Machine learning in time-lapse imaging to differentiate embryos from young vs old mice.

Time-lapse microscopy for embryos is a non-invasive technology used to characterize early embryo development. This study employs time-lapse microscopy and machine learning to elucidate changes in embryonic growth kinetics with maternal aging. We analyzed morphokinetic parameters of embryos from young and aged C57BL6/NJ mice via continuous imaging. Our findings show that aged embryos accelerated through cleavage stages (from 5-cells) to morula compared to younger counterparts, with no significant differences observed in later stages of blastulation. Unsupervised machine learning identified two distinct clusters comprising of embryos from aged or young donors. Moreover, in supervised learning, the XGBoost (extreme gradient boosting) algorithm successfully predicted the age-related phenotype with 0.78 accuracy, 0.81 precision, and 0.83 recall following hyperparameter tuning. These results highlight two main scientific insights: maternal aging affects embryonic development pace, and that AI can differentiate between embryos from aged and young maternal mice by a non-invasive approach. Thus, machine learning can be used to identify morphokinetics phenotypes for further studies. This study has potential for future applications in selecting human embryos for embryo transfer, without or in complement with preimplantation genetic testing.

Posterior left atrial isolation is associated with a lower incidence of atrial tachycardia in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation.

BACKGROUND: Patients may develop atrial tachycardia (AT) after left atrial (LA) ablation of persistent atrial fibrillation (AF). METHODS: The population consisted of 101 consecutive patients (age = 64.3 ± 8.7 years, 70 males (69%), LA = 4.6 ± 0.8 cm, ejection fraction = 48.5 ± 16%) undergoing their initial procedure for persistent AF. After pulmonary vein isolation, patients either underwent posterior LA isolation (n = 50; study group) or linear ablation at the LA roof with verification of conduction block (n = 51; control group). RESULTS: A repeat procedure was performed in 17 (34%) and 28 (55%) patients in the study and control groups, respectively (p = 0.02). Patients in the study group were less likely to develop AT (9/50 [18%] vs. 18/51 [35%]; p = 0.02), roof-dependent (1/50 [2%] vs. 8/51 [16%]; p = 0.008), and multi-loop AT (6/50 [12%] vs. 14/51 [27%]; p = 0.03) as compared to controls. Among various factors, only posterior LA isolation was associated with a lower likelihood of AT recurrence and roof tachycardia at redo procedure (OR, 0.37; 95% CI, 0.1 to 1.00, p = 0.05, and OR, 0.1, 95% CI, 0.01 to 0.96; p < 0.05, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with persistent AF, posterior LA isolation is associated with a lower risk of a redo procedure, roof-dependent macro-reentry, and post-ablation AT in general as compared to controls who only received roof ablation. Posterior LA isolation also obviates the need for pacing maneuvers, and may be a more definitive endpoint than linear ablation at the LA roof.

Determining a urinary-specific antibiogram and risk factors of trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, ciprofloxacin and multidrug resistance among Enterobacterales in primary care.

BACKGROUND: Risk factors for ciprofloxacin or MDR in primary care urine specimens are not well defined. OBJECTIVES: We created a primary care-specific antibiogram for Escherichia coli isolates from cases with complicated and uncomplicated urinary tract infection (UTI) and evaluated risk factors for ciprofloxacin, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and MDR among Enterobacterales. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study to determine resistance and risk factors by collecting urine cultures from all patients (≥18 years) presenting with provider-suspected UTI at two primary care, safety-net clinics in Houston, TX, USA between November 2018 and March 2020. RESULTS: Among 1262 cultures, 308 cultures grew 339 uropathogens. Patients with Enterobacterales (n = 199) were mostly female (93.5%) with a mean age of 48.5 years. E. coli was the predominant uropathogen isolated (n = 187/339; 55%) and had elevated trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (43.6%) and ciprofloxacin (29.5%) resistance, low nitrofurantoin (1.8%) resistance, and no fosfomycin resistance. Among E. coli, 10.6% were ESBL positive and 24.9% had MDR. Birth outside the U.S.A., prior (2 year) trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole resistance, and diabetes mellitus were associated with trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole resistance. Prior (60 day) fluoroquinolone use, prior ciprofloxacin resistance and both diabetes mellitus and hypertension were strongly associated with ciprofloxacin resistance. Prior fluoroquinolone use and a history of resistance to any studied antibiotic were associated with MDR, while pregnancy was protective. CONCLUSIONS: We found elevated resistance to UTI-relevant antimicrobials and novel factors associated with resistance; these data can be incorporated into clinical decision tools to improve organism and drug concordance.

Quantifying the Implementation and Cost of a Multisite Antibiotic Stewardship Intervention for Asymptomatic Bacteriuria.

Objective: The intensity of an antibiotic stewardship intervention to achieve clinical impact is not known. We conducted a multisite dissemination project of an intervention to reduce treatment of asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) and studied: (1) the association between implementation metrics and clinical outcomes and (2) the cost of implementation. Design/Setting/Participants: A central site facilitated a multimodality intervention to decrease unnecessary urine cultures and antibiotic treatment in patients with ASB at 4 Veterans Affairs medical centers. Methods: The intervention consisted of a decision support aid algorithm and interactive teaching cases that provided in the moment audit and feedback on how to manage ASB. Implementation outcomes included minutes spent in intervention delivery, number of healthcare professionals reached, and number of sessions delivered. Clinical outcomes included days of antibiotic therapy (DOT), length of antibiotic therapy (LOT), and number of urine cultures ordered per 1000 bed days. Personnel reported weekly time logs. Results: Minutes spent in intervention delivery were inversely correlated with two clinical outcomes, DOT (R -0.3, P = .04) and LOT (R -0.3, P = .02). Number of healthcare professionals reached and number of sessions delivered were not correlated with clinical outcomes of DOT (R -0.003, P = .98, R = -0.059, P = .69) or LOT (R +0.073, P = .62, R -0.102, P = .49). Physician champions spent an average of 3.8% of effort on the intervention. The implementation cost was USD 22,299/year per site on average. Conclusions: The amount of time local teams spent in delivery of an antibiotic stewardship intervention was correlated with the desired decrease in antibiotic use. Implementing this successful antibiotic stewardship intervention required minimal time.

Comparison of Female Ovarian Reserve Before vs After COVID-19 Vaccination.

This cohort study examines the association of COVID-19 vaccination with levels of anti-Mullerian hormone and antral follicle count in women seeking fertility treatment.

Real-world experience with cefiderocol therapy for Pseudomonas aeruginosa and other multidrug resistant gram-negative infections within the Veterans Health Administration, 2019-2022.

Objective: Single-center and regional studies have reported outcomes after treatment with cefiderocol, a novel siderophore cephalosporin. We report on real-world use, clinical outcomes, and microbiological outcomes with cefiderocol therapy within the Veterans' Health Administration (VHA). Design: Prospective, observational descriptive study. Setting: Veterans' Health Administration, 132 sites across the United States, during 2019-2022. Patients: This study included patients admitted to any VHA medical center who received cefiderocol for ≥2 days. Methods: Data were obtained from the VHA Corporate Data Warehouse and through manual chart review. We extracted clinical and microbiologic characteristics and outcomes. Results: In total, 8,763,652 patients received 1,142,940,842 prescriptions during the study period. Of these, 48 unique individuals received cefiderocol. The median age of this cohort was 70.5 years (IQR, 60.5-74), and the median Charlson comorbidity score was 6 (IQR, 3-9). The most common infectious syndromes were lower respiratory tract infection in 23 patients (47.9%) and urinary tract infection in 14 patients (29.2%). The most common pathogen cultured was P. aeruginosa in 30 patients (62.5%). The clinical failure rate was 35.4% (17 of 48), and 15 (88.2%) of these 17 patients died within 3 days of clinical failure. The 30-day and 90-day all-cause mortality rates were 27.1% (13 of 48) and 45.8% (22 of 48), respectively. The 30-day and 90-day microbiologic failure rates were 29.2% (14 of 48) and 41.7% (20 of 48), respectively. Conclusions: In this nationwide VHA cohort clinical and microbiologic failure occurred in >30% of patients treated with cefiderocol, and >40% of these died within 90 days. Cefiderocol is not widely used, and many of the patients who received it had substantial comorbidities.

Mortality difference from Klebsiella aerogenes vs Enterobacter cloacae bloodstream infections.

Members of the order Enterobacterales, including Escherichia coli , Klebsiella species and Enterobacter species, are important pathogens in healthcare-associated infections. Higher mortality has been reported from infections due to Klebsiella pneumoniae than from E. coli , but prior studies comparing Enterobacter aerogenes (recently renamed Klebsiella aerogenes ) bacteraemia and Enterobacter cloacae complex bacteraemia have yielded conflicting results regarding whether clinical outcomes differ. We found bacteraemia with K. aerogenes was independently associated with greater risk of 30-day mortality than bacteraemia with Enterobacter cloacae complex.

Inflammatory Biomarkers Differ among Hospitalized Veterans Infected with Alpha, Delta, and Omicron SARS-CoV-2 Variants.

Mortality due to COVID-19 has been correlated with laboratory markers of inflammation, such as C-reactive protein (CRP). The lower mortality during Omicron variant infections could be explained by variant-specific immune responses or host factors, such as vaccination status. We hypothesized that infections due to Omicron variant cause less inflammation compared to Alpha and Delta, correlating with lower mortality. This was a retrospective cohort study of veterans hospitalized for COVID-19 at the Veterans Health Administration. We compared inflammatory markers among patients hospitalized during Omicron infection with those of Alpha and Delta. We reported the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of the first laboratory results during hospitalization and in-hospital mortality, stratified by vaccination status. Of 2,075,564 Veterans tested for COVID-19, 29,075 Veterans met the criteria: Alpha (45.1%), Delta (23.9%), Omicron (31.0%). Odds of abnormal CRP in Delta (aOR = 1.85, 95% CI:1.64-2.09) and Alpha (aOR = 1.94, 95% CI:1.75-2.15) were significantly higher compared to Omicron. The same trend was observed for Ferritin, Alanine aminotransferase, Aspartate aminotransferase, Lactate dehydrogenase, and Albumin. The mortality in Delta (aOR = 1.92, 95% CI:1.73-2.12) and Alpha (aOR = 1.68, 95% CI:1.47-1.91) were higher than Omicron. The results remained significant after stratifying the outcomes based on vaccination status. Veterans infected with Omicron showed milder inflammatory responses and lower mortality than other variants.

Using Trauma Video Review to Assess EMS Handoff and Trauma Team Non-Technical Skills.

OBJECTIVE: Handoffs by emergency medical services (EMS) personnel suffer from poor structure, inattention, and interruptions. The relationship between the quality of EMS communication and the non-technical performance of trauma teams remains unknown. METHODS: We analyzed 3 months of trauma resuscitation videos (highest acuity activations or patients with an Injury Severity Score [ISS] of ≥15). Handoffs were scored using the mechanism-injury-signs-treatment (MIST) framework for completeness (0-20), efficiency (category jumps), interruptions, and timeliness. Trauma team non-technical performance was scored using the Trauma Non-Technical Skills (T-NOTECHS) scale (5-15). RESULTS: We analyzed 99 videos. Handoffs lasted a median of 62 seconds [IQR: 43-74], scored 11 [10-13] for completeness, and had 2 [1-3] interruptions. Most interruptions were verbal (85.2%) and caused by the trauma team (64.9%). Most handoffs (92%) were efficient with 2 or fewer jumps. Patient transfer during handoff occurred in 53.5% of the videos; EMS providers giving handoff helped transfer in 69.8% of the Primary surveys began during handoff in 42.4% of the videos. Resuscitation teams who scored in the top-quartile on the T-NOTECHS (>11) had higher MIST scores than teams in lower quartiles (13 [11.25-14.75] vs. 11 [10-13]; p < .01). There were no significant differences in ISS, efficiency, timeliness, or interruptions between top- and lower-quartile groups. CONCLUSIONS: There is a relationship between EMS MIST completeness and high performance of non-technical skill by trauma teams. Trauma video review (TVR) can help identify modifiable behaviors to improve EMS handoff and resuscitation efforts and therefore trauma team performance.

Gardnerella vaginalis Bacteremia in Male Patients: A Case Series and Review of the Literature.

Gardnerella vaginalis colonization and invasive disease of the genitourinary tract in women has been well described. In men, this organism uncommonly causes infection, and bacteremia is rare. We describe 2 cases of G vaginalis bacteremia in men and present a review of the literature. Our 2 patients each had underlying comorbid conditions that predispose to serious bacterial infection. One presented with symptoms of urinary tract infection, the other presented with sepsis. Urine, cultured under usual aerobic conditions, was negative in both cases, but blood cultures after prolonged incubation yielded G vaginalis. Treatment with antibiotics was successful in both cases. Our review of the medical literature revealed 12 previously reported cases of G vaginalis bacteremia in men. Almost all infections in men have originated in the genitourinary tract. Three patients had no reported history of or evidence for disease of the urinary tract, one each with endocarditis, empyema, and odontogenic abscess. Isolation and identification of G vaginalis is often delayed. Selection and duration of treatment have ranged widely in previously reported cases, likely due to the absence of reports on antibiotic susceptibility of G vaginalis and a lack of guidance regarding effective treatment.

Computer-assisted navigation in ACL reconstruction improves anatomic tunnel placement with similar clinical outcomes.

BACKGROUND: While the use of navigation systems in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction theoretically improves tunnel placement accuracy and clinical outcomes, the existing literature remains inconclusive. We aimed to evaluate the potential benefits of navigated ACL reconstruction on tunnel placement and clinical outcomes. METHODS: In this retrospective study, we evaluated a cohort of patients who underwent conventional or navigated (OrthoPilot system) primary ACL reconstruction at our institution from June 2004 to October 2009. Anteroposterior and lateral radiographic knee assessments were evaluated to assess postoperative tunnel positioning. Clinical outcomes, including the International Knee Documentation Committee classification, Lysholm score, and Tegner score, were evaluated preoperatively and 1-year postoperatively. Radiographic and clinical outcomes were compared and analysed using independent 2-sample t-tests and Chi-square tests. RESULTS: Sixty patients met the inclusion criteria and were included for analysis, comprising of 26 navigated and 34 conventional reconstructions. Postoperative radiographs showed no differences in tibial tunnel position between both groups, but a significantly smaller deviation from the recommended position in the navigated group (navigated: 5.96 %; conventional: 7.92 %; p = 0.008). Femoral tunnel placements in the navigated group were significantly more perpendicularly away from the Blumensaat line (navigated: 38.90 %; conventional: 31.94 %; p = 0.001), with a greater deviation from recommended position (navigated: 11.00 %; conventional: 6.94 %; p = 0.009). There were no differences in 1-year postoperative clinical outcomes (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Navigated ACL reconstruction resulted in a more anatomic femoral tunnel placement and similar clinical outcomes as conventional reconstruction. Further research should be conducted to clarify the potential biomechanical and clinical impacts of navigated ACL reconstruction.

Prevalence and predictors of urine culture contamination in primary care: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Antimicrobial resistance is a global health threat. To slow resistance and preserve antibiotics, stewardship interventions are increasingly promoted and mandated. Urine cultures are the most common microbiological test in the outpatient setting. Contamination most likely occurs during urine collection from surrounding vaginal, perineal, and epidermal flora. Sample contamination can lead to incorrect diagnosis, unnecessary or inappropriate treatment, poor patient outcomes, and higher costs. Therefore, ensuring proper collection of urinary samples serves as a prime diagnostic stewardship target, one that international nursing societies increasingly endorse as an opportunity for nurse involvement. OBJECTIVES: Determine the prevalence, predictors, and antibiotic prescribing associated with contaminated urine cultures in primary care clinics. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Two adult safety-net clinics in Houston, Texas. PARTICIPANTS: 1265 clinical encounters among 1114 primary care patients. METHODS: We reviewed charts from office visits among patients who had a urine culture ordered between November 2018 and March 2020. Patient demographics, culture results and prescription orders were captured for each visit. Culture results were defined as no growth, contaminated (i.e., mixed flora, non-uropathogens, or ≥3 bacterial species isolated), or low-count (102-105 colony forming units (CFU)/mL) or high-count (>105 CFU/mL) uropathogen-positive. We performed multinomial logistic regression to identify predictors independently associated with contaminated cultures. RESULTS: Our study evaluated 1265 cultures from 1114 patients that were primarily female (84 %), of Hispanic/Latino (74.4 %) or Black/African American (18.9 %) race/ethnicity with a mean age of 43 years. Out of 1265 urine cultures, 264 (20.9 %) had no growth, 694 (54.9 %) were contaminated, 159 (12.6 %) were low-count positive, and 148 (11.7 %) were high-count positive. Female sex, pregnancy, and obesity were associated with contaminated cultures (multinomial adjusted odds ratios: 15.89, 14.34, 1.93, respectively; 95 % confidence intervals: 10.25-24.61, 8.03-25.61, 1.32-2.81, respectively). Antibiotic prescribing was significantly higher among symptomatic patients with contaminated cultures compared to those with no growth. CONCLUSION: Urine culture contamination occurred frequently in our clinics, and obesity, female sex and pregnancy were independent risk factors for contamination. The association of pregnancy and contamination is particularly concerning as pregnant females are routinely screened and treated for asymptomatic bacteriuria in the United States. Culture contamination may obscure underlying uropathogens, leading to pyelonephritis or potential neonatal infection if untreated. Conversely, overtreatment of false positive bacteriuria could lead to adverse effects from antibiotics and increased risk for antibiotic resistance. As nurses play a prominent role in patient education, diagnostic stewardship interventions may want to utilize nurses' educational capabilities to improve urine culture collection. TWEETABLE ABSTRACT: 55 % of urine cultures collected in primary care clinics were contaminated, revealing a major opportunity for nurse-driven diagnostic stewardship interventions.

Improving Emergency Medical Services Information Exchange: Methods for Automating Entity Resolution.

The 21st century has seen an enormous growth in emergency medical services (EMS) information technology systems, with corresponding accumulation of large volumes of data. Despite this growth, integration efforts between EMS-based systems and electronic health records, and public-sector databases have been limited due to inconsistent data structure, data missingness, and policy and regulatory obstacles. Efforts to integrate EMS systems have benefited from the evolving science of entity resolution and record linkage. In this chapter, we present the history and fundamentals of record linkage techniques, an overview of past uses of this technology in EMS, and a look into the future of record linkage techniques for integrating EMS data systems including the use of machine learning-based techniques.

Association between biventricular pacing and incidence of ventricular arrhythmias in the early post-operative period after left ventricular assist device implantation.

INTRODUCTION: Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) and left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) improve outcomes in heart failure patients. Early ventricular arrhythmias (VA) are common after LVAD and are associated with increased mortality. The association between left ventricular pacing (LVP) with CRT and VAs in the early post-LVAD period remains unclear. METHODS: This was a retrospective study of all patients undergoing LVAD implantation from 1/2016 to 12/2019. Patients were divided into those with CRT and active LVP (CRT-LVP) immediately post-LVAD implant versus those without CRT-LVP. Implantable cardiac defibrillator electrograms were reviewed and early VAs were defined as sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT)/ventricular fibrillation occurring within 30 days of LVAD implantation. RESULTS: Of 186 included patients (mean age 53 years, 75% male, mean body mass index 28), 72 had CRT devices, 63 of whom had LV pacing enabled after LVAD implant (CRT-LVP group). Patients with CRT-LVP were more likely to have VA in the early postoperative period (21% vs. 4%; p = .0001). All 9 patients with CRT in whom LVP was disabled had no early VA. Among those with early VA, patients with CRT-LVP were more likely to have monomorphic VT (77% vs. 40%; p = .07). In multiple logistic regression, CRT-LVP pacing remained an independent predictor of early VA after adjustment for history of VA and AF. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with CRT-LVP after LVAD implant had a higher incidence of early VA (specifically monomorphic VT). Epicardial LV pacing may be proarrhythmic in the early postoperative period after LVAD.

Antimicrobial Treatment Options for Difficult-to-Treat Resistant Gram-Negative Bacteria Causing Cystitis, Pyelonephritis, and Prostatitis: A Narrative Review.

Urinary tract infections, including cystitis, acute pyelonephritis, and prostatitis, are among the most common diagnoses prompting antibiotic prescribing. The rise in antimicrobial resistance over the past decades has led to the increasing challenge of urinary tract infections because of multidrug-resistant and "difficult-to-treat resistance" among Gram-negative bacteria. Recent advances in pharmacotherapy and medical microbiology are modernizing how these urinary tract infections are treated. Advances in pharmacotherapy have included not only the development and approval of novel antibiotics, such as ceftazidime/avibactam, meropenem/vaborbactam, imipenem/relebactam, ceftolozane/tazobactam, cefiderocol, plazomicin, and glycylcyclines, but also the re-examination of the potential role of legacy antibiotics, including older aminoglycosides and tetracyclines. Recent advances in medical microbiology allow phenotypic and molecular mechanism of resistance testing, and thus antibiotic prescribing can be tailored to the mechanism of resistance in the infecting pathogen. Here, we provide a narrative review on the clinical and pre-clinical studies of drugs that can be used for difficult-to-treat resistant Gram-negative bacteria, with a particular focus on data relevant to the urinary tract. We also offer a pragmatic framework for antibiotic selection when encountering urinary tract infections due to difficult-to-treat resistant Gram-negative bacteria based on the organism and its mechanism of resistance.

Delayed Surgery, Low Presurgery Activity, and Poor Preoperative IKDC Scores Are Correlated with Lower Rates of Return to Sports after ACL Reconstruction in an Asian Population.

There is limited literature regarding the early postsurgical outcomes of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction in Asian populations, particularly in the rates of return to sports. We aimed to quantify early clinical outcomes for ACL reconstruction, determine the predictive value of surgeon- and patient-reported outcomes on the rate of return to sports in the early postoperative period, and identify factors predictive of return to sports. We analyzed the data of 55 patients who underwent ACL reconstruction at our tertiary medical center from 2015 to 2016. All patients underwent transportal ACL reconstruction and a standardized post-ACL reconstruction rehabilitation protocol. Patients with concurrent meniscal injury and repair were included. Patients were evaluated at the 3-month, 6-month, 1-year, and 2-year postoperative periods. Surgeon- and patient-reported outcome scores were collected at each follow-up through a systematic questionnaire designed to determine the patient's level of return to sport and reasons for not returning. Surgeon- and patient-reported outcome measures improved significantly over the 2-year postoperative period (p < 0.001). Overall rate of return to sports was 58.2%. The International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) subjective (p = 0.02), symptomatic (p = 0.001), composite (p = 0.005), Tegner (p < 0.001) and Lysholm (p = 0.049) scores at 2-year follow-up were significantly worse in patients who failed to return to sports. Earliest difference in scores manifested at 3-month postsurgery (p = 0.011). IKDC grade-D patients were 18.1 times less likely to return to sports (p = 0.035). Delayed surgery (p = 0.01) and presurgery inactivity (p = 0.023) were negatively predictive of return to sports. The rate of return to sport is consistent with the literature analyzing other ethnic populations. Both surgeon- and patient-reported outcome scores at 2-year postsurgery exhibited significant differences between those who did and did not return to sports. Patients should be advised to seek surgical treatment as soon as possible and stay active preoperatively to maximize return to sports.

Outcomes of acute respiratory distress syndrome in COVID-19 patients compared to the general population: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) often leads to mortality. Outcomes of patients with COVID-19-related ARDS compared to ARDS unrelated to COVID-19 is not well characterized. AREAS COVERED: We performed a systematic review of PubMed, Scopus, and MedRxiv 11/1/2019 to 3/1/2021, including studies comparing outcomes in COVID-19-related ARDS (COVID-19 group) and ARDS unrelated to COVID-19 (ARDS group). Outcomes investigated were duration of mechanical ventilation-free days, intensive care unit (ICU) length-of-stay (LOS), hospital LOS, and mortality. Random effects models were fit for each outcome measure. Effect sizes were reported as pooled median differences of medians (MDMs), mean differences (MDs), or odds ratios (ORs). EXPERT OPINION: Ten studies with 2,281 patients met inclusion criteria (COVID-19: 861 [37.7%], ARDS: 1420 [62.3%]). There were no significant differences between the COVID-19 and ARDS groups for median number of mechanical ventilator-free days (MDM: -7.0 [95% CI: -14.8; 0.7], p = 0.075), ICU LOS (MD: 3.1 [95% CI: -5.9; 12.1], p = 0.501), hospital LOS (MD: 2.5 [95% CI: -5.6; 10.7], p = 0.542), or all-cause mortality (OR: 1.25 [95% CI: 0.78; 1.99], p = 0.361). Compared to the general ARDS population, results did not suggest worse outcomes in COVID-19-related ARDS.

To Test, Perchance to Diagnose: Practical Strategies for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Testing.

Testing for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in symptomatic and asymptomatic patients is an important component of the multifaceted approach of managing the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Determining how to best define testing strategies for different populations and incorporating these into broader infection prevention programs can be complex. Many circumstances are not addressed by federal, local, or professional guidelines. This commentary describes various scenarios in which testing of symptomatic or asymptomatic individuals for SARS-CoV-2 virus (antigen or ribonucleic acid) can be of potential benefit. Consideration to pretest probability, risks of testing (impact of false-positive or false-negative results), testing strategy, as well as action based on test results are explored. Testing, regardless of setting, must be incorporated into overarching infection control plans, which include use of personal protective equipment (eg, masks), physically distancing, and isolation when exposure is suspected.