Race and Remdesivir: Examination of Clinical Outcomes in a Racially and Ethnically Diverse Cohort in New York City.

Objective: To compare clinical characteristics and examine in-hospital length of stay (LOS) differences for COVID-19 patients who received remdesivir, by race or ethnicity.

Design: Retrospective descriptive analysis comparing cumulative LOS as a proxy of recovery time.

Setting: A large academic medical center serving a minoritized community in Northern Manhattan, New York City.

Characterization of Bacterial and Fungal Infections in Hospitalized Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019 and Factors Associated With Health Care-Associated Infections.

Background: Patients hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are at increased risk of health care-associated infections (HAIs), especially with prolonged hospital stays. We sought to identify incidence, antimicrobial susceptibilities, and outcomes associated with bacterial/fungal secondary infections in a large cohort of patients with COVID-19.

Methods: We evaluated adult patients diagnosed with COVID-19 between 2 March and 31 May 2020 and hospitalized >24 hours.

What about tocilizumab? A retrospective study from a NYC Hospital during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Background: Tocilizumab, an interleukin-6 receptor blocker, has been used in the inflammatory phase of COVID-19, but its impact independent of corticosteroids remains unclear in patients with severe disease.

Methods: In this retrospective analysis of patients with COVID-19 admitted between March 2 and April 14, 2020 to a large academic medical center in New York City, we describe outcomes associated with tocilizumab 400 mg (without methylprednisolone) compared to a propensity-matched control. The primary endpoints were change in a 7-point ordinal scale of oxygenation and ventilator free survival, both at days 14 and 28.

Post-acute COVID-19 syndrome.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the pathogen responsible for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which has resulted in global healthcare crises and strained health resources. As the population of patients recovering from COVID-19 grows, it is paramount to establish an understanding of the healthcare issues surrounding them. COVID-19 is now recognized as a multi-organ disease with a broad spectrum of manifestations.

Limited Utility of Procalcitonin in Identifying Community-Associated Bacterial Infections in Patients Presenting with Coronavirus Disease 2019.

The role of procalcitonin in identifying community-associated bacterial infections among patients with coronavirus disease 2019 is not yet established. In 2,443 patients of whom 148 had bacterial coinfections, mean procalcitonin levels were significantly higher with any bacterial infection (13.16 ± 51.

Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales causing secondary infections during the COVID-19 crisis at a New York City hospital.

Background: Patients with COVID-19 may be at increased risk for secondary bacterial infections with MDR pathogens, including carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE).

Objectives: We sought to rapidly investigate the clinical characteristics, population structure and mechanisms of resistance of CPE causing secondary infections in patients with COVID-19.

Methods: We retrospectively identified CPE clinical isolates collected from patients testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 between March and April 2020 at our medical centre in New York City.

Clinical Outcomes Associated With Methylprednisolone in Mechanically Ventilated Patients With COVID-19.

Background: The efficacy and safety of methylprednisolone in mechanically ventilated patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome resulting from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are unclear. In this study, we evaluated the association between use of methylprednisolone and key clinical outcomes.

Methods: Clinical outcomes associated with the use of methylprednisolone were assessed in an unmatched, case-control study; a subset of patients also underwent propensity-score matching.

Bacteremia and Blood Culture Utilization during COVID-19 Surge in New York City.

A surge of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) presenting to New York City hospitals in March 2020 led to a sharp increase in blood culture utilization, which overwhelmed the capacity of automated blood culture instruments. We sought to evaluate the utilization and diagnostic yield of blood cultures during the COVID-19 pandemic to determine prevalence and common etiologies of bacteremia and to inform a diagnostic approach to relieve blood culture overutilization. We performed a retrospective cohort analysis of 88,201 blood cultures from 28,011 patients at a multicenter network of hospitals within New York City to evaluate order volume, positivity rate, time to positivity, and etiologies of positive cultures in COVID-19.

Breast conservation surgery versus total mastectomy among women with localized breast cancer in Soweto, South Africa.

Purpose: Breast conserving surgery (BCS) has become the preferred surgical option for the management of patients with nonmetastatic breast cancer in high-income countries. However, little is known about the distribution and determinants of BCS in low-and middle-income countries, especially those with high HIV prevalence.

Methods: We compared demographic and clinical characteristics of female patients who received BCS and those who received total mastectomy (TM) for nonmetastatic invasive carcinoma of the breast in Soweto, South Africa, 2009-2011.

An analysis of the relationship between metastases and cachexia in lung cancer patients.

Weight loss and hematogenous metastases are poor prognosis factors in lung cancer patients that can but do not necessarily co-occur. We retrospectively investigated the clinical association between cachexia, tumor characteristics (such as metastatic burden and mutational status), and treatment in lung cancer patients. The medical records of 394 lung cancer patients from two institutions (Columbia University, USA and Tohoku University, Japan) were reviewed.