Mortality-related risk factors of inpatients with diabetes and COVID-19: A multicenter retrospective study in Belgium.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: We describe mortality-related risk factors of inpatients with diabetes and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Belgium. METHODS: We conducted a multicenter retrospective study from March to May, 2020, in 8 Belgian centers. Data on admission of patients with diabetes and COVID-19 were collected. Survivors were compared to non-survivors to identify prognostic risk factors for in-hospital death using multivariate analysis in both the total population and in the subgroup of patients admitted in the intensive care unit (ICU). RESULTS: The study included 375 patients. The mortality rate was 26.4% (99/375) in the total population and 40% (27/67) in the ICU. Multivariate analysis identified older age (HR 1.05 [CI 1.03-1.07], P<0.0001) and male gender (HR 2.01 [1.31-3.07], P=0.0013) as main independent risk factors for in-hospital death in the total population. Metformin (HR 0.51 [0.34-0.78], P=0.0018) and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system blockers (HR 0.56 [0.36-0.86], P=0.0088) use before admission were independent protective factors. In the ICU, chronic kidney disease (CKD) was identified as an independent risk factor for death (HR 4.96 [2.14-11.5], P<0.001). CONCLUSION: In-hospital mortality due to the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium was high in patients with diabetes. We found that advanced age and male gender were independent risk factors for in-hospital death. We also showed that metformin use before admission was associated with a significant reduction of COVID-19-related in-hospital mortality. Finally, we showed that CKD is a COVID-19-related mortality risk factor in patients with diabetes admitted in the ICU.

A case of antisynthetase syndrome with chilblains-like lesions and microangiopathy.

We present the case of a 50-year-old woman with febrile myalgia, chilblains-like lesions, and cough. Antinuclear antibodies and anti-PL-12 antisynthetase autoantibodies were found in complementary examinations. Interstitial lung disease was found on chest computed tomography. Nailfold capillaroscopy showed microangiopathic lesions. Antisynthetase syndrome is a recently described entity in inflammatory myopathies, with specific clinical criteria. Interstitial lung disease is very common, especially in anti-PL-12 associated antisynthetase syndrome. Raynaud's phenomenon is another well-defined criterion. However, microangiopathic damage is probably underestimated and the role of nailfold capillaroscopy in the diagnosis has not been established yet.

COVID-19 Outbreak in a Hemodialysis Center: A Retrospective Monocentric Case Series.

BACKGROUND: The rapid worldwide spread of COVID-19 has posed a serious threat to patients treated with kidney replacement therapy (KRT). Moreover, the impact of the disease on hemodialysis centers, the patients, and the health care workers is still not completely understood. OBJECTIVE: We present the analysis of a COVID-19 outbreak in a hemodialysis center in Belgium and report the incidence, clinical course, and outcome of the disease. DESIGN: A retrospective cross-sectional cohort study. SETTING: A hemodialysis center during the COVID-19 outbreak. PATIENTS: A total of 62 patients on maintenance hemodialysis at a tertiary care center in Belgium attended by 26 health care workers. MEASUREMENTS: Baseline patients' characteristics were retrieved. The incidence, clinical course, and outcome were reported. The differences between COVID-19 survivors and nonsurvivors were assessed along with the differences between COVID-19-hospitalized and nonhospitalized patients. The incidence of the disease and outcome of health care workers were also reported. METHODS: Proportions for categorical variables were compared using the Fisher exact test and χ2. The Mann-Whitney rank sum test was used to compare continuous variables. Univariate analysis and a binomial logistic regression were used to explore variables as predictors of death. RESULTS: Between March 6 and April 14, 2020, 40 of 62 (65%) patients tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome beta coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) along with 18 of 26 (69%) health care professionals. Twenty-five (63%) of the infected patients were hospitalized with a median time for hospitalization-to-discharge of 8 (interquartile range [IQR] = 4-12) days. Eleven (28%) COVID-19-related deaths were recorded with a median time for onset of symptoms-to-death of 9 (IQR = 5-14) days. Lymphocytopenia was prevalent among the cohort and was found in 9 of 11 (82%) reported deaths (P = .4). There was no influence of the use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin II receptor blockers on COVID-19-related deaths (P = .3). Advanced age, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome were all found to be significantly related to death. Of the 18 infected health care professionals, 13 (72%) were symptomatic and 2 (11%) were hospitalized. There was no reported death among the health care workers. LIMITATIONS: Limited follow-up time compared with the course of the disease along with a small sample size. CONCLUSIONS: Patients treated with KRT show a high mortality rate secondary to COVID-19. CVD and age are shown to impact survival. Proactive measures must be taken to prevent the spread of the virus in such facilities. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Not applicable as this is a retrospective study.

Alpha-defensin for the intra-operative diagnosis of prosthetic joint infections.

A single-center prospective study was conducted over one-year period to determine the performance (sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values) of the synovasure test for the diagnosis of prosthetic joint infection using the MSIS consensus criteria as the reference. The study included all patients admitted for resumption of hip or knee prosthesis whatever the reason, all couples of friction, patients under antibiotic treatment, immuno-compromised or with systemic inflammatory diseases. 62 consecutive patients were preoperatively distributed into three groups (infected, uninfected and questionable). In order to determine MSIS criteria, pre-operative blood tests, as well as bacteriological, cytological and histological analyses of intraoperative tissues were performed. The synovasure test was performed following the protocol on articular fluid intraoperatively and showed a sensitivity of 83.3%, a specificity of 95.7%, a positive predictive value of 83.3% and a negative predictive value of 95.7%.