Efficacy and safety of triazavirin therapy for coronavirus disease 2019 : A pilot randomized controlled trial

Acknowledgements: We are deeply grateful to the front-line clinicians who participated in the study while directly fighting the epidemic. This study was supported by the Chinese Academy of Engineering Projects for COVID-19 (2020-KYGG-01-04) and Heilongjiang Province Urgent Project-6 for COVID-19. Data and safety monitoring board members of this trial included Kang Li, Yong Zhang, Songjiang Liu, and Yaohui Shi.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Crystal structure of a DNA decamer containing a cis-syn thymine dimer

It is well known that exposure to UV induces DNA damage, which is the first step in mutagenesis and a major cause of skin cancer. Among a variety of photoproducts, cyclobutane-type pyrimidine photodimers (CPD) are the most abundant primary lesion. Despite its biological importance, the precise relationship between the structure and properties of DNA containing CPD has remained to be elucidated. Here, we report the free (unbound) crystal structure of duplex DNA containing a CPD lesion at a resolution of 2.0 Å. Our crystal structure shows that the overall helical axis bends ≈30° toward the major groove and unwinds ≈9°, in remarkable agreement with some previous theoretical and experimental studies. There are also significant differences in local structure compared with standard B-DNA, including pinching of the minor groove at the 3′ side of the CPD lesion, a severe change of the base pair parameter in the 5′ side, and serious widening of both minor and major groves both 3′ and 5′ of the CPD. Overall, the structure of the damaged DNA differs from undamaged DNA to an extent that DNA repair proteins may recognize this conformation, and the various components of the replicational and transcriptional machinery may be interfered with due to the perturbed local and global structure

Admission Dehydration Is Associated With Significantly Lower In-Hospital Mortality After Intracerebral Hemorrhage.

Background and Purpose: Our aim was to investigate the frequency of dehydration at admission and associations with in-hospital mortality in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Methods: Data of consecutive patients with ICH between August 2015 and July 2019 from the China Stroke Center Alliance (CSCA) registry were analyzed. The patients were stratified based on the blood urea nitrogen (BUN) to creatinine (CR) ratio (BUN/CR) on admission into dehydrated (BUN/CR ≥ 15) or non-dehydrated (BUN/CR < 15) groups. Data were analyzed with multivariate logistic regression models to investigate admission dehydration status and the risks of death at hospital. Results: A total number of 84,043 patients with ICH were included in the study. The median age of patients on admission was 63.0 years, and 37.5% of them were women. Based on the baseline BUN/CR, 59,153 (70.4%) patients were classified into dehydration group. Patients with admission dehydration (BUN/CR ≥ 15) had 13% lower risks of in-hospital mortality than those without dehydration (BUN/CR < 15, adjusted OR = 0.87, 95%CI 0.78-0.96). In patients aged <65 years, admission dehydration was associated with 19% lower risks of in-hospital mortality (adjusted OR = 0.81, 95%CI 0.70-0.94. adjusted p = 0.0049) than non-dehydrated patients. Conclusion: Admission dehydration is associated with significantly lower in-hospital mortality after ICH, in particular, in patients <65 years old

Admission Dehydration Is Associated With Significantly Lower In-Hospital Mortality After Intracerebral Hemorrhage.

Background and Purpose: Our aim was to investigate the frequency of dehydration at admission and associations with in-hospital mortality in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Methods: Data of consecutive patients with ICH between August 2015 and July 2019 from the China Stroke Center Alliance (CSCA) registry were analyzed. The patients were stratified based on the blood urea nitrogen (BUN) to creatinine (CR) ratio (BUN/CR) on admission into dehydrated (BUN/CR ≥ 15) or non-dehydrated (BUN/CR < 15) groups. Data were analyzed with multivariate logistic regression models to investigate admission dehydration status and the risks of death at hospital. Results: A total number of 84,043 patients with ICH were included in the study. The median age of patients on admission was 63.0 years, and 37.5% of them were women. Based on the baseline BUN/CR, 59,153 (70.4%) patients were classified into dehydration group. Patients with admission dehydration (BUN/CR ≥ 15) had 13% lower risks of in-hospital mortality than those without dehydration (BUN/CR < 15, adjusted OR = 0.87, 95%CI 0.78-0.96). In patients aged <65 years, admission dehydration was associated with 19% lower risks of in-hospital mortality (adjusted OR = 0.81, 95%CI 0.70-0.94. adjusted p = 0.0049) than non-dehydrated patients. Conclusion: Admission dehydration is associated with significantly lower in-hospital mortality after ICH, in particular, in patients <65 years old

Changes in clinical parameters and inflammatory markers after blood culture collection facilitate early identification of positive culture in adult patients with COVID-19 and clinically suspected bloodstream infection

Objective We explored whether changes in clinical parameters and inflammatory markers can facilitate early identification of positive blood culture in adult patients with COVID-19 and clinically suspected bloodstream infection (BSI). Methods This single-center retrospective study enrolled 20 adult patients with COVID-19 admitted to the intensive care unit who underwent blood culture for clinically suspected BSI (February 2020–November 2021). We divided patients into positive (Pos) and negative blood culture groups. Clinical parameters and inflammatory markers were obtained from medical records between blood culture collection and the first positive or negative result and compared between groups on different days. Results Patients in the positive culture group had significantly older age and higher D-dimer, immunoglobulin 6 (IL-6), and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score as well as lower albumin (ALB). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was 0.865 for IL-6, D-dimer and ALB on the first day after blood culture collection; the AUC was 0.979 for IL-6, IL-10, D-dimer, and C-reactive protein on the second day after blood culture collection. Conclusion Changes in clinical parameters and inflammatory markers after blood culture collection may facilitate early identification of positive culture in adult patients with COVID-19 and clinically suspected BSI