Clinical characteristics and factors associated with COVID-19-related mortality and hospital admission during the first two epidemic waves in 5 rural provinces in Indonesia: A retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Data on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) clinical characteristics and severity from resource-limited settings are limited. This study examined clinical characteristics and factors associated with COVID-19 mortality and hospitalisation in rural settings of Indonesia, from 1 January to 31 July, 2021. METHODS: This retrospective cohort included individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 based on polymerase chain reaction or rapid antigen diagnostic test, from five rural provinces in Indonesia. We extracted demographic and clinical data, including hospitalisation and mortality from a new piloted COVID-19 information system named Sistem Informasi Surveilans Epidemiologi (SISUGI). We used mixed-effect logistic regression to examine factors associated with COVID-19-related mortality and hospitalisation. RESULTS: Of 6,583 confirmed cases, 205 (3.1%) died and 1,727 (26.2%) were hospitalised. The median age was 37 years (Interquartile range 26-51), with 825 (12.6%) under 20 years, and 3,371 (51.2%) females. Most cases were symptomatic (4,533; 68.9%); 319 (4.9%) had a clinical diagnosis of pneumonia and 945 (14.3%) presented with at least one pre-existing comorbidity. Age-specific mortality rates were 0.9% (2/215) for 0-4 years; 0% (0/112) for 5-9 years; 0% (1/498) for 10-19 years; 0.8% (11/1,385) for 20-29 years; 0.9% (12/1,382) for 30-39 years; 2.1% (23/1,095) for 40-49 years; 5.4% (57/1,064) for 50-59 years; 10.8% (62/576) for 60-69 years; 15.9% (37/232) for ≥70 years. Older age, pre-existing diabetes, chronic kidney disease, liver diseases, malignancy, and pneumonia were associated with higher risk of mortality and hospitalisation. Pre-existing hypertension, cardiac diseases, COPD, and immunocompromised condition were associated with risk of hospitalisation but not with mortality. There was no association between province-level density of healthcare workers with mortality and hospitalisation. CONCLUSION: The risk of COVID-19-related mortality and hospitalisation was associated with higher age, pre-existing chronic comorbidities, and clinical pneumonia. The findings highlight the need for prioritising enhanced context-specific public health action to reduce mortality and hospitalisation risk among older and comorbid rural populations.

Clinical Evaluation for the Role of High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein in Combination with D-Dimer and Wells Score Probability Test to Predict the Incidence of Deep Vein Thrombosis Among Cancer Patients.

BACKGROUND: Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a frequent complication in cancer patients and is the second leading cause of death. The high level of C-reactive protein (CRP) is an acute phase reactant that induces tissue factor (TF) expression in monocytes, smooth muscle cells, and endothelial cells. The CRP level positively correlates with the incidence, extension, and volume of thrombus. TF expression triggers the coagulation system including the formation of thrombin and circulating fibrin such as prothrombin fragment 1+2 (F1 + 2) and D-dimer. OBJECTIVE: To determine the diagnostic value of high-sensitivity (hs)-CRP, D-dimer, and Wells score combination to predict the incidence of DVT on clinically suspected DVT (Wells score ≥2) cancer patients. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This study was a cross-sectional study on a diagnostic test to determine the diagnostic value of hs-CRP and D-dimer for early detection of DVT on clinically suspected DVT (Wells score ≥2) cancer patients. It was conducted in Dr. Kariadi Hospital, Semarang Indonesia on 35 subjects. The diagnosis of DVT was confirmed by color duplex sonography. The diagnostic accuracy of combination of hs-CRP, D-dimer, and Wells score was analyzed by logistic regression. RESULTS: DVT was confirmed in 10 subjects (28,6%). The cut-off point of hs-CRP levels for probable DVT was ≥51.05 mg/L and for D-dimer was ≥5030 µg/L. The median levels of both variables were higher in the subjects with DVT compared with the subjects without DVT, but it was not statistically significant. The combination of hs-CRP (≥51.05 mg/L), D-dimer (≥5030 µg/L), and Wells score ≥3 had the high accuracy (94.1%) to predict the incidence of DVT compared with hs-CRP (65.0%), D-dimer (54.7%), and combination of hs-CRP and D-dimer (71.0%). CONCLUSION: The combination of hs-CRP (≥51.05 mg/L), D-dimer (≥5030 µg/L), and Wells score ≥3 can predict the incidence of DVT in cancer.