How Camera-to-Subject Distance and Height Affect Breast Measurement and Follow-Up Assessment in Plastic Surgery.

BACKGROUND: Due to several factors that affect photograph quality, bias is inevitably present in two-dimensional (2D) breast photography. The principal variables affecting image performance at a fixed focus length are the distance between the camera and the subjects and the photography angles. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the effects of camera-to-subject distances and camera height on breast measurement parameters to understand the trend of breast deformation and provide guidance for the accurate evaluation of planar follow-up. METHODS: We enlisted 16 volunteers with various breast cup sizes (A-D). Frontal and lateral photos were obtained with a steady focus of 50 mm at distances between 1.10 m and 2.20 m and at heights between 30 cm above the nipple and 30 cm below the nipple at intervals of 10 cm. Two researchers independently evaluated each volunteer's breast aesthetic parameters, including 11 linear parameters, 3 area parameters, and 3 ratio parameters, using Vernier calipers and Photoshop. RESULTS: The correlation coefficient of the two investigators ranged from 0.922 to 0.999. The results measured by Photoshop were 29.67 ± 5.23% greater than those of the Vernier caliper (p < 0.01). In contrast to ratio parameters, which showed no significant changes in each distance group (p = 1.00), linear parameters and area parameters significantly increased as object distance decreased (p < 0.05). The lower pole of the breast grew wider and flatter and occupied a larger proportion of the breast as height declined. CONCLUSION: Camera-to-subject distances of 1.5-1.7 m are recommended for stabilized and uniform breast photography. Varying shooting height affects breast distortion. Quantifying the relationship between photographic conditions and breast morphology enables plastic surgeons to conduct more comprehensive and accurate assessments. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE IV: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266. Bullet point list: 1. The breast morphology will get more distortion with a smaller camera-to-subject distance. 2. Camera-to-subject distances of 1.5~1.7m are recommended for stabilized and uniform breast photography. 3. Height rather than distance affects the breast proportion.

A Combined Weighting Based Large Scale Group Decision Making Framework for MOOC Group Recommendation.

Massive open online courses (MOOC) are free learning courses based on online platforms for higher education, which not only promote the open sharing of learning resources, but also lead to serious information overload. However, there are many courses on MOOCs, and it can be difficult for users to choose courses that match their individual or group preferences. Therefore, a combined weighting based large-scale group decision-making approach is proposed to implement MOOC group recommendations. First, based on the MOOC operation mode, we decompose the course content into three stages, namely pre-class, in-class, and post-class, and then the curriculum-arrangement-movement- performance evaluation framework is constructed. Second, the probabilistic linguistic criteria importance through intercriteria correlation method is employed to obtain the objective weighting of the criterion. Meanwhile, the word embedding model is utilized to vectorize online reviews, and the subjective weighting of the criteria are acquired by calculating the text similarity. The combined weighting then can be obtained by fusing the subjective and objective weighting. Based on this, the PL-MULTIMIIRA approach and Borda rule is employed to rank the alternatives for group recommendation, and an easy-to-use formula for group satisfaction is proposed to evaluate the effect of the proposed method. Furthermore, a case study is conducted to group recommendations for statistical MOOCs. Finally, the robustness and effectiveness of the proposed approach were verified through sensitivity analysis as well as comparative analysis.

Regulating the interface defect of TiO2/Ag2O nanoheterojunction and its effect on photogenerated carrier dynamics.

In this paper, the defects of TiO2/Ag2O nanoheterojunctions are regulated to evaluate the effect of the interface defects on carrier trapping and recombination dynamics by time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy (TRPL) and time-resolved terahertz (THZ) spectroscopy. TRPL spectra reveal that interface defects can act as a recombination center and have an accelerative effect on the recombination process of photogenerated carriers under ultraviolet light. Moreover, THZ spectroscopy results demonstrate that interface defects can effectively trap electrons and expedite the Auger recombination. Furthermore, the influence of interface defects on the photocarrier dynamics of TiO2/Ag2O nanoheterojunctions was comprehensively analyzed, providing a valuable experimental reference for the regulation and application of interface defect-fabricated nanoheterojunctions.

Association of procalcitonin levels with the progression and prognosis of hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

Rationale: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first announced in Wuhan, and has rapidly evolved into a pandemic. However, the risk factors associated with the severity and mortality of COVID-19 are yet to be described in detail. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the information of 1525 cases from the Leishenshan Hospital in Wuhan. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were generated to explore the relationship between procalcitonin (PCT) level and the progression and prognosis of COVID-19. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to explore the relationship between disease severity in hospitalized patients and their PCT levels. Survival curves and the cumulative hazard function for COVID-19 progression were conducted in the two groups. To further detect the relationship between the computed tomography score and survival days, curve-fitting analyses were performed. Results: Patients in the elevated PCT group had a higher incidence of severe and critical severity conditions (P < 0.001), death, and higher computed tomography (CT) scores. There was an association between elevated PCT levels and mortality in the univariate ((hazard ratio [1], 3.377; 95% confidence interval [2], 1.012-10.344; P = 0.033) and multivariate Cox regression analysis (HR, 4.933; 95% CI, 1.170-20.788; P = 0.030). Similarly, patients with elevated PCT were more likely to have critically severe disease conditions in the univariate (odds ratio [2], 7.247; 95% CI, 3.559-14.757; P < 0.001) and multivariate logistic regression analysis (OR, 10.679; 95% CI, 4.562-25.000; P < 0.001). Kaplan-Meier curves showed poorer prognosis for patients with elevated PCT (P = 0.024). The CT score 1 for patients with elevated PCT peaked at day 40 following the onset of symptoms then decreased gradually, while their total CT score was relatively stable. Conclusion: PCT level was shown as an independent risk factor of in-hospital mortality among COVID-19 patients. Compared with inpatients with normal PCT levels, inpatients with elevated PCT levels had a higher risk for overall mortality and critically severe disease. These findings may provide guidance for improving the prognosis of patients with critically severe COVID-19.

Terahertz wave near-field compressive imaging with a spatial resolution of over λ/100.

We demonstrate terahertz (THz) wave near-field imaging with a spatial resolution of ∼4.5 µm using single-pixel compressive sensing enabled by femtosecond-laser (fs-laser) driven vanadium dioxide (VO2)-based spatial light modulator. By fs-laser patterning a 180 nm thick VO2 nanofilm with a digital micromirror device, we spatially encode the near-field THz evanescent waves. With single-pixel Hadamard detection of the evanescent waves, we reconstructed the THz wave near-field image of an object from a serial of encoded sequential measurements, yielding improved signal-to-noise ratio by one order of magnitude over a raster-scanning technique. Further, we demonstrate that the acquisition time was compressed by a factor of over four with 90% fidelity using a total variation minimization algorithm. The proposed THz wave near-field imaging technique inspires new and challenging applications such as cellular imaging.

Assessment of eye fatigue caused by head-mounted displays using eye-tracking.

BACKGROUND: Head-mounted displays (HMDs) and virtual reality (VR) have been frequently used in recent years, and a user's experience and computation efficiency could be assessed by mounting eye-trackers. However, in addition to visually induced motion sickness (VIMS), eye fatigue has increasingly emerged during and after the viewing experience, highlighting the necessity of quantitatively assessment of the detrimental effects. As no measurement method for the eye fatigue caused by HMDs has been widely accepted, we detected parameters related to optometry test. We proposed a novel computational approach for estimation of eye fatigue by providing various verifiable models. RESULTS: We implemented three classifications and two regressions to investigate different feature sets, which led to present two valid assessment models for eye fatigue by employing blinking features and eye movement features with the ground truth of indicators for optometry test. Three graded results and one continuous result were provided by each model, respectively, which caused the whole result to be repeatable and comparable. CONCLUSION: We showed differences between VIMS and eye fatigue, and we also presented a new scheme to assess eye fatigue of HMDs users by analysis of parameters of the eye tracker.

Giant impact of self-photothermal on light-induced ultrafast insulator-to-metal transition in VO2 nanofilms at terahertz frequency.

Ultrafast detection and switching of light are key processes in high-speed optoelectronic devices. However, the performances of VO2-based optoelectronics are strongly degraded by photothermal. The mechanism of the latter is still unclear. Here, by using femtosecond-laser (fs-laser) driven kinetic terahertz wave absorption, we quantitatively separate slow photothermal response and ultrafast photodoping response (e.g. light-induced insulator-to-metal transition) from second- to picosecond-timescales, and discover the competing interplay between them. With self-photothermal (mainly determined by fs-laser pulse repetition rate and pump fluence), the ultrafast transition time was degraded by 190% from 50 ps to 95 ps, the ultrafast transition threshold was decreased to 82% from 11mJ/cm2 to 9mJ/cm2, while the amplitudes of the two photoresponse are competing. Percolation theory, along with the macroscopic conductivity response, is used to explain the competing interplay. Our findings are relevant for designing and optimizing VO2-based ultrafast optoelectronic devices.

MicroRNAs Associated with Keloids Identified by Microarray Analysis and In Vitro Experiments.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a crucial role in gene regulation and the development of keloid. This research aimed to identify and verify miRNAs associated with keloids by microarray analysis and in vitro experiments, shedding light on seeking for potential therapeutic molecular targets. In this study, the weighted gene co-expression network analysis was performed based on the GSE113620. The key miRNA module most relevant to the keloid was further screened to identify hub miRNAs, and then hub miRNAs was verified by the microarray analysis and qRT-PCR experiments. Additionally, targeted genes of hub miRNAs were predicted and verified. Gene ontology (GO) analysis and KEGG enrichment analysis were also conducted. Five miRNA modules were divided, and the blue module exhibited the highest correlation with keloids. Then, hsa-miR-127-3p, hsa-miR-214-3p, hsa-miR-155-5p, hsa-miR-409-5p, and hsa-miR-542-5p were identified as the hub miRNAs. Subsequently, the microarray analysis and qRT-PCR results demonstrated that the expression of five miRNAs were upregulated in keloid tissues. The GO analysis revealed that the target genes of these miRNAs were mainly enriched in biological processes including gene transcription, protein phosphorylation and the MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase) cascade, and the KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed that the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway were significantly enriched. In conclusion, these five miRNAs (hsa-miR-127-3p, hsa-miR-155-5p, hsa-miR-214-3p, hsa-miR-409-5p, and hsa-miR-542-5p) play vital roles in the pathogenesis of keloid and might be potential therapeutic targets. These miRNAs might regulate genes enriched in gene transcription, protein phosphorylation, the MAPK cascade, and the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway.

Research advances and trends in the surgical treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome from 2003 to 2022: A CiteSpace-based bibliometric analysis.

Background: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is one of the most common peripheral neuropathies. The typical symptoms are tingling and numbness in the median nerve distribution of the hand. Current treatment for CTS includes general conservative treatment and surgical treatment. Surgical treatment plays a crucial role in the management of CTS, but little bibliometric analysis has been conducted on it. Therefore, this study aimed to map the literature co-citation network using CiteSpace (6.1 R4) software. Research frontiers and trends were identified by retrieving subject headings with significant changing word frequency trends, which can be used to predict future research advances in the surgical treatment of CTS. Methods: Publications on the surgical treatment of CTS in the Web of Science database were collected between 2003 and 2022. CiteSpace software was applied to visualize and analyze publications, countries, institutions, journals, authors, references, and keywords. Results: A total of 336 articles were collected, with the USA being the major publishing power in all countries/regions. JOURNAL OF HAND SURGERY AMERICAN VOLUME was the journal with the most published and co-cited articles. Based on keyword and reference co-citation analysis, keywords such as CTS, surgery, release, median nerve, and diagnosis were the focus of the study. Conclusion: The results of this bibliometric study provide clinical research advances and trends in the surgical treatment of patients with CTS over the past 20 years, which may help researchers to identify hot topics and explore new directions for future research in the field.

Peripheral blood eosinophil and classification of residual hematoma help predict the recurrence of chronic subdural hematoma after initial surgery.

Chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) is a common type of intracranial hemorrhage in neurosurgical practice, whose incidence has increased markedly in recent years. However, CSDH still troubles clinicians with a high postoperative recurrence rate. The presence of eosinophils has been confirmed in some CSDH surgical specimens. Furthermore, postoperative residual hematoma has not been classified, and its association with the recurrence of CSDH remains unknown. The present study aimed to test the hypothesis that the peripheral blood eosinophils and the classification of postoperative residual hematoma are significant for the prediction of CSDH recurrence after burr-hole surgery. A retrospective review of 258 CSDH patients who received burr-hole surgery was performed. A complete blood picture with differential count was taken before surgery. Clinical, laboratory, and radiographic factors predicting CSDH recurrence were identified in univariable and multivariable analyses. Univariable analysis showed that the percentage of eosinophils, peripheral blood eosinophil count <0.15 × 109/L, gradation and separated types, postoperative volume of the residual cavity ≥70 ml, residual air volume ≥28 ml, residual hematoma volume ≥55 ml, residual hematoma width ≥1.4 cm, postoperative midline shift ≥5.6 mm, postoperative brain re-expansion rate <41%, postoperative low-density type, and postoperative high-density type correlated with the recurrence of CSDH. Multivariable analysis, however, showed that peripheral blood eosinophil count <0.15 × 109/L, gradation and separated types, preoperative midline shift ≥9.5 mm, postoperative brain re-expansion rate <41%, postoperative low-density type, and postoperative high-density type are independent predictors for the recurrence of CSDH. We expect that peripheral blood eosinophils and the classification of postoperative residual hematoma may facilitate our understanding of the recurrence of CSDH after initial surgery.

Secondary Brain Injury by Oxidative Stress After Cerebral Hemorrhage: Recent Advances.

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a clinical syndrome in which blood accumulates in the brain parenchyma because of a nontraumatic rupture of a blood vessel. Because of its high morbidity and mortality rate and the lack of effective therapy, the treatment of ICH has become a hot research topic. Meanwhile, Oxidative stress is one of the main causes of secondary brain injury(SBI) after ICH. Therefore, there is a need for an in-depth study of oxidative stress after ICH. This review will discuss the pathway and effects of oxidative stress after ICH and its relationship with inflammation and autophagy, as well as the current antioxidant therapy for ICH with a view to deriving better therapeutic tools or targets for ICH.

Multi-exposure electric power monitoring image fusion method without ghosting based on exposure fusion framework and color dissimilarity feature.

To solve the ghosting artifacts problem in dynamic scene multi-scale exposure fusion, an improved multi-exposure fusion method has been proposed without ghosting based on the exposure fusion framework and the color dissimilarity feature of this study. This fusion method can be further applied to power system monitoring and unmanned aerial vehicle monitoring. In this study, first, an improved exposure fusion framework based on the camera response model was applied to preprocess the input image sequence. Second, the initial weight map was estimated by multiplying four weight items. In removing the ghosting weight term, an improved color dissimilarity feature was used to detect the object motion features in dynamic scenes. Finally, the improved pyramid model as adopted to retain detailed information about the poor exposure areas. Experimental results indicated that the proposed method improves the performance of images in terms of sharpness, detail processing, and ghosting artifacts removal and is superior to the five existing multi-exposure image fusion (MEF) methods in quality evaluation.

Assessment of the Novel, Practical, and Prognosis-Relevant TNM Staging System for Stage I-III Cutaneous Melanoma.

Background: The clinical TNM staging system does not differ between the 7th and 8th editions of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging manual. A more practical TNM staging system for patients with stage I-III cutaneous melanoma are needed. Methods: Data were accessed from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) open database. We divided the patients into 32 groups based on the T and N categories. The Kaplan-Meier survival curves and treatment guidelines were used to proposed a new TNM staging system. Cox proportional hazards model and 1000-person-years were used to verify accuracy. Results: This retrospective study included 68 861 patients from 2010 to 2015. The new proposed staging system was as follows: stage IA, T1aN0M0; stage IB, T1b/T2aN0M0; stage IIA, T3-4aN0M0 and T2bN0M0; stage IIB, T1-4aN1-2M0 and T3-4bN0M0; and stage III, T1-4aN3M0 and T1-4bN1-3M0. Hazard ratios for the new stages IB, IIA, IIB, and III, with stage IA as reference, were 4.311 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.217-5.778), 8.993 (95% CI: 6.637-12.186), 13.179 (95% CI: 9.435-18.407), and 20.693 (95% CI: 13.655-31.356), respectively (all p-values < 0.001). Cancer-specific mortality rates per 1000-person-years were 0.812 (95% CI: 0.674-0.978), 6.612 (95% CI: 5.936-7.364), 22.228 (95% CI: 20.128-24.547), 50.863 (95% CI: 47.472-54.496) and 120.318 (95% CI: 112.596-128.570) for stages IA, IB, IIA, IIB and III, respectively. Conclusion: We developed a more practical and prognosis-relevant staging system than that of the 8th edition AJCC manual for patients with stage I-III cutaneous melanoma. Treatments using this new model would improve the quality of life and survival rates of patients with melanoma.

Cerebral Edema Formation After Stroke: Emphasis on Blood-Brain Barrier and the Lymphatic Drainage System of the Brain.

Brain edema is a severe stroke complication that is associated with prolonged hospitalization and poor outcomes. Swollen tissues in the brain compromise cerebral perfusion and may also result in transtentorial herniation. As a physical and biochemical barrier between the peripheral circulation and the central nervous system (CNS), the blood-brain barrier (BBB) plays a vital role in maintaining the stable microenvironment of the CNS. Under pathological conditions, such as ischemic stroke, the dysfunction of the BBB results in increased paracellular permeability, directly contributing to the extravasation of blood components into the brain and causing cerebral vasogenic edema. Recent studies have led to the discovery of the glymphatic system and meningeal lymphatic vessels, which provide a channel for cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) to enter the brain and drain to nearby lymph nodes and communicate with the peripheral immune system, modulating immune surveillance and brain responses. A deeper understanding of the function of the cerebral lymphatic system calls into question the known mechanisms of cerebral edema after stroke. In this review, we first discuss how BBB disruption after stroke can cause or contribute to cerebral edema from the perspective of molecular and cellular pathophysiology. Finally, we discuss how the cerebral lymphatic system participates in the formation of cerebral edema after stroke and summarize the pathophysiological process of cerebral edema formation after stroke from the two directions of the BBB and cerebral lymphatic system.

Transcription factor EB­mediated autophagy promotes dermal fibroblast differentiation and collagen production by regulating endoplasmic reticulum stress and autophagy­dependent secretion.

Autophagy is reported to be involved in the formation of skin hypertrophic scar (HTS). However, the role of autophagy in the process of fibrosis remains unclear, therefore an improved understanding of the molecular mechanisms associated with autophagy may accelerate the development of effective therapeutic strategies against HTS. The present study evaluated the roles of autophagy mediated by transcription factor EB (TFEB), a pivotal regulator of lysosome biogenesis and autophagy, in transforming growth factor­ß1 (TGF­ß1)­induced fibroblast differentiation and collagen production. Fibroblasts were treated with TGF­ß1, TGF­ß1 + tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA) or TGF­ß1 + TFEB­small interfering RNA (siRNA). TGF­ß1 induced phenotypic transformation of fibroblasts, as well as collagen synthesis and secretion in fibroblasts in a dose­dependent manner. Western blotting and immunofluorescence analyses demonstrated that TGF­ß1 upregulated the expression of autophagy­related proteins through the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress pathway, whereas TUDCA reversed TGF­ß1­induced changes. Reverse transcription­quantitative PCR (RT­qPCR), western blotting and RFP­GFP­LC3 double fluorescence analyses demonstrated that knockdown of TFEB by TFEB­siRNA decreased autophagic flux, upregulated the expression of proteins involved in the apoptotic pathway, such as phosphorylated­α subunit of eukaryotic initiation factor 2, C/EBP homologous protein and cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase 3, and also downregulated the expression of α­smooth muscle actin and collagen I (COL I) in fibroblasts. Immunofluorescence confocal analyses and enzyme­linked immunosorbent assay indicated that TGF­ß1 increased the colocalization of COL I with lysosomal­associated membrane protein 1 and Ras­related protein Rab­8A, a marker of secretory vesicles, in fibroblasts, as well as the secretion of pro­COL Iα1 in culture supernatants. Meanwhile, these effects were abolished by TFEB knockdown. The present results suggested that autophagy reduced ER stress, decreased cell apoptosis and maintained fibroblast activation not only through degradation of misfolded or unfolded proteins, but also through promotion of COL I release from the autolysosome to the extracellular environment.

Surgical Disparities of Parathyroid Carcinoma: Long-Term Outcomes and Deep Excavation Based on a Large Database.

PURPOSE: Parathyroid carcinoma (PC) is an uncommon endocrine disease, and surgery is considered the only potential cure. PC does not have a mature staging system because of the small number of PC patients. Our aim is to further investigate the prognostic factors associated with PC and explore the optimal extent of resection for PC patients. METHODS: Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were conducted to explore the influence of relevant factors on cancer-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS). Survival curves were generated using the Kaplan-Meier method and analyzed using the log-rank test. The mortality rates per 1,000 person-years were calculated to evaluate patients' follow-up data. We also performed subgroup analysis based on the extent of resection. RESULTS: The extent of resection was related to both CSS and OS, whereas race and extent of disease had a significant positive correlation with OS (all P < 0.05). Patients who underwent parathyroidectomy had remarkably better CSS and OS than patients who did not undergo definitive treatment. CONCLUSION: The extent of resection is related to CSS and OS in patients with PC. No significant difference in prognosis was observed between patients who underwent parathyroidectomy and those who underwent en bloc resection, which may provide useful parameters for the treatment of PC.

Refusal of cancer-directed surgery in male breast cancer.

ABSTRACT: It has been reported that some male breast cancer patients may refuse the recommended surgery, but the incidence rate in the United States is not clear. The purpose of this study was to identify the incidence, trends, risk factors, and eventual survival outcomes associated with the rejection of such cancer-directed surgery.We collected data on 5860 patients with male breast cancer (MBC) from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database, including 50 patients refusing surgery as recommended. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox proportional hazard regression were used to identify the effects of refusing surgery on cancer-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS). The association between acceptance or rejection of surgery and mortality were estimated by nested Cox proportional hazards regression models with adjustment for age, race, clinical characteristics, and radiation.Of the 5860 patients identified, 50 (0.9%) refused surgery. Old age (≥65: hazard ratio [HR]: 3.056, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.738-5.374, P < .0001), higher AJCC stage (III: HR: 3.283, 95% CI: 2.134-5.050, P < .0001, IV: HR: 14.237, 95% CI: 8.367-24.226, P < .0001), progesterone receptor status (negative: HR: 1.633, 95% CI: 1.007-2.648, P = .047) were considered risk factors. Compared with the surgery group, the refusal group was associated with a poorer prognosis in both OS and CSS (χ2 = 94.81, P < .001, χ2 = 140.4, P < .001). Moreover, significant differences were also observed in OS and CSS among 1:3 matched groups (P = .0002, P < .001).Compared with the patients undergoing surgery, the patients who refused the cancer-directed surgery had poor prognosis in the total survival period, particularly in stage II and III. The survival benefit for undergoing surgery remained even after adjustment, which indicates the importance of surgical treatment before an advanced stage for male breast cancer patients.

Abnormal Fibrinogen Level as a Prognostic Indicator in Coronavirus Disease Patients: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Purpose: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic poses a global threat, and identification of its prognostic biomarkers could prove invaluable. Fibrinogen (FIB) could be one such indicator as coagulation and fibrinolysis abnormalities are common among COVID-19 patients. We examined the role of FIB levels in the prognosis of COVID-19. Methods: This retrospective cohort study enrolled 1,643 COVID-19 patients from the Leishenshan Hospital in Wuhan, China. The follow-up was conducted from February 8, 2020 to April 15, 2020. The cohort was divided into three groups according to the FIB level on admission, and associations with mortality and disease severity were determined using Cox and logistic regression analyses, respectively. Further, Kaplan-Meier (K-M) analyses by log-rank tests were used to assess the survival of patients with varying FIB levels. Results: Patients with FIB < 2.2 g/L [hazard ratio (HR): 9.02, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.91-42.59, P = 0.006] and >4.2 g/L (HR: 4.79, 95% CI: 1.14-20.20, P = 0.033) showed higher mortality risks compared to those with FIB between 2.2 and 4.2 g/L. The survival curves showed similar results in K-M analyses (P < 0.001). Additionally, an elevated FIB level was associated with a greater risk of developing critical disease (odds ratio: 2.16, 95% CI: 1.04-4.46, P = 0.038) than a FIB level within the normal range. Conclusion: Abnormal FIB levels may be associated with mortality risk among COVID-19 patients and could predict critical disease development. Thus, assessment of FIB levels may assist in determining the prognosis of COVID-19 patients.