Recent studies suggest that thrombotic complications are a common phenomenon in the novel SARS-CoV-2 infection. The main objective of our study is to assess cumulative incidence of pulmonary embolism (PE) in non critically ill COVID-19 patients and to identify its predicting factors associated to the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism. We retrospectevely reviewed 452 electronic medical records of patients admitted to Internal Medicine Department of a secondary hospital in Madrid during Covid 19 pandemic outbreak. We included 91 patients who underwent a multidetector Computed Tomography pulmonary angiography(CTPA) during conventional hospitalization. The cumulative incidence of PE was assessed ant the clinical, analytical and radiological characteristics were compared between patients with and without PE. PE incidence was 6.4% (29/452 patients). Most patients with a confirmed diagnosed with PE recieved low molecular weight heparin (LMWH): 79.3% (23/29). D-dimer peak was significatly elevated in PE vs non PE patients (14,480 vs 7230 mcg/dL, p = 0.03). In multivariate analysis of patients who underwent a CTPA we found that plasma D-dimer peak was an independen predictor of PE with a best cut off point of > 5000 µg/dl (OR 3.77; IC95% (1.18-12.16), p = 0.03). We found ninefold increased risk of PE patients not suffering from dyslipidemia (OR 9.06; IC95% (1.88-43.60). Predictive value of AUC for ROC is 75.5%. We found a high incidence of PE in non critically ill hospitalized COVID 19 patients despite standard thromboprophylaxis. An increase in D-dimer levels is an independent predictor for PE, with a best cutoff point of > 5000 µg/ dl.
Aims: To estimate the prevalence of malnutrition in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients hospitalized for exacerbation and to evaluate its clinical and prognostic influence on the exacerbation. Subjects/Methods: The subjects were 78 consecutive patients with moderate-to-severe COPD who were admitted to hospital with a diagnosis of exacerbation. Nutritional status was assessed by means of body mass index (BMI), bioelectric impedance analysis and levels of plasmatic albumin. Previous spirometry, 6-min walk test, severity of the exacerbation, days of hospitalization and readmission in the following 3 months were also evaluated. Results: Malnutrition [BMI <20 or fat-free mass (FFM) index ≤16] occurred in 38% of patients, while in 40% the involuntary weight loss revealed a malnutrition risk and in 18% patients the plasmatic albumin levels were <3 g/dl. FFM was correlated with forced expiratory volume in 1 s, forced vital capacity and distance walked in 6 min. Number of days of hospitalization were related to FFM, muscle mass, BMI and albumin. The patients readmitted in the following 3 months had less FFM than the patients who were not readmitted. Conclusions: The high prevalence of malnutrition among hospitalized COPD patients is related to their lung function and exercise tolerance. Moreover, nutritional parameters during exacerbation are related to length of hospitalization and readmission.
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