Rapid prediction of in-hospital mortality among adults with COVID-19 disease.

Background: We developed a simple tool to estimate the probability of dying from acute COVID-19 illness only with readily available assessments at initial admission.

Methods: This retrospective study included 13,190 racially and ethnically diverse adults admitted to one of the New York City Health + Hospitals (NYC H+H) system for COVID-19 illness between March 1 and June 30, 2020. Demographic characteristics, simple vital signs and routine clinical laboratory tests were collected from the electronic medical records.

Higher red cell distribution width and poorer hospitalization-related outcomes in elderly patients.

Background: Red cell distribution width (RDW), an index for variation of red blood cell (RBC) size, has been proposed as a potential marker for poorer outcomes in several aging-related diseases and conditions. We tested whether greater variability of RBC size, presented as a higher RDW value, predicts poor prognoses among hospitalized patients over 60 years old.

Methods: We retrospectively collected data from older hospitalized patients aged ≥60 years between January 2013 to December 2017 at Sutter Health, a large integrated health system in Northern California.

Effects of Compliance With the Early Management Bundle (SEP-1) on Mortality Changes Among Medicare Beneficiaries With Sepsis: A Propensity Score Matched Cohort Study.

Background: US hospitals have reported compliance with the SEP-1 quality measure to Medicare since 2015. Finding an association between compliance and outcomes is essential to gauge measure effectiveness.

Research Question: What is the association between compliance with SEP-1 and 30-day mortality among Medicare beneficiaries?

Study Design And Methods: Studying patient-level data reported to Medicare by 3,241 hospitals from October 1, 2015, to March 31, 2017, we used propensity score matching and a hierarchical general linear model (HGLM) to estimate the treatment effects associated with compliance with SEP-1.

Association Between Variation in Red Cell Size and Multiple Aging-Related Outcomes.

Background: We tested whether greater variation in red blood cell size, measured by red cell distribution width (RDW), may predict aging-related degenerative conditions and therefore, serve as a marker of biological aging.

Methods: Three thousand six hundred and thirty-five community-dwelling older men were enrolled in the prospective Osteoporotic Fractures in Men Study. RDW was categorized into 4 groups (≤13.

Mitochondrial DNA Heteroplasmy Associations With Neurosensory and Mobility Function in Elderly Adults.

Background: Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) heteroplasmy is a mixture of normal and mutated mtDNA molecules in a cell. High levels of heteroplasmy at specific mtDNA sites lead to inherited mitochondrial diseases with neurological, sensory, and movement impairments. Here we test the hypothesis that heteroplasmy levels in elderly adults are associated with impaired function resembling mild forms of mitochondrial disease.