Introduction Higher comorbidity and older age have been reported as correlates of poor outcomes in COVID‐19 patients worldwide; however, US data are scarce. We evaluated mortality predictors of COVID‐19 in a large cohort of hospitalized patients in the United States. Design Retrospective, multicenter cohort of inpatients diagnosed with COVID‐19 by RT‐PCR from 1 March to 17 April 2020 was performed, and outcome data evaluated from 1 March to 17 April 2020. Measures included demographics, comorbidities, clinical presentation, laboratory values and imaging on admission. Primary outcome was mortality. Secondary outcomes included length of stay, time to death and development of acute kidney injury in the first 48‐h. Results The 1305 patients were hospitalized during the evaluation period. Mean age was 61.0 ± 16.3, 53.8% were male and 66.1% African American. Mean BMI was 33.2 ± 8.8 kg m−2. Median Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) was 2 (1–4), and 72.6% of patients had at least one comorbidity, with hypertension (56.2%) and diabetes mellitus (30.1%) being the most prevalent. ACE‐I/ARB use and NSAIDs use were widely prevalent (43.3% and 35.7%, respectively). Mortality occurred in 200 (15.3%) of patients with median time of 10 (6–14) days. Age > 60 (aOR: 1.93, 95% CI: 1.26–2.94) and CCI > 3 (aOR: 2.71, 95% CI: 1.85–3.97) were independently associated with mortality by multivariate analyses. NSAIDs and ACE‐I/ARB use had no significant effects on renal failure in the first 48 h. Conclusion Advanced age and an increasing number of comorbidities are independent predictors of in‐hospital mortality for COVID‐19 patients. NSAIDs and ACE‐I/ARB use prior to admission is not associated with renal failure or increased mortality.

Background As of 2019, men who have sex with men (MSM) in Canada are ineligible to donate blood if they have had oral or anal sex with another man in the last 3 months. Deferral policies targeting MSM are largely interpreted as unjust by gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) – shaping their desire to donate blood and engage with blood operators. This mixed methods study explores interest in blood donation among GBMSM as well as willingness (and eligibility) to donate under four different deferral policies. Methods We surveyed 447 GBMSM who were recruited from the Ontario-wide #iCruise study. Participants were asked whether they were interested in blood donation and if they were willing to donate under each of our four deferral policies. We also completed interviews with 31 of these GBMSM. Participants were asked to describe their feelings about blood donation, their views on our different deferral policies, the impact of a policy change, as well as other means of redress. Results Most participants (69%) indicated that they were interested in donating blood. Despite this, an interpretation of the MSM deferral policy as discriminatory was common among all participants. Our mixed methods findings indicate that, among those who were interested in blood donation, the adoption of one of the alternative policies presented in this study (specifically Policy 2 or Policy 3) would significantly increase the number of participants willing to donate and be viewed as “a step in the right direction.” However, many participants who were not interested in blood donation argued that a gender-neutral deferral policy would need to be implemented for them to donate. Participants recommended that blood operators consider efforts to repair relations with GBMSM beyond policy change, including pop-up clinics in predominantly queer areas and diversity sensitivity training for staff. Conclusion We argue that the most impactful policy shift would be the implementation of an individual risk-based deferral policy that is applied to all donors regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. However, given MSM’s historical exclusion from blood donations, blood operators should pair this policy shift with community relationship-building efforts.

Older age, medical comorbidities, obesity, ACE-I/ARB use, and male sex are independent correlates of hospitalization in COVID-19 patients presenting to the emergency department.

Research into self driving vehicles and driver monitoring systems has reached the point where long duration and distance field testing has become feasible. Unfortunately, vehicle and computer systems which provide the functionality to accomplish these tests have been too expensive or inconvenient. This paper describes a simple, yet powerful platform, designed to work on any passenger vehicle, developed at Camegie Mellon University. The platform, called PANS (Portable Advanced Navigation Support), has allowed researchers at Camegie Mellon University to log over 6000 autonomous steering miles in the last 6 months.