Impact of Heart Failure on In-Hospital Outcomes after Surgical Femoral Neck Fracture Treatment

Background: Femoral neck fracture (FNF) is a common condition with a rising incidence, partly due to aging of the population. It is recommended that FNF should be treated at the earliest opportunity, during daytime hours, including weekends. However, early surgery shortens the available time for preoperative medical examination. Cardiac evaluation is critical for good surgical outcomes as most of these patients are older and frail with other comorbid conditions, such as heart failure. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of heart failure on in-hospital outcomes after surgical femoral neck fracture treatment. Methods: We performed a retrospective study using the Spanish National Hospital Discharge Database, 2007–2015. We included patients older than 64 years treated for reduction and internal fixation of FNF. Demographic characteristics of patients, as well as administrative variables, related to patient’s diseases and procedures performed during the episode were evaluated. Results: A total of 234,159 episodes with FNF reduction and internal fixation were identified from Spanish National Health System hospitals during the study period; 986 (0.42%) episodes were excluded, resulting in a final study population of 233,173 episodes. Mean age was 83.7 (±7) years and 179,949 (77.2%) were women (p < 0.001). In the sample, 13,417 (5.8%) episodes had a main or secondary diagnosis of heart failure (HF) (p < 0.001). HF patients had a mean age of 86.1 (±6.3) years, significantly older than the rest (p < 0.001). All the major complications studied showed a higher incidence in patients with HF (p < 0.001). Unadjusted in-hospital mortality was 4.1%, which was significantly higher in patients with HF (18.2%) compared to those without HF (3.3%) (p < 0.001). The average length of stay (LOS) was 11.9 (±9.1) and was also significantly higher in the group with HF (16.5 ± 13.1 vs. 11.6 ± 8.7; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Patients with HF undergoing FNF surgery have longer length of stay and higher rates of both major complications and mortality than those without HF. Although their average length of stay has decreased in the last few years, their mortality rate has remained unchanged

Heart Failure Is a Poor Prognosis Risk Factor in Patients Undergoing Cholecystectomy: Results from a Spanish Data-Based Analysis

Background: The incidence of cholecystectomy is increasing as the result of the aging worldwide. Our aim was to determine the influence of heart failure on in-hospital outcomes in patients undergoing cholecystectomy in the Spanish National Health System (SNHS). Methods: We conducted a retrospective study using the Spanish National Hospital Discharge Database. Patients older than 17 years undergoing cholecystectomy in the period 2007–2015 were included. Demographic and administrative variables related to patients’ diseases as well as procedures were collected. Results: 478,111 episodes of cholecystectomy were identified according to the data from SNHS hospitals in the period evaluated. From all the episodes, 3357 (0.7%) were excluded, as the result the sample was represented by 474,754 episodes. Mean age was 58.3 (+16.5) years, and 287,734 (60.5%) were women (p < 0.001). A primary or secondary diagnosis of HF was identified in 4244 (0.89%) (p < 0.001) and mean age was 76.5 (+9.6) years. A higher incidence of all main complications studied was observed in the HF group (p < 0.001), except stroke (p = 0.753). Unadjusted in-hospital mortality was 1.1%, 12.9% in the group with HF versus 1% in the non HF group (p < 0.001). Average length of hospital stay was 5.4 (+8.9) days, and was higher in patients with HF (16.2 + 17.7 vs. 5.3 + 8.8; p < 0.001). Risk-adjusted in-hospital mortality models’ discrimination was high in both cases, with AUROC values = 0.963 (0.960–0.965) in the APRG-DRG model and AUROC = 0.965 (0.962–0.968) in the CMS adapted model. Median odds ratio (MOR) was high (1.538 and 1.533, respectively), stating an important variability of risk-adjusted outcomes among hospitals. Conclusions: The presence of HF during admission increases in hospital mortality and lengthens the hospital stay in patients undergoing cholecystectomy. However, mortality and hospital stay have significantly decreased during the study period in both groups (HF and non HF patients)

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

Shorter telomere lengths in patients with severe COVID-19 disease.

The incidence of severe manifestations of COVID-19 increases with age with older patients showing the highest mortality, suggesting that molecular pathways underlying aging contribute to the severity of COVID-19. One mechanism of aging is the progressive shortening of telomeres, which are protective structures at chromosome ends. Critically short telomeres impair the regenerative capacity of tissues and trigger loss of tissue homeostasis and disease. The SARS-CoV-2 virus infects many different cell types, forcing cell turn-over and regeneration to maintain tissue homeostasis. We hypothesize that presence of short telomeres in older patients limits the tissue response to SARS-CoV-2 infection. We measure telomere length in peripheral blood lymphocytes COVID-19 patients with ages between 29 and 85 years-old. We find that shorter telomeres are associated to increased severity of the disease. Individuals within the lower percentiles of telomere length and higher percentiles of short telomeres have higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 pathologies.We thank D. Megias and G. Mata for their help in confocal microscopy. Research in the Blasco lab is funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation Projects (SAF2017-82623-R and SAF2015-72455-EXP), the Comunidad de Madrid Project (B2017/BMD-3770), the World Cancer Research (WCR) Project (16-1177) and the Fundacion Botin (Spain). R.S-V is a recipient of a doctoral scholarship from CONACYT-Mexico.S

Ecografía Multiórgano en infección por SARS-COV2

Objetivo: Existe una creciente evidencia con respecto a los hallazgos ecográficos y la COVID-19, destacando la ecografía multiórgano para el diagnóstico y el seguimiento de estos pacientes. El objetivó fue describir los hallazgos ecográficos a nivel pulmonar, cardiaco y del sistema venoso profundo de extremidades inferiores en pacientes con infección por SARS-COV-2. Material y Métodos: Estudio prospectivo, transversal y observacional realizado en pacientes con COVID-19 confirmado a los que se les realizó una ecografía multiórgano en el punto de atención durante la hospitalización. Resultados: Un total de 107 pacientes se inscribieron. El 100% de los pacientes tenían afectación pulmonar (93,4% bilateral). Las zonas pulmonares más afectadas fueron la posteroinferior (94,39%) y la lateral (89,72%). Se observó consolidaciones subpleurales en el 71% de los pacientes y consolidaciones mayores de 1 cm en el 25%. A mayor afectación pulmonar ecográfica, mayor grado de insuficiencia respiratoria. 2 pacientes presentaron TVP proximal en extremidades inferiores. Se realizaron 27 Angiotomografía computarizada confirmándose tromboembolismo pulmonar en 14 pacientes. Los hallazgos ecocardiográficos más frecuentes fueron: alteración de la relajación del ventrículo izquierdo e hipertrofia ventricular izquierda. Todos los pacientes con enfermedad tromboembólica tenían una afectación pulmonar ecográfica grave o crítica. Conclusión: la ecografia multiórgano puede ser útil para las manifestaciones de la COVID-19. El grado de afectación ecográfica pulmonar se relacionó con el grado de insuficiencia respiratoria y con la presencia de ETEV. La relación entre TVP y TEP fue más baja de lo esperado. La afectación cardiaca fue poco relevante en nuestra serie

Importance of Lung Ultrasound Follow-Up in Patients Who Had Recovered from Coronavirus Disease 2019: Results from a Prospective Study

There is growing evidence regarding the imaging findings of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in lung ultrasounds, however, their role in predicting the prognosis has yet to be explored. Our objective was to assess the usefulness of lung ultrasound in the short-term follow-up (1 and 3 months) of patients with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia, and to describe the progression of the most relevant lung ultrasound findings. We conducted a prospective, longitudinal and observational study performed in patients with confirmed COVID-19 who underwent a lung ultrasound examination during hospitalization and repeated it 1 and 3 months after hospital discharge. A total of 96 patients were enrolled. In the initial ultrasound, bilateral involvement was present in 100% of the patients with mild, moderate or severe ARDS. The most affected lung area was the posteroinferior (93.8%) followed by the lateral (88.7%). Subpleural consolidations were present in 68% of the patients and consolidations larger than 1 cm in 24%. One month after the initial study, only 20.8% had complete resolution on lung ultrasound. This percentage rose to 68.7% at 3 months. Residual lesions were observed in a significant percentage of patients who recovered from moderate or severe ARDS (32.4% and 61.5%, respectively). In conclusion, lung injury associated with COVID-19 might take time to resolve. The findings in this report support the use of lung ultrasound in the short-term follow-up of patients recovered from COVID-19, as a radiation-sparing, easy to use, novel care path worth exploring