Renal dysfunction and prognosis of COVID-19 patients: a hospital-based retrospective cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: Increasing evidence indicate that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is companied by renal dysfunction. However, the association of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2)-induced renal dysfunction with prognosis remains obscure. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All 154 patients with COVID-19 were recruited from the Second People's Hospital of Fuyang City in Anhui, China. Demographic characteristics and laboratory data were extracted. Renal dysfunction was evaluated and its prognosis was followed up based on a retrospective cohort study. RESULTS: There were 125 (81.2%) mild and 29 (18.8%) severe cases in 154 COVID-19 patients. On admission, 16 (10.4%) subjects were accompanied with renal dysfunction. Serum creatinine and cystatin C were increased and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was decreased in severe patients compared with those in mild patients. Renal dysfunction was more prevalent in severe patients. Using multivariate logistic regression, we found that male gender, older age and hypertension were three importantly independent risk factors for renal dysfunction in COVID-19 patients. Follow-up study found that at least one renal function marker of 3.33% patients remained abnormal in 2 weeks after discharge. CONCLUSION: Male elderly COVID-19 patients with hypertension elevates the risk of renal dysfunction. SARS-CoV-2-induced renal dysfunction are not fully recovered in 2 weeks after discharge.

Myocardial Injury at Early Stage and Its Association With the Risk of Death in COVID-19 Patients: A Hospital-Based Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: There are growing evidence demonstrating that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is companied by acute myocardial injury. However, the associations of SARS-CoV-2-induced myocardial injury with the risk of death and prognosis after discharge in COVID-19 patients are unclear. Methods: This prospective cohort study analyzed 355 COVID-19 patients from two hospitals in different regions. Clinical and demographic information were collected and prognosis was followed up. Results: Of 355 hospitalized patients with COVID-19, 213 were mild, 90 severe, and 52 critically ill patients. On admission, 59 (16.7%) patients were with myocardial injury. Myocardial injury was more popular in critically ill patients. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression revealed that male, older age and comorbidity with hypertension were three crucial independent risk factors predicting myocardial injury of COVID-19 patients. Among 59 COVID-19 patients with myocardial injury, 25 (42.4%) died on average 10.9 days after hospitalization. Mortality was increased among COVID-19 patients with myocardial injury (42.4 vs. 3.38%, RR = 12.542, P < 0.001). Follow-up study observed that 4.67% COVID-19 patients with myocardial injury were not fully recovered in 14 days after discharge. Conclusion: Myocardial injury at early stage elevates mortality of COVID-19 patients. Male elderly patients with hypertension are more vulnerable to myocardial injury. SARS-CoV-2-induced myocardial injury has not completely recovered in 14 days after discharge.

Liver Dysfunction and Its Association with the Risk of Death in COVID-19 Patients: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Background and Aims: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a new respiratory infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (commonly known as SARS-CoV-2) with multiple organ injuries. The aim of this study was to analyze COVID-19-associated liver dysfunction (LD), its association with the risk of death and prognosis after discharge. Methods: Three-hundred and fifty-five COVID-19 patients were recruited. Clinical data were collected from electronic medical records. LD was evaluated and its prognosis was tracked. The association between LD and the risk of death was analyzed. Results: Of the 355 COVID-19 patients, 211 had mild disease, 88 had severe disease, and 51 had critically ill disease. On admission, 223 (62.8%) patients presented with hypoproteinemia, 151(42.5%) with cholestasis, and 101 (28.5%) with hepatocellular injury. As expected, LD was more common in critically ill patients. By multivariate logistic regression, male sex, older age and lymphopenia were three important independent risk factors predicting LD among COVID-19 patients. Risk of death analysis showed that the fatality rate was higher in patients with hypoproteinemia than in those without hypoproteinemia (relative risk=9.471, p<0.01). Moreover, the fatality rate was higher in patients with cholestasis than those without cholestasis (relative risk=2.182, p<0.05). Follow-up observation found that more than one hepatic functional index of two-third patients remained abnormal at 14 days after discharge. Conclusions: LD at early disease stage elevates the risk of death of COVID-19 patients. COVID-19-associated LD does not recover completely by 14 days after discharge.

[Infrared spectroscopy investigation on conformational change of silk fiber induced by gaseous organic acids existing in museum].

Study on the impact of pollutants on cultural materials in storing or displaying micro-environment in museum is considered as very important for the preservation of cultural relics and its aging prevention. This paper applied the Fourier transform infrared (attenuated total reflection) technique to assess silk structural changes under volatile organic acids (formic acid/acetic acid), which usually come from decorative materials emission and commonly exist in the surface or around cultural materials. The focus of this work was on investigating the changes of peptide bond in the area of amide I-amide III, as well as the peptide chains (GlyAla), characteristic region. The structural and conformational changes in silk fiber treated with gaseous formic and acetic acid were assessed. The results indicate that both the gaseous acids can weaken the intermolecular hydrogen bond in fiber peptide, based on the spectral changes in the increased intensity of amide I (1 617 cm(-1)), the narrowing amide II peak (1 515 cm(-1)), the increased intensity of random coil conformation in amide III peak (1 230 cm(-1)), and the decreased fiber crystallinity as well. The obvious secondary structural conformation occurred when the concentration of gaseous formic acid reached 8.1 mg x m(-3) in simulated environment. The conformational transformation was supported by the observation of the rapidly reduced random coil conformation, the increased short peptide chains (GlyAla)n with beta-sheet conformation characteristic peak (1 000, 975 cm(-1)), and the enhanced fiber crystallinity degree as well. In contrast, gaseous acetic acid has less impact on the amide I and amide II bond based on the spectral changes, but it did promote random coil conformation and decreased fiber crystallinity. This work also provides a potential application of the infrared spectroscopy in non-destructive investigation of silk in-situ.