Effect of a Pulmonary Embolism Diagnostic Strategy on Clinical Outcomes in Patients Hospitalized for COPD Exacerbation: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Active search for pulmonary embolism (PE) may improve outcomes in patients hospitalized for exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Objective: To compare usual care plus an active strategy for diagnosing PE with usual care alone in patients hospitalized for COPD exacerbation. Design, Setting, and Participants: Randomized clinical trial conducted across 18 hospitals in Spain. A total of 746 patients were randomized from September 2014 to July 2020 (final follow-up was November 2020). Interventions: Usual care plus an active strategy for diagnosing PE (D-dimer testing and, if positive, computed tomography pulmonary angiogram) (n = 370) vs usual care (n = 367). Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was a composite of nonfatal symptomatic venous thromboembolism (VTE), readmission for COPD, or death within 90 days after randomization. There were 4 secondary outcomes, including nonfatal new or recurrent VTE, readmission for COPD, and death from any cause within 90 days. Adverse events were also collected. Results: Among the 746 patients who were randomized, 737 (98.8%) completed the trial (mean age, 70 years; 195 [26%] women). The primary outcome occurred in 110 patients (29.7%) in the intervention group and 107 patients (29.2%) in the control group (absolute risk difference, 0.5% [95% CI, -6.2% to 7.3%]; relative risk, 1.02 [95% CI, 0.82-1.28]; P = .86). Nonfatal new or recurrent VTE was not significantly different in the 2 groups (0.5% vs 2.5%; risk difference, -2.0% [95% CI, -4.3% to 0.1%]). By day 90, a total of 94 patients (25.4%) in the intervention group and 84 (22.9%) in the control group had been readmitted for exacerbation of COPD (risk difference, 2.5% [95% CI, -3.9% to 8.9%]). Death from any cause occurred in 23 patients (6.2%) in the intervention group and 29 (7.9%) in the control group (risk difference, -1.7% [95% CI, -5.7% to 2.3%]). Major bleeding occurred in 3 patients (0.8%) in the intervention group and 3 patients (0.8%) in the control group (risk difference, 0% [95% CI, -1.9% to 1.8%]; P = .99). Conclusions and Relevance: Among patients hospitalized for an exacerbation of COPD, the addition of an active strategy for the diagnosis of PE to usual care, compared with usual care alone, did not significantly improve a composite health outcome. The study may not have had adequate power to assess individual components of the composite outcome. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02238639.

[Survival impact of previous statin therapy in patients hospitalized with COVID-19]. / Impacto del tratamiento previo con estatinas sobre la supervivencia de los pacientes hospitalizados con COVID-19.

INTRODUCTION: Statin therapy might have a beneficial prognostic effect in patients with COVID-19, given its immunomodulative, anti-inflammatory and anti-atherosclerotic properties. Our purpose was to test this hypothesis by using the COVID-19 registry of a Spanish university hospital. METHODS: We conducted a single-center, observational and retrospective study in which hospitalized patients with COVID-19 diagnosed by PCR between March 2020 and October 2020 were included. By means of logistic regression, we designed a propensity score to estimate the likelihood that a patient would receive statin treatment prior to admission. We compared the survival of COVID-19 patients with and without statin treatment by means of Cox regression with inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW). The median follow-up was 406 days. RESULTS: We studied 1122 hospitalized patients with COVID-19, whose median age was 71years and of which 488 (43.5%) were women. 451 (40.2%) patients received statins before admission. In the IPTW survival analysis, prior statin treatment was associated with a significant reduction in mortality (HR: 0.76; 95%CI: 0.59-0.97). The greatest benefit of previous statin therapy was seen in subgroups of patients with coronary artery disease (HR: 0.32; 95%CI: 0.18-0.56) and extracardiac arterial disease (HR: 0.45; 95%CI: 0.28-0.73). CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed a significant association between previous treatment with statins and lower mortality in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. The observed prognostic benefit was greater in patients with previous coronary or extracardiac atherosclerotic disease.

Survival impact of previous statin therapy in patients hospitalized with COVID-19.

Introduction: Statin therapy might have a beneficial prognostic effect in patients with COVID-19, given its immunomodulative, anti-inflammatory and anti-atherosclerotic properties. Our purpose was to test this hypothesis by using the COVID-19 registry of a Spanish university hospital. Methods: We conducted a single-center, observational and retrospective study in which hospitalized patients with COVID-19 diagnosed by PCR between March 2020 and October 2020 were included. By means of logistic regression, we designed a propensity score to estimate the likelihood that a patient would receive statin treatment prior to admission. We compared the survival of COVID-19 patients with and without statin treatment by means of Cox regression with inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW). The median follow-up was 406 days. Results: We studied 1122 hospitalized patients with COVID-19, whose median age was 71 years and of which 488 (43.5%) were women. 451 (40.2%) patients received statins before admission. In the IPTW survival analysis, prior statin treatment was associated with a significant reduction in mortality (HR: 0.76; 95% CI: 0.59-0.97). The greatest benefit of previous statin therapy was seen in subgroups of patients with coronary artery disease (HR: 0.32; 95% CI: 0.18-0.56) and extracardiac arterial disease (HR: 0.45; 95% CI: 0.28-0.73). Conclusions: Our study showed a significant association between previous treatment with statins and lower mortality in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. The observed prognostic benefit was greater in patients with previous coronary or extracardiac atherosclerotic disease.

Introducción: El tratamiento con estatinas podría presentar un efecto pronóstico beneficioso en pacientes con COVID-19, dadas sus propiedades inmunomoduladoras, antiinflamatorias y estabilizadoras de la placa de ateroma. Nuestro propósito fue analizar esta hipótesis tomando como base el registro de COVID-19 de un hospital universitario español. Métodos: Realizamos un estudio observacional y retrospectivo en el que se incluyeron los pacientes hospitalizados con COVID-19 diagnosticado mediante PCR entre marzo de 2020 y octubre de 2020 en un centro. Mediante regresión logística, diseñamos una puntuación de propensión para estimar la probabilidad de que un paciente recibiese tratamiento con estatinas antes del ingreso. Comparamos la supervivencia de los pacientes con y sin tratamiento con estatinas mediante la regresión de Cox ponderada por la inversa de la probabilidad de recibir el tratamiento (IPT). La mediana de seguimiento fue de 406 días. Resultados: Estudiamos 1.122 pacientes hospitalizados con COVID-19, cuya mediana de edad era de 71 años y de los cuales 488 (43,5%) eran mujeres. 451 (40,2%) pacientes recibían estatinas antes del ingreso. En el análisis de supervivencia ponderado por la IPT, el tratamiento previo con estatinas se asoció a una reducción significativa de la mortalidad (HR: 0,76; IC 95%: 0,59­0,97). El mayor beneficio del tratamiento previo con estatinas se observó en los subgrupos de pacientes con enfermedad arterial coronaria (HR: 0,32; IC 95%: 0,18­0,56) y enfermedad arterial extracardiaca (HR: 0,45; IC 95%: 0,28­0,73). Conclusiones: Nuestro estudio mostró una asociación significativa entre el tratamiento previo con estatinas y una menor mortalidad en pacientes hospitalizados con COVID-19. El beneficio pronóstico observado fue mayor en los pacientes con enfermedad aterosclerótica coronaria o extracardiaca previa.

[Knowledge of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in the Galician Population: "CoñecEPOC" Study]. / Conocimiento de la enfermedad pulmonar obstructiva crónica (EPOC) en la población gallega: estudio «CoñecEPOC¼.

Objectives: In 2011, only 18% of the population in Galician knew the COPD. Since then, activities have been carried out to publicize this disease. The objective of this study was to evaluate the current situation regarding the knowledge of COPD in the Galician population. Methodology: Cross-sectional study, through telephone surveys. Variables included in the questionnaire, related to knowledge of the disease, were analyzed. Results: 872 respondents, 53% women, mean age 54 years. 63% with secondary/university studies. 40% has knowledge of COPD. In contrast, more than 90% of respondents know other high-frequency diseases (diabetes, stroke, asthma). The factors most associated with knowledge of COPD were female gender, having secondary/university studies, and having previously performed spirometry. Conclusions: The knowledge of COPD in the Galician population is 40% now, higher than in 2011, but it is far from that of other prevalent diseases.

Determinants of the Appearance and Progression of Early-Onset Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Young Adults. A Case-Control Study with Follow-up. / EARLY COPD: determinantes de la aparición y progresión de la enfermedad pulmonar obstructiva crónica en adultos jóvenes. Protocolo de un estudio caso-control con seguimiento.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Determinants of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the early stages of its natural history are not well known. Improving our knowledge of these factors will help to design interventions that can modify prognosis. Study objectives are: a) to characterize a COPD population of young adults aged 35-50 years from a multidimensional point of view; b) to compare these patients with smokers with normal lung function; and c) to create a cohort of young adults aged 35-50 years (smokers or former smokers), with and without COPD, who will be followed in the future to improve understanding of the natural history of the disease. PARTICIPANTS AND METHOD: This is a case-control multicenter study aimed at establishing a well-characterized cohort of young adults, smokers or former-smokers, with and without COPD, for subsequent follow-up. A total of 311 participants (101 cases and 210 controls) were selected from approximately 30 primary care settings and 12 hospitals in 8 Spanish regions. Subjects were smokers or former smokers (>10 pack-years) aged 35-50 years. Diagnosis of COPD was based on a post-bronchodilator result of FEV1/FVC<70%. The main study variables were: questionnaires on health, symptoms, exacerbations and daily physical activity, lung function tests, blood and sputum samples, and low-dose computed tomography. In the statistical analysis, COPD patient characteristics will be described and compared with control subjects using a logistic regression analysis.

[The importance of genotyping of strains for the evaluation and interpretation of 5 school-based epidemic outbreaks of tuberculosis]. / Microepidemias de tuberculosis en 5 brotes escolares: importancia de la tipificación genética de las cepas en su evaluación e interpretación.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to describe 5 microepidemics of tuberculosis occurring in schools, establish the risk factors associated with the outbreaks, assess how well a concentric circles strategy for contact tracing predicts infection, and assess the usefulness of genotyping strains in the analysis of the outbreaks. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study assessed 5 epidemic outbreaks of tuberculosis using a standard contact tracing procedure. The outbreaks occurred in 2 day nurseries and 2 high schools between 1998 and 2005. Contacts were stratified using a concentric circle system based on level of exposure. DNA fingerprints of the available strains were determined based on the restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) IS6110 and compared with the contact study to interpret the transmission of the infection. RESULTS: We analyzed 5 outbreaks. Eighty-five contacts were analyzed in the first outbreak, 519 in the second, 116 in the third, 655 in the fourth, and 102 in the fifth. The rate of infection was 31%, 29%, 66%, 37.6%, and 32%, respectively. Secondary cases of active disease were detected: 9 in the first outbreak, 16 in the second, 5 in the third, 6 in the fourth, and 13 in the fifth. RFLP analysis revealed that a single strain was involved in 3 of the outbreaks, and in a fourth, at least 2 strains were involved. In outbreaks 2, 3, and 5, there was a significant association between the degree of contact and the probability of infection (P< .05). In all of the outbreaks, the relative risk of developing the disease was associated with the level of exposure. CONCLUSIONS: Analysis of contacts based on concentric circles of risk predicts the likelihood of infection. RFLP facilitates analysis of complex transmission routes that are not detected using traditional methods of contact screening.

Multicentric study on the beta-blocker use and relation with exacerbations in COPD.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is frequently associated with chronic heart failure (CHF) or coronary artery disease (CAD). In spite of the recommendation to use beta-blockers (BB) they are likely under-prescribed to patients with concurrent COPD and heart diseases. To find out the prevalence of use of BB, 256 COPD patients were consecutively recruited by pulmonary physicians from 14 hospitals in 7 regions of Spain in their outpatient offices if they had a diagnosis of COPD, were not on long-term oxygen therapy, had CHF or CAD, and met the criteria for BB treatment. In patients with indication 58% (95%CI, 52-64%) of the COPD patients and 97% of the non-COPD patients were on BB (p < 0.001). In patients with COPD, several factors were independently related to at least one visit to the emergency room in the previous year such as use of BB, adjusted OR = 0.27 (95% CI 0.15-0.50), GOLD stage D, OR = 2.52 (1.40-4.53), baseline heart rate >70, OR 2.19 (1.24-3.86) use of long-acting beta2-agonists OR = 2.18 (1.29-3.68), previous episodes of left ventricular failure OR 2.27 (1.19-4.33) and diabetes, OR = 1.82 (1.08-3.38). We conclude that, according to what is recommended by current guidelines, BB are still under-prescribed in COPD patients. COPD patients with CHF or CAD using BB suffer fewer exacerbations and visits to the ER. GOLD stage, use of long-acting beta2-agonists, baseline heart rate and comorbidities are also risk factors for exacerbations in this population.