Association of Renal Impairment with Interleukin-6 Levels on Clinical Outcomes among COVID-19 Patients in a Tertiary Government COVID-19 Referral Hospital.

Objective: The objective of the study is to determine the association of renal impairment (AKI or CKD) with IL-6 levels on mortality, intubation, and length of hospitalization among COVID-19 positive patients. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study involving chart review of COVID-19 patients with IL-6 levels and admitted from May 2020 to April 2021. The KDIGO criteria was used for determining renal impairment. The subsequent data processing and analysis was carried out using the statistical software, Stata 13. Results: A total of 1,120 charts were included with patients classified as having AKI (33%), CKD (14%), and no renal impairment (58%). Overall mortality and need for intubation were 27% and 30%, respectively, with average length of stay at 12 days. The IL-6 values were divided into low (0 to less than 51 pg/mL), intermediate (51 to 251 pg/mL), and high (greater than 251 pg/mL) tertiles, which showed acceptable sensitivity and specificity for mortality and need for intubation. Conclusion: The presence of renal impairment (CKD or AKI) with increasing IL-6 levels had an effect of increasing risk of adverse outcomes; however, within tertile groups, the presence of renal impairment did not significantly change the risk of adverse outcomes. The tertile groups have acceptable sensitivity and specificity for clinical use.

Teaching Renal Physiology to the Millennial Student: the University of the Philippines Manila Experience.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the conventional style from a multi-modal approach in the teaching of renal physiology among University of the Philippines-College of Medicine (UPCM) first-year medical students in terms of their attitudes and rating scale. METHODS: We conducted an exploratory sequential mixed methods design using an online survey employing a likert scale followed by a focus group discussion of medical students taking the excretory module from 2016 to 2019. Abbreviated plenary live lectures, online videos embedded in a learning management system, patient contact experience ward work, role-playing, and quiz shows are used to integrate the lessons being taught. RESULTS: One-hundred sixty-one respondents out of 185 medical students answered the online survey. We identified that the 67.8% of students found web-facilitated videos extremely effective in understanding renal physiology. Among the online videos, voice-over powerpoint format was proven to be most helpful. Students disclosed that the overall scheme was generally positive and it proved to be enjoyable and provided great learning experiences. CONCLUSION: Applied to a class of millennial students, the pilot flight of the redesigned program attempted to engage the audience in such a way that they would not only memorize the topics by rote, they would be able to understand the topics so they could then correlate them to a real-world, clinical, or a laboratory setting following a multi-modal representation.