Plos One
-
Observational Study
Prognostic value of plasma pentraxin 3 levels in patients with septic shock admitted to intensive care.
To evaluate the usefulness of a new marker, pentraxin, as a prognostic marker in septic shock patients. ⋯ Our results support the prognostic value of a single determination of plasma PTX3 as a predictor of hospital mortality in septic shock patients.
-
To determine the trends of infection sites and outcome of sepsis using a national population-based database. ⋯ The anatomic site of infection does have a differential impact on the mortality of septic patients. Intra-abdominal infection, lower respiratory tract infection, and biliary tract infection are associated with higher mortality in septic patients.
-
The COVID-19 outbreak is posing an unprecedented challenge to healthcare workers. This study analyzes the geo-temporal effects on disease severity for the 1,688 Chinese healthcare workers infected with COVID-19. ⋯ The disease severity among infected healthcare workers improved considerably over a short period of time in China. The more severe conditions in Wuhan compared to the rest of the country may be attributable to the draconian lockdown. The clinical outcomes of infected Chinese healthcare workers may represent a more accurate estimation of the severity of COVID-19 for those who have access to quality healthcare.
-
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) started in Wuhan, China and has spread through other provinces and countries through infected travelers. On January 23rd, 2020, China issued a quarantine and travel ban on Wuhan because travelers from Wuhan were thought to account for the majority of exported COVID-19 cases to other countries. Additionally, countries evacuated their citizens from Wuhan after institution of the travel ban. ⋯ Our findings suggest that the risk of COVID-19 infection is highest among Wuhan travelers between January 19th and 22nd, 2020, with an approximate infection rate of up to 1.3% among international travelers. We also observed that evacuee infection rates varied heavily between countries and propose that the timing of the evacuation and COVID-19 testing of asymptomatic evacuees played significant roles in the infection rates among evacuees. These findings suggest COVID-19 cases and infectivity are much higher than previous estimates, including numbers from the WHO and the literature, and that some estimates of the infectivity of COVID-19 may need re-assessment.
-
Disparities in methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) outcomes have received limited attention, but there are important negative outcomes associated with MMT that warrant investigation. Racial discrimination is common in healthcare settings and affects opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment and comorbidities. However, race/ethnicity alone may not fully explain experiences of discrimination. MMT remains highly stigmatized and may compound the effect of race/ethnicity on discrimination in healthcare settings. We sought to quantify differential associations between MMT and experiences of racial discrimination between racial/ethnic groups in a U.S. national sample. ⋯ Race/ethnicity alone did not sufficiently account for racial discrimination in healthcare settings among those with a lifetime OUD. MMT status was strongly associated with racial discrimination among AI/AN. Our strong interaction effect is indicative of an additional barrier to health services utilization among AI/AN, which has important implications for OUD treatment outcomes and comorbidities. Health promotion programs aimed at increased adoption of MMT are promising, but should be considered in the context of racial/ethnic disparities, drug use and MMT stigma, and implicit biases in clinical settings.