Premorbid Clinical Frailty Score and 30‐day mortality among older adults in the emergency department

Objectives: The association between frailty and short-term prognosis has not been established in critically ill older adults presenting to the emergency department. We sought to examine the association between premorbid frailty and 30-day mortality in this patient population. Methods: This is a retrospective observational study on older adults aged over 75 who were triaged as Level 1 resuscitation with subsequent admissions to intermediate units or intensive care units (ICUs) in a single critical care center, from January to December 2019. We excluded patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest or those transferred from other hospitals. Frailty was evaluated by the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) from the patients' chart reviews. The primary outcome was 30-day mortality, and we examined the association between frailty scored on the CFS and 30-day mortality using a multivariable logistic regression model with CFS 1-4 as a reference. Results: A total of 544 patients, median age: 82 years (interquartile rang 78 to 87), were included in the study. Of these, 29% were in shock and 33% were in respiratory failure. The overall 30-day mortality was 15.1%. The adjusted risk difference (95% confidence interval [CI]) in mortality for CFS 5, CFS 6, and CFS 7-9 was 6.3% (-3.4 to 15.9), 11.2% (0.4 to 22.0), and 17.7% (5.3 to 30.1), respectively; and the adjusted risk ratio (95% CI) was 1.45 (0.87 to 2.41), 1.85 (1.13 to 3.03), and 2.44 (1.50 to 3.96), respectively. Conclusion: The risk of 30-day mortality increased as frailty advanced in critically ill older adults. Given this high risk of short-term outcomes, ED clinicians should consider goals of care conversations carefully to avoid unwanted medical care for these patients

Relevance of CYP3A5 Expression on the Clinical Outcome of Patients With Renal Cell Carcinoma

Background/Aim: This study aimed to elucidate the detailed characteristics of CYP3A5 expression and the association between CYP3A5 expression and clinical outcomes in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Patients and Methods: This study retrospectively enrolled 124 Japanese patients with RCC treated at the Okayama University Hospital. The commonest CYP3A5 gene polymorphism, CYP3A5*3, and expression levels of CYP3A5 mRNA and protein in each tissue were examined. Results: Expression of CYP3A5 mRNA and protein in RCC tissues was significantly down-regulated compared to that in adjacent normal tissues. High level of CYP3A5 mRNA expression significantly extended cancer-specific survival (p=0.004) and overall survival (p=0.002). The CYP3A5 mRNA expression level was identified as a significant independent prognostic factor for both cancer-specific survival and overall survival. Conclusion: CYP3A5 could serve as a potential marker for prognostication and treatment planning for patients with RCC

Prehospital stroke notification and endovascular therapy for large vessel occlusion: a retrospective cohort study

The impact of prehospital notification by emergency medical services (EMS) on outcomes of endovascular therapy (EVT) for large vessel occlusion (LVO) remains unclear. We therefore explored the association between prehospital notification and clinical outcomes after EVT. In this single-center retrospective study from 2016 through 2020, we identified all LVO patients who received EVT. Based on the EMS's usage of a prehospital stroke notification system, we categorized patients into two groups, Hotline and Non-hotline. The primary outcome was good neurological outcome at 90 days; other time metrics were also evaluated. Of all 312 LVO patients, the proportion of good neurological outcomes was 94/218 (43.1%) in the Hotline group and 8/34 (23.5%) in the Non-hotline group (adjusted odds ratio 2.86; 95% confidence interval 1.12 to 7.33). Time from hospital arrival to both tissue plasminogen activator and to groin puncture were shorter in the Hotline group (30 (24 to 38) min vs 48(37 to 65) min, p < 0.001; 40 (32 to 54) min vs 76 (50 to 97) min, p < 0.001), respectively. In conclusion, prehospital notification was associated with a reduction in time from hospital arrival to intervention and improved clinical outcomes in LVO patients treated with EVT

Impact of the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami on Pneumonia Hospitalisations and Mortality Among Adults in Northern Miyagi, Japan: A Multicentre Observational Study

Background On 11 March 2011, the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami struck off the coast of northeastern Japan. Within 3 weeks, an increased number of pneumonia admissions and deaths occurred in local hospitals. Methods A multicentre survey was conducted at three hospitals in Kesennuma City (population 74000), northern Miyagi Prefecture. All adults aged ≥18 years hospitalised between March 2010 and June 2011 with community-acquired pneumonia were identified using hospital databases and medical records. Segmented regression analyses were used to quantify changes in the incidence of pneumonia. Results A total of 550 pneumonia hospitalisations were identified, including 325 during the pre-disaster period and 225 cases during the post-disaster period. The majority (90%) of the post-disaster pneumonia patients were aged ≥65 years, and only eight cases (3.6%) were associated with near-drowning in the tsunami waters. The clinical pattern and causative pathogens were almost identical among the pre-disaster and post-disaster pneumonia patients. A marked increase in the incidence of pneumonia was observed during the 3-month period following the disaster; the weekly incidence rates of pneumonia hospitalisations and pneumonia-associated deaths increased by 5.7 times (95% CI 3.9 to 8.4) and 8.9 times (95% CI 4.4 to 17.8), respectively. The increases were largest among residents in nursing homes followed by those in evacuation shelters. Conclusions A substantial increase in the pneumonia burden was observed among adults after the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. Although the exact cause remains unresolved, multiple factors including population aging and stressful living conditions likely contributed to this pneumonia outbreak

Clinical and microbiological characteristics and challenges in diagnosing infected aneurysm: a retrospective observational study from a single center in Japan

Background: It is challenging to diagnose infected aneurysm in the early phase. This study aimed to describe the clinical and microbiological characteristics of infected aneurysm, and to elucidate the difculties in diagnosing the disease.Methods: Forty-one cases of infected aneurysm were diagnosed in Nagasaki University Hospital from 2005 to 2019. Information on clinical and microbiological characteristics, radiological fndings, duration of onset, and type of initial computed tomography (CT) imaging conditions were collected. Factors related to diagnostic delay were analyzed by Fisher’s exact test for categorical variables or by the Wilcoxon rank-sum test for continuous variables.Results: Pathogens were identifed in 34 of 41 cases; the pathogens were Gram-positive cocci in 16 cases, Gram-negative rods in 13 cases, and others in fve cases. Clinical characteristics did not difer in accordance with the identifed bacteria. At the time of admission, 16 patients were given diferent initial diagnoses, of which acute pyelonephritis (n=5) was the most frequent. Compared with the 22 patients with an accurate initial diagnosis, the 19 initially misdiagnosed patients were more likely to have been examined by plain CT. The sensitivities of plain CT and contrastenhanced CT were 38.1% and 80.0%, respectively.Conclusions: In cases of infected aneurysm, diagnostic delay is attributed to non-specifc symptoms and the low sensitivity of plain CT. Clinical characteristics of infected aneurysm mimic various diseases. Contrast-enhanced CT should be considered if infected aneurysm is suspected

Performance of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing in asymptomatic or mild COVID-19 patients: A retrospective study in outbreak on a cruise ship

Objectives: A few studies on antibody testing have focused on asymptomatic or mild coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients with low initial anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibody responses. Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody-testing performance was evaluated using blood samples from asymptomatic or mild COVID-19 patients.Methods: Blood samples were collected from 143 COVID-19 patients during an outbreak on a cruise ship 3 weeks after diagnosis. Simultaneously, a follow-up SARS-CoV-2 genetic test was performed. Samples stored before the COVID-19 pandemic were also used to evaluate the lateral flow immunochromatographic assay (LFA) and electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA). Titers of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgM and IgG antibodies against the nucleocapsid and spike proteins were measured using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to confirm which antibodies were influenced on LFA- and ECLIA- false-negative result in crew-member samples.Results: Sensitivity, specificity, positive-predictive, and negative-predictive values of LFA-detected IgM antibodies were 0.231, 1.000, 1.000, and 0.613, respectively; those of LFA-detected IgG antibodies were 0.483, 0.989, 0.972, and 0.601, respectively; and those of ECLIA-detected total antibodies were 0.783, 1.000, 1.000, and 0.848, respectively. All antibody titers measured using ELISA were significantly lower in blood samples with negative results than in those with positive results in both LFA and ECLIA. In the patients with negative results from the follow-up genetic testing, IgM-, IgG-, and total-antibody positivity rates were 22.9%, 47.6%, and 72.4%, respectively.Conclusions: These findings suggest that anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing has lower performance in asymptomatic or mild COVID-19 patients than required in the guidelines

Detection of SARS-CoV-2 using qRT-PCR in saliva obtained from asymptomatic or mild COVID-19 patients, comparative analysis with matched nasopharyngeal samples

Objectives: The accurate detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome–coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is essential for the diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We compared the quantitative RT-PCR results between nasopharyngeal swabs and saliva specimens.Methods: A COVID-19 outbreak occurred on a cruise ship at Nagasaki port, Japan. We obtained 123 nasopharyngeal swabs and saliva each from asymptomatic or mild patients in the late phase of infection.Results: The intervals from the diagnosis to the sampling were 25.5 days for nasopharyngeal swabs and 28.9 days for saliva. The positive rate was 19.5% (24/123) for nasopharyngeal swabs and 38.2% (47/123) for saliva (P = 0.48). The quantified viral copies (mean ± SEM copies/5 μl) were 9.3±2.6 in nasopharyngeal swabs and 920±850 in saliva (P = 0.0006).Conclusions: The advantages of saliva specimens include positive rate improvement and accurate viral load detection. Saliva may be used as a reliable sample for SARS-CoV-2 detection

Associations between Chest CT Abnormalities and Clinical Features in Patients with the Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging infectious disease caused by the SFTS virus. It involves multiple organ systems, including the lungs. However, the significance of the lung involvement in SFTS remains unclear. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between the clinical findings and abnormalities noted in the chest computed tomography (CT) of patients with SFTS. The medical records of 22 confirmed SFTS patients hospitalized in five hospitals in Nagasaki, Japan, between April 2013 and September 2019, were reviewed retrospectively. Interstitial septal thickening and ground-glass opacity (GGO) were the most common findings in 15 (68.1%) and 12 (54.5%) patients, respectively, and lung GGOs were associated with fatalities. The SFTS patients with a GGO pattern were elderly, had a disturbance of the conscious and tachycardia, and had higher c-reactive protein levels at admission (p = 0.009, 0.006, 0.002, and 0.038, respectively). These results suggested that the GGO pattern in patients with SFTS displayed disseminated inflammation in multiple organs and that cardiac stress was linked to higher mortality. Chest CT evaluations may be useful for hospitalized patients with SFTS to predict their severity and as early triage for the need of intensive care

Clinical Differentiation of Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome from Japanese Spotted Fever

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) and Japanese spotted fever (JSF; a spotted fever group rickettsiosis) are tick-borne zoonoses that are becoming a significant public health threat in Japan and East Asia. Strategies for treatment and infection control differ between the two; therefore, initial differential diagnosis is important. We aimed to compare the clinical characteristics of SFTS and JSF based on symptomology, physical examination, laboratory data, and radiography findings at admission. This retrospective study included patients with SFTS and JSF treated at five hospitals in Nagasaki Prefecture, western Japan, between 2013 and 2020. Data from 23 patients with SFTS and 38 patients with JSF were examined for differentiating factors and were divided by 7:3 into a training cohort and a validation cohort. Decision tree analysis revealed leukopenia (white blood cell [WBC] < 4000/µL) and altered mental status as the best differentiating factors (AUC 1.000) with 100% sensitivity and 100% specificity. Using only physical examination factors, absence of skin rash and altered mental status resulted in the best differentiating factors with AUC 0.871, 71.4% sensitivity, and 90.0% specificity. When treating patients with suspected tick-borne infection, WBC < 4000/µL, absence of skin rash, and altered mental status are very useful to differentiate SFTS from JSF

Evaluation of a Triage Checklist for Mild COVID-19 Outpatients in Predicting Subsequent Emergency Department Visits and Hospitalization during the Isolation Period: A Single-Center Retrospective Study

Managing mild illness in COVID-19 and predicting progression to severe disease are concerning issues. Here, we investigated the outcomes of Japanese patients with mild COVID-19, and identified triage risk factors for further hospitalization and emergency department (ED) visits at a single tertiary hospital. A triage checklist with 30 factors was used. Patients recommended for isolation were followed up for 10 days for subsequent ED visits or hospital admission. Overall, 338 patients (median age, 44.0; 45% women) visited the clinic 5.0 days (median) after symptom onset. Thirty-six patients were immediately hospitalized following triage; others were isolated. In total, 72 non-hospitalized patients visited the ED during their isolation, and 30 were hospitalized after evaluation for oxygen desaturation. The median ED visit and hospitalization durations after symptom onset were 5.0 and 8.0 days, respectively. The checklist factors associated with hospitalization during isolation were age > 50 years, body mass index > 25 kg/m2, hypertension, tachycardia with pulse rate > 100/min or blood pressure > 135 mmHg at triage, and >3-day delay in hospital visit after symptom onset. No patients died. Altogether, 80% of patients with mild COVID-19 could be safely isolated at home. Age, BMI, underlying hypertension, date after symptom onset, tachycardia, and systolic blood pressure at triage might be related to later hospitalization