The Activin/Follistatin Axis Is Severely Deregulated in COVID-19 and Independently Associated With In-Hospital Mortality.

BACKGROUND: Activins are members of the transforming growth factor-ß superfamily implicated in the pathogenesis of several immunoinflammatory disorders. Based on our previous studies demonstrating that overexpression of activin-A in murine lung causes pathology sharing key features of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), we hypothesized that activins and their natural inhibitor follistatin might be particularly relevant to COVID-19 pathophysiology. METHODS: Activin-A, activin-B, and follistatin were retrospectively analyzed in 574 serum samples from 263 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in 3 independent centers, and compared with demographic, clinical, and laboratory parameters. Optimal scaling with ridge regression was used to screen variables and establish a prediction model. RESULT: The activin/follistatin axis was significantly deregulated during the course of COVID-19, correlated with severity and independently associated with mortality. FACT-CLINYCoD, a scoring system incorporating follistatin, activin-A, activin-B, C-reactive protein, lactate dehydrogenase, intensive care unit admission, neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, age, comorbidities, and D-dimers, efficiently predicted fatal outcome (area under the curve [AUC], 0.951; 95% confidence interval, .919-.983; P <10-6). Two validation cohorts indicated similar AUC values. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates a link between activin/follistatin axis and COVID-19 mortality and introduces FACT-CLINYCoD, a novel pathophysiology-based tool that allows dynamic prediction of disease outcome, supporting clinical decision making.

Update οn the diagnosis and management of systemic lupus erythematosus.

Clinical heterogeneity, unpredictable course and flares are characteristics of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Although SLE is-by and large-a systemic disease, occasionally it can be organ-dominant, posing diagnostic challenges. To date, diagnosis of SLE remains clinical with a few cases being negative for serologic tests. Diagnostic criteria are not available and classification criteria are often used for diagnosis, yet with significant caveats. Newer sets of criteria (European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR)/American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 2019) enable earlier and more accurate classification of SLE. Several disease endotypes have been recognised over the years. There is increased recognition of milder cases at presentation, but almost half of them progress overtime to more severe disease. Approximately 70% of patients follow a relapsing-remitting course, the remaining divided equally between a prolonged remission and a persistently active disease. Treatment goals include long-term patient survival, prevention of flares and organ damage, and optimisation of health-related quality of life. For organ-threatening or life-threatening SLE, treatment usually includes an initial period of high-intensity immunosuppressive therapy to control disease activity, followed by a longer period of less intensive therapy to consolidate response and prevent relapses. Management of disease-related and treatment-related comorbidities, especially infections and atherosclerosis, is of paramount importance. New disease-modifying conventional and biologic agents-used alone, in combination or sequentially-have improved rates of achieving both short-term and long-term treatment goals, including minimisation of glucocorticoid use.

Randomized, controlled, multicentre clinical trial of the antipyretic effect of intravenous paracetamol in patients admitted to hospital with infection.

AIM: No randomized study has been conducted to investigate the use of intravenous paracetamol (acetaminophen, APAP) for the management of fever due to infection. The present study evaluated a new ready-made infusion of paracetamol. METHODS: Eighty patients with a body temperature onset ≥38.5°C in the previous 24 h due to infection were randomized to a single administration of placebo (n = 39) or 1 g paracetamol (n = 41), and their temperature was recorded at standard intervals. Rescue medication with 1 g paracetamol was allowed. Serum samples were collected for the measurement of APAP and its metabolites. The primary endpoint was defervescence, defined as a core temperature ≤37.1°C. RESULTS: During the first 6 h, defervescence was achieved in 15 (38.5%) patients treated with placebo compared with 33 (80.5%) patients treated with paracetamol 1 g (P < 0.0001). The median time to defervescence with paracetamol 1 g was 3 h. Rescue medication was given to 15 (38.5%) and five (12.2%) patients allocated to placebo and paracetamol, respectively (P = 0.007); nine (60.0%) and two (40.0%) of these patients, respectively, experienced defervescence. No further antipyretic medication was needed for patients becoming afebrile with rescue medication. Serum glucuronide-APAP concentrations were significantly greater in the serum of patients who did not experience defervescence with paracetamol. The efficacy of paracetamol was not affected by serum creatinine. No drug-related adverse events were reported. CONCLUSIONS: The 1 g paracetamol formulation has a rapid and sustainable antipyretic effect on fever due to infection. Its efficacy is dependent on hepatic metabolism.

Long COVID-19 Pathophysiology: What Do We Know So Far?

Long COVID-19 is a recognized entity that affects millions of people worldwide. Its broad clinical symptoms include thrombotic events, brain fog, myocarditis, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle pains, and others. Due to the binding of the virus with ACE-2 receptors, expressed in many organs, it can potentially affect any system; however, it most often affects the cardiovascular, central nervous, respiratory, and immune systems. Age, high body mass index, female sex, previous hospitalization, and smoking are some of its risk factors. Despite great efforts to define its pathophysiology, gaps remain to be explained. The main mechanisms described in the literature involve viral persistence, hypercoagulopathy, immune dysregulation, autoimmunity, hyperinflammation, or a combination of these. The exact mechanisms may differ from system to system, but some share the same pathways. This review aims to describe the most prevalent pathophysiological pathways explaining this syndrome.

Oral minocycline plus rifampicin versus oral linezolid for complicated skin and skin structure infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: The AIDA open label, randomized, controlled Phase 4 trial.

Background: The need for oral, cost-effective treatment for complicated skin and skin structure infections (cSSSIs) due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was addressed by the non-inferiority comparisons of oral minocycline plus rifampicin with linezolid. Methods: In the AIDA multicenter, open label, randomized, controlled clinical trial, hospitalized adults with cSSSI and documented MRSA were randomly assigned at a 2:1 ratio to either oral 600 mg rifampicin qd plus 100 mg minocycline bid or oral 600 mg linezolid bid for 10 days. The primary endpoint was the clinical cure rate in the clinically evaluable (CE) population at the test-of-cure visit (14 days). Non-inferiority was confirmed if the lower confidence limit (CI) did not fall below the accepted error margin of 15%. The study is registered with EudraCT number 2014-001276-56. Findings: 123 patients recruited between November 2014 and January 2017 were randomly assigned to treatment (81 patients to minocycline plus rifampicin and 42 patients to linezolid). Cure rates were 78.% (46/59, 90% CI 67.3-86.5) and 68.6% (24/35, 90% CI 53.4-81.3), respectively (P = 0.337). The percent difference in cure rates was 9.4% (90% CI -7.2 to 26.8%). Minocycline plus rifampicin combination was deemed non-inferior to linezolid as the lower CI was -7.2% i.e. smaller than the accepted error margin of -15%. Although statistically not significant, the overall rate of adverse events was higher in the linezolid group (47.6%, 20/42 versus 38.3%, 31/81). Interpretation: Oral minocycline plus rifampicin was non-inferior to oral linezolid treatment providing alternative oral treatment for cSSSI. Funding: The EU Seventh Research Framework Programme.

NF-kappa-B essential modulator (NEMO) gene polymorphism in an adult woman with systemic lupus erythematosus and recurrent non-tuberculous mycobacterial disseminated infections.

Infections are among the most serious complications in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), with bacterial and viral infections being the most common. Non-tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infections are quite rare and are typically seen in older patients with SLE with longstanding disease duration treated with corticosteroids. Here, we describe a 39-year-old woman with SLE and an unusual pattern of recurrent NTM disseminated infections. After excluding the presence of autoantibodies against interferon-γ, whole exome sequencing revealed a homozygous polymorphism in the NF-kappa-B essential modulator (NEMO) gene. Primary immunodeficiencies should be included in the differential diagnosis of patients with recurrent opportunistic infections, even in those with iatrogenic immunosuppression.

Clinical presentation and outcomes of chronic dialysis patients with COVID-19: A single center experience from Greece.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is still a menacing pandemic, especially in vulnerable patients. Morbidity and mortality from COVID-19 in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients are considered worse than those in the general population, but vary across continents and countries in Europe. AIM: To describe the clinical course and outcomes of hospitalized MHD patients with COVID-19 in a retrospective observational single center study in Greece. METHODS: We correlated clinical, laboratory, and radiological data with the clinical outcomes of MHD patients hospitalized with COVID-19 during the pandemic. The diagnosis was confirmed by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Outcome was determined as survivors vs non-survivors and "progressors" (those requiring oxygen supplementation because of COVID-19 pneumonia worsening) vs "non-progressors". RESULTS: We studied 32 patients (17 males), with a median age of 75.5 (IQR: 58.5-82) years old. Of those, 12 were diagnosed upon screening and 20 with related symptoms. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) score, the severity on admission was mild disease in 16, moderate in 13, and severe in 3 cases. Chest computed tomography (CT) showed 1-10% infiltrates in 24 patients. Thirteen "progressors" were recorded among included patients. The case fatality rate was 5/32 (15.6%). Three deaths occurred among "progressors" and two in "non-progressors", irrespective of co-morbidities and gender. Predictors of mortality on admission included frailty index, chest CT findings, WHO severity score, and thereafter the increasing values of serum LDH and D-dimers and decreasing serum albumin. Predictors of becoming a "progressor" included increasing number of neutrophils and neutrophils/lymphocytes ratio. CONCLUSION: Patients on MHD seem to be at higher risk of COVID-19 mortality, distinct from the general population. Certain laboratory parameters on admission and during follow-up may be helpful in risk stratification and management of patients.

Real-Life Effectiveness and Safety of Baricitinib as Adjunctive to Standard-of-Care Treatment in Hospitalized Patients With Severe Coronavirus Disease 2019.

BACKGROUND: Therapeutic options for hospitalized patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (sCOVID-19) are limited. Preliminary data have shown promising results with baricitinib, but real-life experience is lacking. We assessed the safety and effectiveness of add-on baricitinib to standard-of-care (SOC) including dexamethasone in hospitalized patients with sCOVID-19. METHODS: This study is a 2-center, observational, retrospective cohort study of patients with sCOVID-19, comparing outcomes and serious events between patients treated with SOC versus those treated with SOC and baricitinib combination. RESULTS: We included 369 patients with sCOVID-19 (males 66.1%; mean age 65.2 years; median symptom duration 6 days). The SOC was administered in 47.7% and combination in 52.3%. Patients treated with the combination reached the composite outcome (intensive care unit [ICU] admission or death) less frequently compared with SOC (22.3% vs 36.9%, P = .002). Mortality rate was lower with the combination in the total cohort (14.7% vs 26.6%, P = .005), and ICU admission was lower in patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (29.7% vs 44.8%, P = .03). By multivariable analysis, age (odds ratio [OR] = 1.82, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.36-2.44, per 10-year increase), partial pressure of oxygen/fraction of inspired oxygen ratio (OR = 0.60, 95% CI = .52-0.68, per 10 units increase), and use of high-flow nasal cannula (OR = 0.34; 95% CI, .16-0.74) were associated with the composite outcome, whereas baricitinib use was marginally not associated with the composite outcome (OR = 0.52; 95% CI, .26-1.03). However, baricitinib use was found to be significant after inverse-probability weighted regression (OR = 0.93; 95% CI, .87-0.99). No difference in serious events was noted between treatment groups. CONCLUSIONS: In real-life settings, addition of baricitinib to SOC in patients hospitalized with sCOVID-19 is associated with decreased mortality without concerning safety signals.

Enterococcus casseliflavus Bacteraemia in a Patient with Chronic Renal Disease.

Enterococcus casseliflavus is a rare pathogen that usually causes urinary tract and abdominal infections. Its main characteristics are positive motility, yellow colonies and constitutive low-level resistance to vancomycin. We present a case of E. casseliflavus bacteraemia due to thrombophlebitis at the site of the central venous catheter used for hemodialysis in a renal patient. The biochemical identification of the microorganism was further corroborated by molecular detection of the vanC gene. The patient received antibiotic therapy initially with daptomycin and gentamicin, and then with ampicillin and ceftriaxone. The outcome was cure, and he was released from the hospital after seven weeks afebrile with negative blood cultures.

A cost of illness analysis of hepatocellular carcinoma for the Greek healthcare setting.

AIM: To estimate the cost per patient for hepatocellular carcinoma in Greece, a setting that is currently facing financial constraints. BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma patient management strategies are associated with significant costs. Despite this, patient level data on healthcare resource use and cost-of-illness analyses of hepatocellular carcinoma remain rather scarce in the international literature. METHODS: 123 patients diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma and followed in a specialised clinic of a tertiary hospital in Greece formed the basis of the analysis. Detailed resource use data were derived from the medical records of each patient. Data were recorded from the first encounter of the patient with the facility until a fatal endpoint or until the last day of follow up. Patients that were lost to follow-up were excluded from the analysis. Calculations follow a third-party payer perspective, according to official prices and tariffs. RESULTS: The average cost per patient was estimated at 12,119.1 Euros (SD: 14,670.3) (21,375.1 PPP USD) for the average follow-up period and 10,241.5 Euros (18,063.5 PPP USD) per year. Median costs per month of follow-up according to underlying disease were 1,218.1, 1,376.8, 1,521.3 and 686.9 Euros (2,148.4, 2,428.3, 2,683.2 and 1,211.5 PPP USD) for patients with alcoholic steatohepatitis, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, respectively. CONCLUSION: Hepatocellular carcinoma represents a heavy toll, both from the clinical as well as from the economic perspective, especially for a setting in "dire straits". Interventions towards reducing the incidence and, subsequently, the cost of HCC are imperative.

Microbiology of acute bacterial skin and skin-structure infections in Greece: A proposed clinical prediction score for the causative pathogen.

Although clinical definitions of acute bacterial skin and skin-structure infection (ABSSSI) are now well established, guidance of the prediction of likely pathogens based on evidence is missing. This was a large survey of the microbiology of ABSSSIs in Greece. During the period November 2014 to December 2016, all admissions for ABSSSI in 16 departments of internal medicine or surgery in Greece were screened to determine the likely bacterial aetiology. Samples were cultured on conventional media. Expression of the SA442, mecA/mecC and SCCmec-orfX junction genes was assessed. Following univariate and forward logistic regression analysis, clinical characteristics were used to develop scores to predict the likely pathogen with a target of 90% specificity. In total, 1027 patients were screened and 633 had positive microbiology. Monomicrobial infection by Gram-positive cocci occurred in 52.1% and by Gram-negative bacteria in 20.5%, and mixed infection by Gram-positive cocci and Gram-negative bacteria in 27.3%. The most common isolated pathogens were Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci. Resistance to methicillin was 57.3% (53.5-61.1%). Three predictive scores were developed: one for infection by methicillin-resistant S. aureus, incorporating recent hospitalisation, atrial fibrillation, residency in long-term care facility (LTCF) and stroke; one for mixed Gram-positive and Gram-negative infections, incorporating localisation of ABSSSI in lumbar area, fluoroquinolone intake in last 6 days, residency in LTCF and stroke; and another for Gram-negative infection, incorporating skin ulcer presentation, peptic ulcer and solid tumour malignancy. In conclusion, methicillin-resistant staphylococci are the main pathogens of ABSSSIs. The scores developed may help to predict the likely pathogen.

Contemporary approaches to the rapid molecular diagnosis of sepsis.

INTRODUCTION: Although the administration of appropriate antimicrobials within the very first hour remains the mainstay of sepsis management, the correct selection of antimicrobials is hampered by the delay of conventional microbiology providing results after at least 48 hours. Methods of rapid detection of pathogens are an approach to overcome these difficulties. Areas covered: This review analyzes the advantages and the disadvantages of these approaches with major emphasis on technologies based on multiplex PCR for the rapid detection of pathogens using whole blood. The most broadly studied platform is SeptFast. Sensitivity ranges between 42% and 73% and specificity between 50% and 97%. The main disadvantages are high cost, the risk of contamination and the lack of information for the presence of resistance genes. A brief review of the use of PCR techniques for the diagnosis of endocarditis and of the recognition of the bacterial proteome for the rapid identification of grown colonies (MALDI-TOF) is also provided. Expert commentary: More randomized clinical trials are necessary to validate the use of molecular techniques for decision-making for patients' outcomes, taking into consideration the cost-benefit for the patient.

Biomarkers in infection and sepsis: Can they really indicate final outcome?

Infectious diseases are among the most common reasons for admission to hospital and can easily lead to sepsis. Sepsis is globally associated with increased mortality, and although biomarkers could help clinicians in the early diagnosis of sepsis and immediate onset of antibiotics, there are always questions to be answered about their usefulness in the prognosis of infectious diseases. This article reviews some of the available biomarkers used in infectious diseases and sepsis in order to evaluate their utility to predict mortality and unfavourable outcome. Several studies present the pros and cons of each compound, but it is obvious that the ideal biomarker, with high sensitivity and specificity, cost effectiveness and with definite cut-off ranges and time of blood sampling, is yet to be found.