Allergic diseases aggravate the symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection in China.

Background: The relationship between allergic diseases and the adverse outcomes of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has been a subject of controversy. This study aimed to investigate the association between allergic diseases and the incidence and severity of symptoms in SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: Clinical data of individuals, including children and their parents, infected with SARS-CoV-2 from December 2022 to January 2023 in China were retrospectively analyzed. The data were collected through questionnaires. Statistical analysis, including chi-squared tests, nonparametric analysis, one-way ANOVA, and logistic regression analysis, was used to examine the relationship between allergic diseases, prior medication, and the symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Results: There were 3,517 adults and 3,372 children with SARS-CoV-2 infection included in the study. Fever was found to occur at similar rates in children (86.5%) and adults (86.8%). However, other symptoms related to respiratory issues (such as cough and sore throat), neurological symptoms (headache, loss of smell, and loss of taste), and systemic symptoms (muscle soreness and weakness) were observed more frequently in adults (P < 0.001). Additionally, adults exhibited higher overall symptom scores, indicating greater severity. Allergic diseases were found to be associated with the incidence of certain SARS-CoV-2 infection symptoms in both children and adults. Specifically, children with allergic rhinitis (AR) were observed to be more susceptible to upper respiratory symptoms (OR: 1.320, 95% CI: 1.081-1.611, P = 0.006), while asthma patients were found to be more susceptible to severe respiratory symptoms (OR: 1.736, 95% CI: 1.250-2.411, P = 0.001). Similar patterns were identified in adults. Furthermore, AR was also suggested to be a risk factor for symptom severity in both children (OR: 1.704, 95% CI: 1.314-2.209, P < 0.001) and adults (OR: 1.736, 95% CI: 1.250-2.411, P = 0.001). However, prior medication for allergic diseases did not exhibit a preventive effect on SARS-CoV-2 infection symptoms. Conclusions: Both children and adults with allergic diseases were found to be more prone to experiencing symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection, and these symptoms tended to be more severe.

[Analysis of death causes of gestational trophoblastic neoplasia patients].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze retrospectively the causes of death in gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) patients. The prognostic risk factors were also discussed. METHODS: One thousand one hundred and thirty GTN patients were hospitalized and treated at Peking Union Medical College Hospital from 1985 to 2004. Sixty-four of them died later and retrospective analyses were carried out on these patients. RESULTS: Fifty-eight out of the 64 patients died during initial treatment. The other six died from disease relapse and progression of the disease (PD). The major causes of death were multi-organ failure, intracranial haemorrhage, cerebral herniation, side-effects of chemotherapy, and PD after relapse. The result of multivariate analysis indicated the adverse prognostic factors included the interval between antecedent pregnancy and chemotherapy treatment (OR = 2.857, P < 0.01), the titer of beta subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin (beta-hCG, P < 0.05), the diagnosis of choriocarcinoma (OR = 3.635, P < 0.05), clinical stage (P < 0.05), multiple metastases (OR = 2.201, P < 0.01) and drug resistance (OR = 0.181, P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: A proper evaluation of a GTN patient before initial treatment is important. More attention should be paid to the death-related prognostic risk factors to improve the prognosis of high risk GTN patients.