Clinical characteristics of pediatric inpatients infected with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant-a retrospective observational cohort study.

Background: The children infected with the Omicron variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are at risk of progressing to severe disease. Clinical characteristics treatment measures and prognosis of these special age group of patients have not been completely understood which necessitate more researches. This study sought to analyze the clinical characteristics of children infected with the Omicron variant to provide evidences for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the Omicron variant infection in children. Methods: The subjects of this study included children hospitalized for the Omicron variant at Tianjin Binhai Hospital in November 2022. The data were collected from the electronic medical record system, and the clinical characteristics of the children were analyzed. The primary endpoints included the clinical presentation, laboratory tests, virological characteristics, treatment regimen, and clinical prognosis of the patients. Results: A total of 49 patients were enrolled, of whom 32 (65.3%) were male. The patients had a median age of 10 (interquartile range, 6-11) years, and 34.7% of the patients received 2 or more coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines. The main clinical manifestations of the patients were fever (79.6%) and cough (24.5%), with a maximum temperature of 42 ℃ and a median temperature of 39 (interquartile range, 38.4-39) ℃. The proportions of neutrophils and C-reactive protein were elevated by 50.0% and 25.0%, respectively. The total percentages of white blood cells and thrombocytopenia were 12.5% and 6.3%, respectively. D-dimer was examined in 6 cases, and was elevated to 1.77 µg/mL in 1 case (16.7%), and normal in 5 cases. The liver function, kidney function, and coagulation of 9 (100%) patients were all normal. After the anti-virus, anti-inflammatory response, antipyretic, and traditional Chinese medicine treatments, all the children were cured and discharged from the hospital. There were no severe cases. Conclusions: The main manifestations of children infected with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant were fever and cough. Some children had a high fever, nasal congestion, runny nose, gastrointestinal symptoms, and rash. A proportion of 12.5% of patients have a white blood cell count less than 4×109/L, and 6.3% have thrombocytopenia. The prognosis of the child was favorable after treatment with antiviral, antipyretic, and traditional Chinese medicine.

[Study of hospitalization risk indicators for intensive care unit patients evaluated by intelligent calculation method].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the characteristics of the changes in risk score for intensive care unit (ICU) patients during hospitalization by the intelligent calculation method, and to provide evidence for the risk prevention. METHODS: In this retrospective study, ICU patients of the Fifth Central Hospital in Tianjin from November 3, 2021 to March 28, 2022 were enrolled and divided into ≥ 14 days group, 10-13 days group, 7-9 days group, and 3-6 days group according to the ICU length of stay. Risk scores assessed by the intelligent calculation method of the ICU patients were collected, including nutritional risk screening 2002 (NRS 2002), Caprini score and Padua score. NRS 2002 score for all patients, Caprini score for surgical patients and Padua score for internal medicine patients were selected. Trends in change of each score were compared between patients admitted to ICU 1, 3, 7 (if necessary), 10 (if necessary), and 14 days (if necessary). RESULTS: A total of 138 patients were involved, including 79 males and 59 females, with an average age of (61.71±18.86) years and an average hospital stay of [6.00 (4.00, 9.25)] days. (1) in the group with ICU length of stay ≥ 14 days (21 cases): there was no significant change in the NRS 2002 scores of the patients within 10 days, but the NRS 2002 score was significantly decreased in 14 days as compared with 1 day [3.00 (2.50, 3.50) vs. 4.00 (3.00, 5.00), P < 0.05]; both Caprini and Padua score were increased with prolonged hospital stay and compared with 1 day, the scores at the other time points were significantly increased, especially at 14 days [Caprini score: 5.00 (3.25,7.00) vs. 2.50 (1.25, 5.50), Padua score: 6.00 (6.00, 7.00) vs. 3.00 (1.00, 3.00), both P < 0.05]. (2) in the group with ICU length of stay from 10-13 days (15 cases): with the prolonged hospital stay, there was no significant change in NRS 2002 score, but both Caprini and Padua score were increased at 3, 7, 10 days, especially at 10 days [Caprini score: 3.00 (2.00, 4.75) vs. 2.00 (0.25, 2.75), Padua score: 5.00 (3.50, 6.00) vs. 2.00 (0.50, 4.00), both P < 0.05]. (3) in the group with ICU length of stay from 7-9 days (23 cases): compared with 1 day, the NRS 2002 score at 3 days and7 days were decreased, but the Caprini and Padua score were increased, especially at 7 days [NRS 2002 score: 2.00 (1.00, 4.00) vs. 2.00 (2.00, 4.00), Caprini score: 3.00 (2.00, 5.50) vs. 2.00 (0.25, 3.00), Padua score: 5.00 (4.00, 6.00) vs. 2.00 (0,2.00),all P < 0.05]. (4) in the group with ICU length of stay from 3-6 days (79 cases): compared with 1 day, the NRS 2002 score at 3 days was decreased [NRS 2002 score: 2.00 (1.00, 3.00) vs. 2.00 (1.00, 3.00), P < 0.05], Caprini and Padua score were significantly increased [Caprini score: 3.00 (2.00, 4.00) vs. 2.00 (1.00, 3.00), Padua score: 5.00 (4.00, 5.00) vs. 2.00 (1.00, 3.00), both P < 0.05]. CONCLUSIONS: Based on dynamic assessment of intelligent calculation methods, the risk of thrombosis in ICU patients increased with hospital length of stay, and the nutritional risk was generally flat or reducing in different hospitalization periods.

[Control study of the intelligent calculation method and the traditional calculation method in risk assessments of hospitalization].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the accuracy of intelligent calculation (IC) method for risk assessment of hospitalization for patients, aiming to build a more advantageous risk assessment system. METHODS: The "Search Engine" program was developed based on hospital information system (HIS) of the Fifth Center Hospital in Tianjin, which automatically captured patient information and generated nutritional risk screening 2002 (NRS 2002) score, Caprini thrombosis risk assessment model and Padua thrombosis risk assessment model for venous thromboembolism (VTE), the CHA2DS2-VASc for predicting stroke risk stratification in atrial fibrillation and the HAS-BLED for predicting bleeding risk in anticoagulated patients with atrial fibrillation. A randomized controlled trial was conducted. According to the applicable conditions of each risk assessment, 100 risk scores from "Search Engine" program belonged to each risk assessment were randomly selected, defined as the IC group. Manual scoring with the data of the same case at the same time, defined as the traditional calculation (TC) group, compared the consistency of the scores and the difference in time-consuming between the two groups. RESULTS: The Bland-Altman plots showed that the 95% limits of agreement (95%LoA) of NRS 2002 score, Caprini score, Padua score, CHA2DS2-VASc score and HAS-BLED score was -0.46 to 0.41, -0.49 to 0.52, -0.50 to 0.41, -0.67 to 0.60, -0.44 to 0.43, respectively, all P > 0.05. In this study, the Bland-Altman plot showed that 95%, 96%, 97%, 97%, 95% plots fell within the 95%LoA in NRS 2002 score, Caprini score, Padua score, wwCHA2DS2-VASc score and HAS-BLED score by the two methods, respectively. The all plots of 95%LoA were within the clinically acceptable range (-0.5 to 0.5 scores). The time-consuming of NRS 2002 score, Caprini score, Padua score, CHA2DS2-VASc score and HAS-BLED score in IC group were significantly shorter than those in TC group [0.72 (0.71, 0.73) seconds vs. 361.02 (322.41, 361.02) seconds, 0.72 (0.72, 0.73) seconds vs. 196.68 (179.99, 291.20) seconds, 0.72 (0.72, 0.73) seconds vs. 105.75 (92.32, 114.70) seconds, 0.72 (0.71, 0.72) seconds vs. 72.66 (56.24, 84.20) seconds, 0.72 (0.71, 0.72) seconds vs. 51.30 (38.88, 57.15) seconds, respectively, all P < 0.001]. CONCLUSION: For the above five risk assessments, the TC method and IC method has good consistency in scores, and the IC method is faster, which has good application prospect for clinical application.

Risk Factors of Recurrent Stroke in Young and Middle-Aged Stroke Patients after Interventional Therapy.

Objective: To explore the risk factors of recurrent stroke in young and middle-aged stroke patients after interventional therapy. Methods: Retrospective analysis was conducted on the data of 300 young and middle-aged stroke patients treated in our hospital (February 2015-February 2017). All patients received interventional therapy. They were followed up continuously after the interventional therapy, with recurrent stroke as the only endpoint event, and those who did not have the endpoint events were followed up for 5 years. Then, the patients were divided into the occurrence group and the nonoccurrence group according to whether there was a stroke. The social demographic data and clinical examination data of all patients were collected to analyze the differences between the groups. Logistic regression analysis was performed on the factors with statistically significant differences to verify the factors affecting recurrent stroke in young and middle-aged stroke patients after interventional therapy. Results: Among the 300 patients, 69 (23.0%) had recurrent stroke and 231 (77.0%) had no recurrent stroke. The occurrence group (n = 69) had 12 cases (17.4%) of massive cerebral infarction, 18 cases (26.1%) of cerebral watershed infarction, 5 cases (7.2%) of multiple cerebral infarction, 25 cases (36.2%) of lacunar infarction, and 9 cases (13.0%) of TIA. Notable differences were observed in age, drinking history, marital status, body weight, diastolic pressure, systolic pressure, fasting blood glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, cholesterol, and fibrinogen between the occurrence group and the nonoccurrence group (P < 0.05). The binary logistic regression analysis showed that age, drinking history, diastolic pressure, fasting blood glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, cholesterol, and fibrinogen were the influencing factors of recurrent stroke in young and middle-aged stroke patients after interventional therapy. Conclusion: Blood glucose, blood lipid, blood pressure, age, and living habits have an impact on recurrent stroke in young and middle-aged patients after interventional therapy. Therefore, while strictly controlling blood glucose, blood lipid, and blood pressure, patients should improve their living habits and enhance the awareness of prevention after interventional therapy.

[A clinical study on the determination of cuff pressure in artificial airway by minimum air leakage method].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the cuff pressure and leakage volume and the related complications of filling the tracheal tube cuff by minimum air leakage method and cuff pressure manometer method after endotracheal intubation, so as to provide theoretical basis for patients who was intubated to obtain appropriate cuff pressure. METHODS: A prospective randomized controlled study was conducted. 100 patients admitted to the department of critical care medicine of the Fifth Center Hospital in Tianjin from December 2015 to June 2019 were enrolled. According to the random number table method, the patients were divided into the experimental group and control group, with 50 patients in each group. After successful endotracheal intubation, all patients were placed in a supine position with the head of the bed raised by 30 degree angle. The experimental group used the minimum air leakage method, and used the cuff pressure manometer to obtain the cuff pressure. In the control group, cuff pressure was maintained at 25-30 cmH2O (1 cmH2O = 0.098 kPa). Parameters such as cuff pressure and ventilator leakage volume at the beginning and 4 hours, 8 hours after the inflation were compared between the two groups, as well as the incidence of ventilation-associated pneumonia (VAP) and airway complications after extubation. RESULTS: Among the 100 cases, 53 were males and 47 were females. The age ranged from 23 to 87 years old, with an average of (68.53±8.46) years old. The intubation time ranged from 1 to 16 days. (1) At 4 hours and 8 hours after inflation, the cuff pressures of the two groups were lower than that of the first time of inflation, and the air leakage of the ventilator increased gradually with the extension of time. Compared with the control group, cuff pressures at each time point in the experimental group were significantly higher than those in the control group [mmHg (1 mmHg = 0.133 kPa): 33.72±9.14 vs. 25.68±5.26 at 0 hour, 30.54±7.81 vs. 24.35±4.93 at 4 hours, 26.57±5.64 vs. 22.42±4.14 at 8 hours, all P < 0.05], and ventilator leakage volumes were smaller than those in the control group (mL: 25.57±8.51 vs. 34.65±9.47 at 0 hour, 40.54±8.51 vs. 60.34±7.85 at 4 hours, both P < 0.05). (2) The incidence of VAP in the experimental group was significantly lower than that in the control group (4% vs. 10%, P < 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of other airway complications between the experimental group and control group (airway mucosal edema: 14% vs. 12%, ulcer: 8% vs. 6%, tracheal esophageal fistula: 0% vs. 0%, hoarseness: 4% vs. 6%, cough: 30% vs. 34%, sore throat: 28% vs. 32%, tracheal softening: 0% vs. 0%, cuff rupture: 10% vs. 8%, all P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The optimal cuff pressure is very important for preventing VAP and reducing airway complications. The minimum air leakage method makes the clinical obtained endotracheal intubation cuff pressure more accurately, with less air leakage, safe and effective, and it is worthy of clinical promotion.

Comparison of early and delayed removal of dressing following primary closure of clean and contaminated surgical wounds: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

The usefulness of dressing a surgical wound beyond the first 24-48 h of surgery is currently a controversial issue. The aim of this meta-analysis was to compare the early and delayed removal of dressing following primary closure in the management of clean and contaminated surgical wounds. Systematic searches were conducted in various databases including Medline, Cochrane Controlled Register of Trials (CENTRAL), Scopus, and Embase from January, 1964 until October, 2019. We used the Cochrane risk of bias tool to assess the quality of published trials. We carried out a meta-analysis with random-effects model and reported pooled risk ratios (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). In total, we analysed 10 studies with 1,708 participants. All the studies were randomized controlled trials, while the majority of studies had unclear or high bias risks. Early dressing removal was favoured with respect to surgical site infection (pooled RR=0.89; 95% CI: 0.61 to 1.29), patient's perception on safety (pooled RR=0.60; 95% CI: 0.48 to 0.76) and comfort (pooled RR=0.95; 95% CI: 0.74 to 1.22), while the remaining outcomes favoured delayed dressing removal. However, none of the factors had statistically significant difference between two interventions except the patient's perception on safety. To summarize, delayed removal of dressing is not superior to early removal following primary closure of clean or clean-contaminated surgical wounds.

[The influence of joining central venous catheter and pressure transducer with T-junctions on central venous pressure].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the influence of the number of T-junctions between central venous catheter and pressure transducer on measurement of central venous pressure ( CVP ) in patients. METHODS: A prospective controlled study was conducted. The patients with CVP monitoring in Department of Critical Care Medicine of the Fifth Center Hospital in Tianjin from February to October in 2014 were enrolled. The patients were divided into three groups according to the number of T-junction between central venous catheter and pressure transducer: without T-junction control group and 1, 2, 3 T-junctions groups. In each patient, corresponding CVP values with different number of T-junctions placed between the central venous catheter and pressure sensors were determined within a certain period, and a square-wave graphic was obtained and preserved on the monitor. The own frequency ( fn ) and the attenuation coefficient ( D ) of the system of pressure measurement were calculated after measurement of the shock wave following a square-wave to obtain the distance between two vibrations and the amplitude of the shock wave. The difference in CVP, fn and D were compared among the groups. RESULTS: A total of 20 cases were enrolled, and 150 groups of data were collected. (1) With the increase in the number of T-junction, CVP showed a tendency of gradual reduction. The CVP of the groups of control and 1, 2, 3 T-junctions was ( 7.00±1.60 ), ( 7.00±3.00 ), ( 5.00±2.00 ), and ( 4.00±1.00 ) mmHg ( 1 mmHg = 0.133 kPa ), respectively. The CVP of 3 T-junctions group was significantly lower than that of the control group ( F = 9.333, P = 0.015 ). (2) With an increase in the number of T-junction, fn showed a tendency of gradual increase. The fn of groups control and 1, 2, 3 T-junctions was ( 12.30±0.79 ), ( 16.00±0.91 ), ( 18.10±1.75 ), ( 20.90±2.69 ) Hz, respectively. The fn of 1, 2, 3 T-junctions group was significantly higher than that of the control group ( F1 = 45.962, F2 = 45.414, F3 = 46.830, all P = 0.000 ); the fn of groups 2 and 3 T-junctions was significantly higher than that of 1 T-junction group ( F1= 5.827, P1= 0.042; F2 = 15.038, P2 = 0.004 ), but there was no significant difference between the groups of 2 T-junctions and 3 T-junctions ( F = 3.800, P = 0.087 ). (3) With an increase of the number of T-junction, D also showed a tendency of gradual increase. The D of 1, 2, 3 T-junction group was 1.62±0.27, 1.60±0.22, 1.82±0.25, and 2.15±0.58, respectively. There were no differences among four groups. CONCLUSIONS: After the application of T-junctions between central venous catheter and pressure transducer, CVP values will be underestimated, the reason of which is considered to be the increase in length and thinner lumen of the T-junctions.

"Expiratory holding" approach in measuring end-expiratory pulmonary artery wedge pressure for mechanically ventilated patients.

OBJECTIVE: To accurately measure the end-expiratory pulmonary artery wedge pressure (PAWP) with the "expiration holding" function on the ventilator and the "pulmonary artery wedge pressure review" software on the monitor. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty prospective measurements were made on 12 patients undergoing pulmonary artery catheter and mechanical ventilation. All measurements were divided into <8 mmHg or ≥8 mmHg subgroups according to respiratory variability, and they were then subdivided into either an airway pressure display measurement group (AM group) or an expiration holding (EH) group for comparison. RESULTS: In all measurements, the two groups showed similar levels of accuracy; however, for the time spent for measurement, the EH group was much faster than the airway pressure display measurement group (P<0.001). Additionally, the EH group was associated with lower medical costs. CONCLUSION: The expiration holding approach measured the PAWP more accurately, more quickly, and with reduced costs in comparison to the airway pressure display approach.

[The impact of early restrictive positive fluid balance strategy on the prognosis of patients with severe trauma].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the impact of early restrictive positive fluid balance strategy on the prognosis of patients with trauma. METHODS: A prospective controlled study was conducted. The patients with severe post-trauma capillary leak syndrome (PTCLS) admitted to department of critical care medicine of the Fifth Center Hospital in Tianjin were considered as study object. Fluid treatment was adjusted according to intra-thoracic blood volume index (ITBVI), mean arterial pressure (MAP), cardiac index (CI) and oxygen saturation of central vein (ScvO2) at leakage stage of PTCLS. Patients were divided into two groups according to different fluid therapy volume, restrictive positive fluid balance group (restrictive group) and non-restrictive positive fluid balance group (non-restrictive group), 30 patients were enrolled into each group. The fluid balance volume and index of prognosis between two groups were analyzed within 7 days of treatment. RESULTS: During the leakage stage of PTCLS, compared with non-restrictive group, fluid positive volume of the restrictive group were decreased at 1-6 days of the treatment (1 day: 5968.8±1818.0 ml/d vs. 7109.7±2186.41 ml/d, 2 days: 3653.7±1525.1 ml/d vs. 6080.3±1538.8 ml/d, 3 days: 1953.6±621.3 ml/d vs. 3223.3±875.1 ml/d, 4 days: -2808.7±888.0 ml/d vs. -4169.9±1302.5 ml/d, 5 days: -5969.1±1470.8 ml/d vs. -6896.5±1619.4 ml/d, 6 days: -1938.1±746.0 ml/d vs. -4964.0±1389.6 ml/d, P<0.05 or P<0.01), ITBVI and extravascular lung water index (EVLWI) were decreased at 2 days and 3 days of the treatment (ITBVI 2 days: 689.2±60.6 ml/m(2) vs. 807.7±67.8 ml/m(2), 3 days: 729.6±43.3 ml/m(2) vs. 825.5±71.5 ml/m(2); EVLWI 2 days: 6.9±2.0 ml/kg vs. 8.3±2.1 ml/kg, 3 days: 7.6±2.0 ml/kg vs. 8.9±1.9 ml/kg, P<0.05 or P<0.01). Compared with non-restrictive group, the occurrence of respiratory dysfunction (46.7% vs. 76.7%), gastrointestinal dysfunction (33.3% vs. 60.0%) and the occurrence of intracranial hypertension (26.7% vs. 56.7%) at 7 days of treatment in restrictive group were decreased (all P<0.05), the time of mechanical ventilation (3.6±1.1 days vs. 5.1±1.5 days) and intensive care unit (ICU) stay time (5.5±1.5 days vs. 7.0±1.9 days) were shortened (both P<0.01). There were no differences in the occurrence of dysfunction of cardiovascular, blood coagulation, hepatic and renal function, the percentage of patients receiving renal-replacement therapy and the number of days with dialysis, as well as the mortality during the first 28 days between two groups (all P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Using restrictive positive fluid balance strategy in the leakage stage of PTCLS, fluid positive balance volume, occurrence of dysfunction of some organs, mechanical ventilation and ICU stay time can be decreased.

[The application of "expiration holding" in measuring end expiration pulmonary artery wedge pressure in patients undergoing mechanical ventilation].

OBJECTIVE: To find an accurate and convenient method of measuring end expiratory pulmonary artery wedge pressure (eePAWP) by "expiration holding" function of ventilator and "pulmonary artery wedge pressure (PAWP) Review" software of monitor. METHODS: Twelve patients with introduction of pulmonary artery catheter and undergoing mechanical ventilation were selected. Fifty measurements were randomly selected for the comparison of the differences between automatic measurement and expiration holding method in each patient. There were 21 cases underwent single positive pressure ventilation and 29 cases with positive pressure ventilation mixed with spontaneous breathing. All measurements were first divided into <8 mm Hg (1 mm Hg=0.133 kPa) or ≥8 mm Hg groups according to respiratory variability (RV). They were then divided into automatic measurement group and expiration holding group according to PAWP measurement, and the difference in the results between two groups were recorded. RESULTS: In 21 cases with single positive pressure ventilation, in 12 cases PAWP (mm Hg) of automatic measurement group was higher than that of expiration holding group (12-16 vs. 9-14) when RVP<8 mm Hg, but the difference between two groups was not obvious, and measurements were similar occasionally. In automatic measurement group PAWP (mm Hg) was higher than that of expiration holding group (13-20 vs. 9-15) in 9 cases when RV≥8 mm Hg, the difference was obvious. Neither RVP<8 mm Hg nor RV≥8 mm Hg, the statistical difference was significant (all P<0.01). In 29 cases, when positive pressure ventilation was mixed with spontaneous breathing, RVP<8 mm Hg (n=13), RV≥8 mm Hg (n=16), most of the results in automatic measurement group were higher than those of expiration holding group (11-18 vs. 10-17), and only 4 of them were lower than expiration holding group (11-20 vs. 14-23). There was no statistically significant difference between two groups (all P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Expiration holding measurement is a better method that can identify the eePAWP, and it reflects the true hemodynamic status more accurately and quickly whether positive pressure ventilation only or positive pressure ventilation mixed with spontaneous breathing is given.