline information is essential to design effective strategies and improve adherence to prevention measures. OBJECTIVE: To identify the COVID-19-related KAP in Venezuelan patients screened at the Hospital Universitario de Caracas triage tent. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study among 215 patients between April 25th and May 25th, 2020, with in-person interviews using a KAP survey. RESULTS: Most surveyed patients (53.5%) were asymptomatic. Most of them, both from the symptomatic and the asymptomatic groups, had adequate knowledge about the symptoms and transmission of the disease and the majority said they were practicing quarantine, frequent handwashing, and the use of face masks in public areas. However, the daily replacement of cloth face masks was more frequent in the asymptomatic group whereas replacement every three days was more frequent in the symptomatic group. Finally, more than half of the participants admitted having been in crowded places, a common practice among the symptomatic compared to the asymptomatic patients. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first KAP study in Venezuela about COVID-19. Knowledge and practices among Venezuelans could be improved by strengthening education and training programs. This information from the early phase of the pandemic in Venezuela may contribute to the design of COVID-19 promotion and prevention strategies.

Introducción: Los estudios sobre conocimientos, actitudes y prácticas (CAP) sobre COVID-19 ayudan a identificar conceptos erróneos y prácticas inadecuadas relacionadas con la enfermedad. Esta información de referencia es fundamental para diseñar estrategias efectivas y mejorar la adherencia a las medidas de prevención. Objetivo: Identificar la CAP relacionada con COVID-19 en pacientes venezolanos cribados en la carpa de triaje del Hospital Universitario de Caracas. Materiales y métodos: Realizamos un estudio transversal entre 215 pacientes entre el 25 de abril y el 25 de mayo de 2020, con entrevistas en persona utilizando una encuesta KAP. Resultados: La mayoría de los pacientes encuestados (53,5%) se encontraban asintomáticos. La mayoría de ellos, tanto del grupo sintomático como asintomático, tenían un conocimiento adecuado sobre los síntomas y la transmisión de la enfermedad y la mayoría dijo que practicaban la cuarentena, el lavado frecuente de manos y el uso de mascarillas en las áreas públicas. Sin embargo, el reemplazo diario de mascarillas de tela fue más frecuente en el grupo asintomático, mientras que el reemplazo cada tres días fue más frecuente en el grupo sintomático. Finalmente, más de la mitad de los participantes admitieron haber estado en lugares concurridos, una práctica común entre los sintomáticos en comparación con los asintomáticos. Conclusiones: Este es el primer estudio CAP en Venezuela sobre COVID-19. El conocimiento y las prácticas entre los venezolanos podrían mejorarse fortaleciendo los programas de educación y capacitación. Esta información de la fase inicial de la pandemia en Venezuela puede contribuir al diseño de estrategias de promoción y prevención del COVID-19.

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to COVID-19 among patients at Hospital Universitario de Caracas triage tent: A cross-sectional study / Conocimientos, actitudes y prácticas relacionadas con la Covid-19 en pacientes atendidos en la carpa de triaje del Hospital Universitario de Caracas: un estudio transversal

Abstract | Introduction: The studies on knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) regarding COVID-19 help to identify erroneous concepts and inadequate practices related to the disease. This baseline information is essential to design effective strategies and improve adherence to prevention measures. Objective: To identify the COVID-19-related KAP in Venezuelan patients screened at the Hospital Universitario de Caracas triage tent. Materials and methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study among 215 patients between April 25th and May 25th, 2020, with in-person interviews using a KAP survey. Results: Most surveyed patients (53.5%) were asymptomatic. Most of them, both from the symptomatic and the asymptomatic groups, had adequate knowledge about the symptoms and transmission of the disease and the majority said they were practicing quarantine, frequent handwashing, and the use of face masks in public areas. However, the daily replacement of cloth face masks was more frequent in the asymptomatic group whereas replacement every three days was more frequent in the symptomatic group. Finally, more than half of the participants admitted having been in crowded places, a common practice among the symptomatic compared to the asymptomatic patients. Conclusions: This is the first KAP study in Venezuela about COVID-19. Knowledge and practices among Venezuelans could be improved by strengthening education and training programs. This information from the early phase of the pandemic in Venezuela may contribute to the design of COVID-19 promotion and prevention strategies.

Resumen | Introducción. Los estudios de conocimientos, actitudes y prácticas (CAP) relacionados con la Covid-19 permiten establecer los conceptos erróneos y las prácticas inadecuadas en torno a esta enfermedad, información fundamental para diseñar estrategias eficaces y mejorar el cumplimiento de las medidas de prevención. Objetivo. Establecer los conocimientos, actitudes y prácticas relacionadas con la Covid-19 en pacientes venezolanos cribados en la carpa de triaje del Hospital Universitario de Caracas. Materiales y métodos. Se hizo un estudio transversal en 215 pacientes entre el 25 de abril y el 25 de mayo de 2020, mediante entrevistas personales y utilizando una encuesta sobre conocimientos, actitudes y prácticas. Resultados. La mayoría (53,5 %) de los pacientes encuestados se encontraba asintomática; los encuestados tenían un conocimiento adecuado sobre los síntomas y la transmisión de la enfermedad, sin distinción entre sintomáticos y asintomáticos. La mayoría de ellos indicó estar respetando las prácticas de cuarentena, lavado de manos frecuente y uso de tapabocas en público; sin embargo, el reemplazo diario de los tapabocas de tela fue más frecuente en el grupo de los asintomáticos, en tanto que el reemplazo cada tres días fue más común entre los sintomáticos. Por último, más de la mitad de los participantes admitió haber estado en lugares concurridos, siendo esta práctica más frecuente entre los sintomáticos que entre los asintomáticos. Conclusiones. Este es el primer estudio de conocimientos, actitudes y prácticas sobre la Covid-19 en Venezuela. El conocimiento y las prácticas de los venezolanos podrían mejorar mediante el fortalecimiento de los programas de educación y capacitación. Esta información, obtenida durante la fase inicial de la pandemia en Venezuela, podría contribuir al diseño de estrategias de promoción y prevención de la Covid-19.

An enzyme immunoassay to determine human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) in serum and urine samples using an ultra-microanalytical system.

The determination of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) in biological fluids is of great interest in the early pregnancy diagnostics, the evaluation of pregnancy disorders, as a tumor marker, as a screening procedure for anti-doping control, and many other purposes. A simple sandwich-type UltraMicro Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (UMELISA) has been developed for the measurement of HCG in serum and urine samples. Strips coated with a high affinity MAb directed against HCG are used as solid phase, to ensure the specificity of the assay. The HCG assay was completed in 1.5 h, with a measuring range of 0.76-400 mIU/mL. The intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation were lower than 10 %, depending on the HCG concentrations evaluated. Recovery percentages were 96.43-97.16 % (serum) and 98.10-99.04 % (urine). The assay detected intact HCG, nicked HCG, HCG ß, and nicked HCG ß, and did not recognize any of the interfering molecules tested. Regression analysis showed a good correlation with Elecsys in serum (n = 1459, r = 0.952, ρc = 0.948) and urine (n = 869, r = 0.988, ρc = 0.978). A good correlation was also found with 84 RIQAS samples analyzed with the kits Elecsys (r = 0.969, ρc = 0.957), Architect (r = 0.982, ρc = 0.970), Dimension (r = 0.989, ρc = 0.977), and Bioscience (r = 0.992, ρc = 0.980), all with a p < 0.01. Comparison with transvaginal ultrasonography in early pregnancy detection showed a specificity and a sensitivity of 100 % (n = 2385, κ = 1). The analytical performance characteristics of UMELISA HCG endorse its use for the quantification of HCG in serum and urine samples. This assay will make a cost-effective diagnostic kit accessible to low-income countries and is now available in the Cuban Public Health System.