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Item A Case Series of Severe Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients Treated with Tocilizumab and Glucocorticoids: A Report from Saudi Arabian Hospital(Atlantis Press, 2021-01-22) Al Bahrani, Salma Yassin; Al-Tawfiq, Jaffar A.; Alshaer, Abdulaziz R.; Shilash, Amal; Alswefy, Khalid; Al-Zayer, Razan Salamah; Abouelela, Amr Mohamed; Medicine, School of MedicineBackground: The clinical spectrum of COVID-19 is variable and ranges from asymptomatic, mildly symptomatic, moderately severe and severe disease. A small proportion might develop severe disease and may have cytokine storm. One of the therapeutic options to treat such cases is Tocilizumab (TCZ). In this study, we present cases of severe COVID-19 treated with TCZ and glucocorticoids and discuss the treatment responses. Methods: This is a retrospective observational study of severe COVID-19 cases treated with TCZ and glucocorticoids. The case series examined the characteristics and outcome of those patients. Results: This study included 40 Severe Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) confirmed patients who received TCZ and glucocorticoids. The mean age of the included patients was 57.55 (±Standard deviation 12.86) years. There were 34 (85%) males, 19 (47.5%) were obese (BMI >30), 13 (32.5%) over weight, and five (12.5%) normal weight. The mean days from positive SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test to admission was 1.641 (±3.2) days. Of the patients, 18 (45%) had diabetes mellitus, 14 (35%) had hypertension. The mean days from hospital admission to ICU was 1.8 (±2.6), 20 (50%) required mechanical ventilation, 39 (97.5%) had received prone position, seven (17.5%) had renal replacement therapy, 13 (32.5%) required inotropes, four (10%) had plasmapheresis, one (2.5%) had intravenous immunoglobulin, all patients received steroid therapy, and the majority 31 (77.5%) did not receive any anti-viral therapy. Of all the patients, six (15%) died, 28 (70%) were discharged and six (15%) were still in hospital. Conclusion: The overall mortality rate was lower than those cited in meta-analysis. As our understanding of the COVID-19 continues, the approach and therapeutics are also evolving.Item Community COVID-19 activity level and nursing home staff testing for active SARS-CoV-2 infection in Indiana(Elsevier, 2020) Blackburn, Justin; Weaver, Lindsay; Cohen, Liza; Menachemi, Nir; Rusyniak, Dan; Unroe, Kathleen T.; Health Policy and Management, School of Public HealthObjectives: To assess whether using coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) community activity level can accurately inform strategies for routine testing of facility staff for active severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting and Participants: In total, 59,930 nursing home staff tested for active SARS-CoV-2 infection in Indiana. Measures: Receiver operator characteristic curves and the area under the curve to compare the sensitivity and specificity of identifying positive cases of staff within facilities based on community COVID-19 activity level including county positivity rate and county cases per 10,000. Results: The detection of any infected staff within a facility using county cases per 10,000 population or county positivity rate resulted in an area under the curve of 0.648 (95% confidence interval 0.601‒0.696) and 0.649 (95% confidence interval 0.601‒0.696), respectively. Of staff tested, 28.0% were certified nursing assistants, yet accounted for 36.9% of all staff testing positive. Similarly, licensed practical nurses were 1.4% of staff, but 4.7% of positive cases. Conclusions and Implications: We failed to observe a meaningful threshold of community COVID-19 activity for the purpose of predicting nursing homes with any positive staff. Guidance issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in August 2020 sets the minimum frequency of routine testing for nursing home staff based on county positivity rates. Using the recommended 5% county positivity rate to require weekly testing may miss asymptomatic infections among nursing home staff. Further data on results of all-staff testing efforts, particularly with the implementation of new widespread strategies such as point-of-care testing, is needed to guide policy to protect high-risk nursing home residents and staff. If the goal is to identify all asymptomatic SARS-Cov-2 infected nursing home staff, comprehensive repeat testing may be needed regardless of community level activity.Item Decision Making in Fertility Preservation Prior to Pursuing Curative Treatments for Sickle Cell Disease(2023-03-24) Collins, Angela J.; Noel, Josey; Abraham, Olivia; Hornberger, Sydney; Rahim, Mahvish Q.; Jacob, Seethal A.; Saraf, Amanda J.AUTHORS: Angela Collins, MPH(1), Josey Noel(1), Olivia Abraham(1), Sydney Hornberger(1), Mahvish Rahim MD, MBA, MSCR(1,2), Seethal Jacob MD, MS, FAAP(1,2), Amanda Saraf DO(1,2). AFFILIATIONS: (1) Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN. (2) Department of Pediatrics, Riley Hospital for Children, Indianapolis, IN. ABSTRACT: RELEVANT BACKGROUND: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is one of the most commonly inherited hemoglobinopathies, often well controlled on Hydroxyurea (HU). Curative therapy options exist with stem cell transplant (SCT) and gene therapy. While both the underlying condition and routine therapy such as HU is thought to impact fertility, the chemotherapy used for both SCT and gene therapy can result in permanent sterility. Infertility can have a negative impact on long-term measures of quality of life. As a result, fertility preservation ought to be offered to all patients with SCD planning for curative treatment. Ovarian tissue cryopreservation and mature oocyte or embryo cryopreservation are fertility preservation options available for pre and postpubescent females respectively. Testicular tissue cryopreservation (TTC) is an experimental option for prepubescent males and sperm cryopreservation is utilized for postpubescent males. CASE DESCRIPTION: We present three cases of patients with SCD who pursued fertility preservation prior to receiving curative therapy with a myeloablative preparative regimen. Patient 1 is a prepubescent 8-year-old male with SCD controlled with HU who opted for TTC as fertility preservation prior to receiving a matched sibling SCT. Patient 2 is a 13-year-old male with SCD controlled with HU who opted for TTC following a failed sperm banking attempt prior to haploidentical SCT. Patient 3 is an 18-year-old female with SCD controlled with HU and Voxelator who opted to have eggs harvested prior to gene therapy. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: As highlighted by these cases, continued research on safe and effective fertility preservation as well as counseling about both the impact of the underlying disease on fertility and treatment-related fertility risks is imperative to improve long-term quality of life measures. CONCLUSION: These patients demonstrate a need for further emphasis on fertility risk counseling in this patient population and ensuring that discussions regarding preservation options is standard of practice at every institution.Item More Is Not Always Better: A Case Report of Excess Calcium Carbonate Ingestion Causing Milk-Alkali Syndrome(2021-03-25) Waller, Sydney; Luster, Taylor; Collins, Angela J.; Raymond-Guillen, LukeCASE DESCRIPTION: A 54-year-old female with a medical history significant for CKD stage 4 and alcohol use disorder presented to the Emergency Department with altered mental status. Labs were significant for hyponatremia, hypokalemia, hypochloremia, hypercalcemia, metabolic alkalosis, and Cr 9.3. Lorazepam was given due to concern for alcohol withdrawal. Ultimately, her symptoms were discovered to be due to excessive ingestion of calcium carbonate (aka: Tums), and she was diagnosed with milk-alkali syndrome (MAS). Pt was treated with IV KCl and normal saline, and her labs and mental status normalized over the subsequent 48 hours. | CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: MAS is constituted by metabolic alkalosis, acute kidney injury, and hypercalcemia. It is a result of a large intake of calcium and absorbable alkali. The syndrome was first recognized in the early twentieth century, and it essentially disappeared when histamine blockers began being used to treat peptic ulcers in the 1980s. Recently, the syndrome is becoming more common with the increased use of calcium-carbonate in antacids and osteoporosis prevention medications. MAS is the third most common cause of hypercalcemia, after malignancy and hyperparathyroidism. Management involves holding calcium and vitamin D supplements and administering aggressive intravenous hydration. Bisphosphonates and dialysis may be useful in severe cases. Prognosis of MAS is typically good as the condition is reversible. | CONCLUSION: The prevalence of MAS is increasing due to the wide availability of calcium-containing supplements and antacids. In order to counteract this, increased awareness amongst at risk patient populations, such as the elderly and those with renal disease, is vital. Furthermore, increased awareness amongst healthcare professionals may help prevent complications that can arise from untreated MAS.Item Symptoms and symptom clusters associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection in community-based populations: Results from a statewide epidemiological study(Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, 2020-10-22) Dixon, Brian E.; Wools-Kaloustian, Kara; Fadel, William F.; Duszynski, Thomas J.; Yiannoutsos, Constantin; Halverson, Paul K.; Menachemi, Nir; Epidemiology, School of Public HealthBackground: Prior studies examining symptoms of COVID-19 are primarily descriptive and measured among hospitalized individuals. Understanding symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection in pre-clinical, community-based populations may improve clinical screening, particularly during flu season. We sought to identify key symptoms and symptom combinations in a community-based population using robust methods. Methods: We pooled community-based cohorts of individuals aged 12 and older screened for SARS-CoV-2 infection in April and June 2020 for a statewide seroprevalence study. Main outcome was SARS-CoV-2 positivity. We calculated sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) for individual symptoms as well as symptom combinations. We further employed multivariable logistic regression and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to examine symptoms and combinations associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Results: Among 8214 individuals screened, 368 individuals (4.5%) were RT-PCR positive for SARS-CoV-2. Although two-thirds of symptoms were highly specific (>90.0%), most symptoms individually possessed a PPV <50.0%. The individual symptoms most greatly associated with SARS-CoV-2 positivity were fever (OR=5.34, p<0.001), anosmia (OR=4.08, p<0.001), ageusia (OR=2.38, p=0.006), and cough (OR=2.86, p<0.001). Results from EFA identified two primary symptom clusters most associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection: (1) ageusia, anosmia, and fever; and (2) shortness of breath, cough, and chest pain. Moreover, being non-white (13.6% vs. 2.3%, p<0.001), Hispanic (27.9% vs. 2.5%, p<0.001), or living in an Urban area (5.4% vs. 3.8%, p<0.001) was associated with infection. Conclusions: Symptoms can help distinguish SARS-CoV-2 infection from other respiratory viruses, especially in community or urgent care settings where rapid testing may be limited. Symptoms should further be structured in clinical documentation to support identification of new cases and mitigation of disease spread by public health. These symptoms, derived from asymptomatic as well as mildly infected individuals, can also inform vaccine and therapeutic clinical trials.Item The Use of a Kinetic Therapy Rotational Bed in Pediatric Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome: A Case Series(MDPI (Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute), 2020-12-17) Cater, Daniel T.; Ealy, Aimee R.; Kramer, Erin; Abu-Sultaneh, Samer; Rowan, Courtney M.; Pediatrics, School of MedicinePatients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) commonly have dependent atelectasis and heterogeneous lung disease. Due to the heterogenous lung volumes seen, the application of positive end expiratory pressure (PEEP) can have both beneficial and deleterious effects. Alternating supine and prone positioning may be beneficial in ARDS by providing more homogenous distribution of PEEP and decreasing intrapulmonary shunt. In pediatrics, the pediatric acute lung injury and consensus conference (PALICC) recommended to consider it in severe pediatric ARDS (PARDS). Manually prone positioning patients can be burdensome in larger patients. In adults, the use of rotational beds has eased care of these patients. There is little published data about rotational bed therapy in children. Therefore, we sought to describe the use of a rotational bed in children with PARDS. We performed a retrospective case series of children who utilized a rotational bed as an adjunctive therapy for their PARDS. Patient data were collected and analyzed. Descriptive statistical analyses were performed and reported. Oxygenation indices (OI) pre- and post-prone positioning were analyzed. Twelve patients with PARDS were treated with a rotational bed with minimal adverse events. There were no complications noted. Three patients had malfunctioning of their arterial line while on the rotational bed. Oxygenation indices improved over time in 11 of the 12 patients included in the study while on the rotational bed. Rotational beds can be safely utilized in pediatric patients. In larger children with PARDS, where it may be more difficult to perform a manual prone position, use of a rotational bed can be considered a safe alternative.