A Rare Case of Sjogren's Syndrome-Related Recurrent Pleural Effusion.

Sjogren's syndrome (SS) is a systemic autoimmune disease marked by lymphocyte infiltration of the exocrine glands and a variety of systemic symptoms. The wide range of prevalence reported in different studies is due to the fact that SS respiratory symptoms are polymorphic and vary in severity. Some 9%-20% of patients with SS have clinically severe lung impairment. Pleural effusion in SS has an etiology that is unknown. It is thought to be caused by CD4+ T cells secreting cytokines that cause B lymphocytes to generate autoantibodies. High beta-2-microglobulin, which is secreted by lymphocytic tissue particularly in pulmonary SS, is another sign of lymphoproliferation in lung tissue. Our patient had recurrent pleural effusion due to lymphoproliferation in the lung as a result of SS.

Liver disease and outcomes among COVID-19 hospitalized patients - A systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been a challenge globally. In severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic 60% of patients had hepatic injury, due to phylogenetic similarities of the viruses it is assumed that COVID-19 is associated with acute liver injury. In this meta-analysis, we aim to study the occurrence and association of liver injury, comorbid liver disease and elevated liver enzymes in COVID-19 confirmed hospitalizations with outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data from observational studies describing comorbid chronic liver disease, acute liver injury, elevated aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels and outcomes of COVID-19 hospitalized patients from December 1, 2019, to June 30, 2020 was extracted following PRISMA guidelines. Adverse outcomes were defined as admission to intensive care unit (ICU), oxygen saturation <90%, invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV), severe disease and in-hospital mortality. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were obtained. RESULTS: 24 studies with 12,882 confirmed COVID-19 patients were included. Overall prevalence of CM-CLD was 2.6%, COVID-19-ALI was 26.5%, elevated AST was 41.1% and elevated ALT was 29.1%. CM-CLD had no significant association with poor outcomes (pooled OR: 0.96; 95% CI: 0.71-1.29; p=0.78). COVID-19-ALI (1.68;1.04-2.70; p=0.03), elevated AST (2.98; 2.35-3.77; p<0.00001) and elevated ALT (1.85;1.49-2.29; p<0.00001) were significantly associated with higher odds of poor outcomes. CONCLUSION: Our meta-analysis suggests that acute liver injury and elevated liver enzymes were significantly associated with COVID-19 severity. Future studies should evaluate changing levels of biomarkers amongst liver disease patients to predict poor outcomes of COVID-19 and causes of liver injury during COVID-19 infection.

Clinical characteristics and in hospital outcomes of heart transplant recipients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention: Insights from the National Inpatient Sample.

OBJECTIVES: Cardiac transplant patients are at increased risk of Coronary Allograft Vasculopathy which requires percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). BACKGROUND: We aim to determine national epidemiology describing trends, mortality, and morbidity risks in patients with heart transplant undergoing PCI. METHODS: We used Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) data from 2002 to 2014 to identify adult hospitalizations with PCI using ICD 9 codes. Acute myocardial infarction (AMI), cardiac transplant status and complications were identified using validated ICD-9-CM diagnosis codes. Endpoints were in-hospital mortality and peri-procedural complications. Propensity match analysis was performed to compare the end-points between DES and BMS. RESULTS: Total 8,613,900 patients underwent PCI, of which 1,531(0.002%) patients had prior heart transplant status. Among these 1,531 PCIs, 311(20%) were due to AMI including 125(8%) due to STEMI. 74% of PCIs were done in males and 78% of the PCIs were performed in the 60-79 age group. Out of 1,380 stents placed, 1,090 were DES (79%) and 290 (21%) were BMS. Mortality was higher in the BMS versus DES (8.34% vs. 3.45%, p = .012), CONCLUSION: We concluded that majority of the population who underwent PCI were older males. DES was used more than BMS. The use of BMS is associated with increased mortality, cardiac complications and Acute Kidney Injury requiring dialysis compared with DES which likely is representative of preferential use of DES in these patient population.

Trends and outcomes of peptic ulcer disease in patients with cirrhosis.

BACKGROUND: Peptic ulcer disease (PUD) is more prevalent in cirrhotic patients and it has been associated with poor outcomes. However, there are no population-based studies from the United States (U.S.) that have investigated this association. Our study aims to estimate the incidence trends, predictors, and outcomes PUD patients with underlying cirrhosis. METHODS: We analyzed Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) and Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) data for years 2002-2014. Adult hospitalizations due to PUD were identified by previously validated ICD-9-CM codes as the primary diagnosis. Cirrhosis was also identified with presence of ICD-9-CM codes in secondary diagnosis fields. We analyzed trends and predictors of PUD in cirrhotic patients and utilized multivariate regression models to estimate the impact of cirrhosis on PUD outcomes. RESULTS: Between the years 2002-2014, there were 1,433,270 adult hospitalizations with a primary diagnosis of PUD, out of which 70,007 (4.88%) had cirrhosis as a concurrent diagnosis. There was a significant increase in the proportion of hospitalizations with a concurrent diagnosis of cirrhosis, from 3.9% in 2002 to 6.6% in 2014 (p < 0.001). In an adjusted multivariable analysis, in-hospital mortality was significantly higher in hospitalizations of PUD with cirrhosis (odd ratio [OR] 1.78; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.63-1.97; P < 0.001), however, there was no difference in the discharge to facility (OR 1.00; 95%CI 0.94 - 1.07; P = 0.81). Moreover, length of stay (LOS) was also higher (6 days vs. 4 days, P < 0.001) among PUD with cirrhosis. Increasing age and comorbidities were associated with higher odds of in-hospital mortality among PUD patients with cirrhosis. CONCLUSION: Our study shows that there is an increased hospital burden as well as poor outcomes in terms of higher in-hospital mortality among hospitalized PUD patients with cirrhosis. Further studies are warranted for better risk stratification and improvement of outcomes.