Dexamethasone Use and Mortality in Hospitalized Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019: a Multicenter Retrospective Observational Study

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External validation of prognostic scores for Covid-19: a multicentre cohort study of patients hospitalized in Greater Paris University Hospitals

International audienceThe Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) has led to an unparalleled influx of patients. Prognostic scores could help optimizing healthcare delivery, but most of them have not been comprehensively validated. We aim to externally validate existing prognostic scores for Covid-19. Methods We used "Covid-19 EvidenceAlerts" (McMaster University) to retrieve high-quality prognostic scores predicting death or intensive care unit (ICU) transfer from routinely collected data. We studied their accuracy in a retrospective multicentre cohort of adult patients hospitalized for Covid-19 from January 2020 to April 2021 in the Greater Paris University Hospitals. Areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC) were computed for the prediction of the original outcome, 30-day in-hospital mortality and the composite of 30-day in-hospital mortality or ICU transfer. Results We included 14,343 consecutive patients, 2,583 (18%) died and 5,067 (35%) died or were transferred to the ICU. We examined 274 studies and found 32 scores meeting the inclusion criteria: 19 had a significantly lower AUC in our cohort than in previously published validation studies for the original outcome; 25 performed better to predict in-hospital mortality than the composite of in-hospital mortality or ICU transfer; 7 had an AUC >0.75 to predict in-hospital mortality; 2 had an AUC >0.70 to predict the composite outcome. Conclusion Seven prognostic scores were fairly accurate to predict death in hospitalized Covid-19 patients. The 4C Mortality Score and the ABCS stand out because they performed as well in our cohort and their initial validation cohort, during the first epidemic wave and subsequent waves, and in younger and older patients

Dexamethasone Use and Mortality in Hospitalized Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019: a Multicenter Retrospective Observational Study

International audienc

Dexamethasone use and mortality in hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019: A multicentre retrospective observational study

International audienceBackground Health care professionals are caught between the wish of patients to speed up health-related communication via emails and the need for protecting health information. Objective We aimed to analyze the demographic characteristics of patients providing an email, and study the distribution of emails’ domain names. Methods We used the information system of the European Hospital Georges Pompidou (HEGP) to identify patients who provided an email address. We used a 1:1 matching strategy to study the demographic characteristics of the patients associated with the presence of an email, and described the characteristics of the emails used (in terms of types of emails—free, business, and personal). Results Overall, 4.22% (41,004/971,822) of the total population of patients provided an email address. The year of last contact with the patient is the strongest driver of the presence of an email address (odds ratio [OR] 20.8, 95% CI 18.9-22.9). Patients more likely to provide an email address were treated for chronic conditions and were more likely born between 1950 and 1969 (taking patients born before 1950 as reference [OR 1.60, 95% CI 1.54-1.67], and compared to those born after 1990 [OR 0.56, 95% CI 0.53-0.59]). Of the 41,004 email addresses collected, 37,779 were associated with known email providers, 31,005 email addresses were associated with Google, Microsoft, Orange, and Yahoo!, 2878 with business emails addresses, and 347 email addresses with personalized domain names. Conclusions Emails have been collected only recently in our institution. The importance of the year of last contact probably reflects this recent change in contact information collection policy. The demographic characteristics and especially the age distribution are likely the result of a population bias in the hospital: patients providing email are more likely to be treated for chronic diseases. A risk analysis of the use of email revealed several situations that could constitute a breach of privacy that is both likely and with major consequences. Patients treated for chronic diseases are more likely to provide an email address, and are also more at risk in case of privacy breach. Several common situations could expose their private information. We recommend a very restrictive use of the emails for health communication

Observational Study of Chlorpromazine in Hospitalized Patients with Covid-19 Running title: Chlorpromazine in hospitalized patients with Covid-19

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Association between antidepressant use and reduced risk of intubation or death in hospitalized patients with COVID-19: results from an observational study

International audienceA prior meta-analysis showed that antidepressant use in major depressive disorder was associated with reduced plasma levels of several pro-inflammatory mediators, which have been associated with severe COVID-19. Recent studies also suggest that several antidepressants may inhibit acid sphingomyelinase activity, which may prevent the infection of epithelial cells with SARS-CoV-2, and that the SSRI fluoxetine may exert in-vitro antiviral effects on SARS-CoV-2. We examined the potential usefulness of antidepressant use in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 in an observational multicenter retrospective cohort study conducted at AP-HP Greater Paris University hospitals. Of 7230 adults hospitalized for COVID-19, 345 patients (4.8%) received an antidepressant within 48 h of hospital admission. The primary endpoint was a composite of intubation or death. We compared this endpoint between patients who received antidepressants and those who did not in time-to-event analyses adjusted for patient characteristics, clinical and biological markers of disease severity, and other psychotropic medications. The primary analysis was a multivariable Cox model with inverse probability weighting. This analysis showed a significant association between antidepressant use and reduced risk of intubation or death (HR, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.43–0.73, p < 0.001). This association remained significant in multiple sensitivity analyses. Exploratory analyses suggest that this association was also significant for SSRI and non-SSRI antidepressants, and for fluoxetine, paroxetine, escitalopram, venlafaxine, and mirtazapine (all p < 0.05). These results suggest that antidepressant use could be associated with lower risk of death or intubation in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. Double-blind controlled randomized clinical trials of antidepressant medications for COVID-19 are needed

Observational study of haloperidol in hospitalized patients with COVID-19

International audienceBackground: Haloperidol, a widely used antipsychotic, has been suggested as potentially useful for patients with COVID-19 on the grounds of its in-vitro antiviral effects against SARS-CoV-2, possibly through sigma-1 receptor antagonist effect.Methods: We examined the associations of haloperidol use with intubation or death and time to discharge home among adult patients hospitalized for COVID-19 at Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) Greater Paris University hospitals. Study baseline was defined as the date of hospital admission. The primary endpoint was a composite of intubation or death and the secondary endpoint was discharge home among survivors in time-to-event analyses. In the primary analyses, we compared these two outcomes between patients receiving and not receiving haloperidol using univariate Cox regression models in matched analytic samples based on patient characteristics and other psychotropic medications. Sensitivity analyses included propensity score analyses with inverse probability weighting and multivariable Cox regression models.Results: Of 15,121 adult inpatients with a positive COVID-19 PT-PCR test, 39 patients (0.03%) received haloperidol within the first 48 hours of admission. Over a mean follow-up of 13.8 days (SD = 17.9), 2,024 patients (13.4%) had a primary end-point event and 10,179 patients (77.6%) were discharged home at the time of study end on May 1st. The primary endpoint occurred in 9 patients (23.1%) who received haloperidol and 2,015 patients (13.4%) who did not. The secondary endpoint of discharge home occurred in 16 patients (61.5%) who received haloperidol and 9,907 patients (85.8%) who did not. There were no significant associations between haloperidol use and the primary (HR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.39 to 1.62, p = 0.531) and secondary (HR, 1.30; 95% CI, 0.74 to 2.28, p = 0.355) endpoints. Results were similar in multiple sensitivity analyses.Conclusion: Findings from this multicenter observational study suggest that haloperidol use prescribed at a mean dose of 4.5 mg per day (SD = 5.2) for a mean duration of 8.4 days (SD = 7.2) may not be associated with risk of intubation or death, or with time to discharge home, among adult patients hospitalized for COVID-19

Clinical Characteristics, Care Trajectories and Mortality Rate of SARS-CoV-2 Infected Cancer Patients: A Multicenter Cohort Study

International audienceBackground: COVID-19 may be more frequent and more severe in cancer patients than in other individuals. Our aims were to assess the rate of COVID-19 in hospitalized cancer patients, to describe their demographic characteristics, clinical features and care trajectories, and to assess the mortality rate. Methods: This multicenter cohort study was based on the Electronic Health Records of the Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP). Cancer patients with a diagnosis of COVID-19 between 3 March and 19 May 2020 were included. Main outcome was all-cause mortality within 30 days of COVID-19 diagnosis. Results: A total of 29,141 cancer patients were identified and 7791 (27%) were tested for SARS-CoV-2. Of these, 1359 (17%) were COVID-19-positive and 1148 (84%) were hospitalized; 217 (19%) were admitted to an intensive care unit. The mortality rate was 33% (383 deaths). In multivariate analysis, mortality-related factors were male sex (aHR = 1.39 [95% CI: 1.07–1.81]), advanced age (78–86 y: aHR = 2.83 [95% CI: 1.78–4.51] vs. 20 ng/mL (aHR = 2.20 [95% CI: 1.70–2.86]). Primary brains tumors (aHR = 2.19 [95% CI: 1.08–4.44]) and lung cancer (aHR = 1.66 [95% CI: 1.02–2.70]) were associated with higher mortality. Risk of dying was lower among patients with metabolic comorbidities (aHR = 0.65 [95% CI: 0.50–0.84]). Conclusions: In a hospital-based setting, cancer patients with COVID-19 had a high mortality rate. This mortality was mainly driven by age, sex, number of comorbidities and presence of inflammation. This is the first cohort of cancer patients in which metabolic comorbidities were associated with a better outcome

Hydroxyzine Use and Mortality in Patients Hospitalized for COVID-19: A Multicenter Observational Study

International audienceBackground: Based on its antiviral activity, anti-inflammatory properties, and functional inhibition effects on the acid sphingomyelinase/ceramide system (FIASMA), we sought to examine the potential usefulness of the H1 antihistamine hydroxyzine in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. (2) Methods: In a multicenter observational study, we included 15,103 adults hospitalized for COVID-19, of which 164 (1.1%) received hydroxyzine within the first 48 h of hospitalization, administered orally at a median daily dose of 25.0 mg (SD = 29.5). We compared mortality rates between patients who received hydroxyzine at hospital admission and those who did not, using a multivariable logistic regression model adjusting for patients’ characteristics, medical conditions, and use of other medications. (3) Results: This analysis showed a significant association between hydroxyzine use and reduced mortality (AOR, 0.51; 95%CI, 0.29–0.88, p = 0.016). This association was similar in multiple sensitivity analyses. (4) Conclusions: In this retrospective observational multicenter study, the use of the FIASMA hydroxyzine was associated with reduced mortality in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. Double-blind placebo-controlled randomized clinical trials of hydroxyzine for COVID-19 are needed to confirm these results, as are studies to examine the potential usefulness of this medication for outpatients and as post-exposure prophylaxis for individuals at high risk for severe COVID-19

Predictive usefulness of RT-PCR testing in different patterns of Covid-19 symptomatology: analysis of a French cohort of 12,810 outpatients

International audienceReverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is a key tool to diagnose Covid-19. Yet it may not be the most efficient test in all patients. In this paper, we develop a clinical strategy for prescribing RT-PCR to patients based on data from COVIDOM, a French cohort of 54,000 patients with clinically suspected Covid-19, including 12,810 patients tested by RT-PCR. We use a machine-learning algorithm (decision tree) in order to predict RT-PCR results based on the clinical presentation. We show that symptoms alone are sufficient to predict RT-PCR outcome with a mean average precision of 86%. We identify combinations of symptoms that are predictive of RT-PCR positivity (90% for anosmia/ageusia) or negativity (only 30% of RT-PCR+\,for a subgroup with cardiopulmonary symptoms): in both cases, RT-PCR provides little added diagnostic value. We propose a prescribing strategy based on clinical presentation that can improve the global efficiency of RT-PCR testing