Importance The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Wuhan, China, is serious and has the potential to become an epidemic worldwide. Several studies have described typical clinical manifestations including fever, cough, diarrhea, and fatigue. However, to our knowledge, it has not been reported that patients with COVID-19 had any neurologic manifestations. Objective To study the neurologic manifestations of patients with COVID-19. Design, Setting, and Participants This is a retrospective, observational case series. Data were collected from January 16, 2020, to February 19, 2020, at 3 designated special care centers for COVID-19 (Main District, West Branch, and Tumor Center) of the Union Hospital of Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, China. The study included 214 consecutive hospitalized patients with laboratory-confirmed diagnosis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection. Main Outcomes and Measures Clinical data were extracted from electronic medical records, and data of all neurologic symptoms were checked by 2 trained neurologists. Neurologic manifestations fell into 3 categories: central nervous system manifestations (dizziness, headache, impaired consciousness, acute cerebrovascular disease, ataxia, and seizure), peripheral nervous system manifestations (taste impairment, smell impairment, vision impairment, and nerve pain), and skeletal muscular injury manifestations. Results Of 214 patients (mean [SD] age, 52.7 [15.5] years; 87 men [40.7%]) with COVID-19, 126 patients (58.9%) had nonsevere infection and 88 patients (41.1%) had severe infection according to their respiratory status. Overall, 78 patients (36.4%) had neurologic manifestations. Compared with patients with nonsevere infection, patients with severe infection were older, had more underlying disorders, especially hypertension, and showed fewer typical symptoms of COVID-19, such as fever and cough. Patients with more severe infection had neurologic manifestations, such as acute cerebrovascular diseases (5 [5.7%] vs 1 [0.8%]), impaired consciousness (13 [14.8%] vs 3 [2.4%]), and skeletal muscle injury (17 [19.3%] vs 6 [4.8%]). Conclusions and Relevance Patients with COVID-19 commonly have neurologic manifestations. During the epidemic period of COVID-19, when seeing patients with neurologic manifestations, clinicians should suspect severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection as a differential diagnosis to avoid delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis and lose the chance to treat and prevent further transmission.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaneurology/articlepdf/2764549/jamaneurology_mao_2020_oi_200025.pdf

Neurologic Manifestations of Hospitalized Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Wuhan, China.

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“Bioinformatics” 특집을 내면서

Chest CT had higher sensitivity for diagnosis of COVID-19 as compared with initial reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction from swab samples in the epidemic area of China.

https://pubs.rsna.org/doi/pdf/10.1148/radiol.2020200642

Correlation of Chest CT and RT-PCR Testing for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in China: A Report of 1014 Cases.

Summary Background Since December, 2019, Wuhan, China, has experienced an outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of patients with COVID-19 have been reported but risk factors for mortality and a detailed clinical course of illness, including viral shedding, have not been well described. Methods In this retrospective, multicentre cohort study, we included all adult inpatients (≥18 years old) with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 from Jinyintan Hospital and Wuhan Pulmonary Hospital (Wuhan, China) who had been discharged or had died by Jan 31, 2020. Demographic, clinical, treatment, and laboratory data, including serial samples for viral RNA detection, were extracted from electronic medical records and compared between survivors and non-survivors. We used univariable and multivariable logistic regression methods to explore the risk factors associated with in-hospital death. Findings 191 patients (135 from Jinyintan Hospital and 56 from Wuhan Pulmonary Hospital) were included in this study, of whom 137 were discharged and 54 died in hospital. 91 (48%) patients had a comorbidity, with hypertension being the most common (58 [30%] patients), followed by diabetes (36 [19%] patients) and coronary heart disease (15 [8%] patients). Multivariable regression showed increasing odds of in-hospital death associated with older age (odds ratio 1·10, 95% CI 1·03–1·17, per year increase; p=0·0043), higher Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score (5·65, 2·61–12·23; p Interpretation The potential risk factors of older age, high SOFA score, and d-dimer greater than 1 μg/mL could help clinicians to identify patients with poor prognosis at an early stage. Prolonged viral shedding provides the rationale for a strategy of isolation of infected patients and optimal antiviral interventions in the future. Funding Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Innovation Fund for Medical Sciences; National Science Grant for Distinguished Young Scholars; National Key Research and Development Program of China; The Beijing Science and Technology Project; and Major Projects of National Science and Technology on New Drug Creation and Development.

Clinical course and risk factors for mortality of adult inpatients with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China: a retrospective cohort study

Importance In December 2019, a novel coronavirus (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 [SARS-CoV-2]) emerged in China and has spread globally, creating a pandemic. Information about the clinical characteristics of infected patients who require intensive care is limited. Objective To characterize patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) requiring treatment in an intensive care unit (ICU) in the Lombardy region of Italy. Design, Setting, and Participants Retrospective case series of 1591 consecutive patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 referred for ICU admission to the coordinator center (Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy) of the COVID-19 Lombardy ICU Network and treated at one of the ICUs of the 72 hospitals in this network between February 20 and March 18, 2020. Date of final follow-up was March 25, 2020. Exposures SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed by real-time reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay of nasal and pharyngeal swabs. Main Outcomes and Measures Demographic and clinical data were collected, including data on clinical management, respiratory failure, and patient mortality. Data were recorded by the coordinator center on an electronic worksheet during telephone calls by the staff of the COVID-19 Lombardy ICU Network. Results Of the 1591 patients included in the study, the median (IQR) age was 63 (56-70) years and 1304 (82%) were male. Of the 1043 patients with available data, 709 (68%) had at least 1 comorbidity and 509 (49%) had hypertension. Among 1300 patients with available respiratory support data, 1287 (99% [95% CI, 98%-99%]) needed respiratory support, including 1150 (88% [95% CI, 87%-90%]) who received mechanical ventilation and 137 (11% [95% CI, 9%-12%]) who received noninvasive ventilation. The median positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) was 14 (IQR, 12-16) cm H2O, and Fio2was greater than 50% in 89% of patients. The median Pao2/Fio2was 160 (IQR, 114-220). The median PEEP level was not different between younger patients (n = 503 aged ≤63 years) and older patients (n = 514 aged ≥64 years) (14 [IQR, 12-15] vs 14 [IQR, 12-16] cm H2O, respectively; median difference, 0 [95% CI, 0-0];P = .94). Median Fio2was lower in younger patients: 60% (IQR, 50%-80%) vs 70% (IQR, 50%-80%) (median difference, −10% [95% CI, −14% to 6%];P = .006), and median Pao2/Fio2was higher in younger patients: 163.5 (IQR, 120-230) vs 156 (IQR, 110-205) (median difference, 7 [95% CI, −8 to 22];P = .02). Patients with hypertension (n = 509) were older than those without hypertension (n = 526) (median [IQR] age, 66 years [60-72] vs 62 years [54-68];P  Conclusions and Relevance In this case series of critically ill patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 admitted to ICUs in Lombardy, Italy, the majority were older men, a large proportion required mechanical ventilation and high levels of PEEP, and ICU mortality was 26%.

/pdf/baseline-characteristics-and-outcomes-of-1591-patients-4y6nwx3pu4.pdf

Baseline Characteristics and Outcomes of 1591 Patients Infected With SARS-CoV-2 Admitted to ICUs of the Lombardy Region, Italy.

Measuring Airway Remodeling in Patients With Different COPD Staging Using Endobronchial Optical Coherence Tomography

https://journal.chestnet.org/article/S0012-3692(16)48816-1/pdf

A Critical Review of the Quality of Cough Clinical Practice Guidelines

Rationale: The usefulness of impulse oscillometry (IOS) in bronchiectasis has not been systematically investigated.Objectives: To determine the usefulness of IOS parameters and their correlation with radiology, disease severity, sputum bacteriology, and spirometry, and to compare the changes in IOS parameters during exacerbations and convalescence of bronchiectasis.Methods: We recruited 100 patients with bronchiectasis and 28 healthy subjects. Receiver operating characteristic curve was plotted to analyze the diagnostic performance of IOS parameters. Chest high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT), Bronchiectasis Severity Index (BSI) assessment, sputum culture, and spirometry were performed. Correlation between IOS parameters and clinical indices was determined using the Spearman model. Changes in IOS parameters, compared with spirometry, during exacerbation were assessed in 16 patients with bronchiectasis.Measurements and Main Results: IOS parameters (in particular, resonant frequency) could discriminat...

Impulse Oscillometry in Adults with Bronchiectasis

Background Spirometry confers limited value for identifying small-airway disorders (SADs) in early-stage COPD, which can be detected with impulse oscillometry (IOS) and endobronchial optical coherence tomography (EB-OCT). Whether IOS is useful for reflecting small-airway morphological abnormalities in COPD remains unclear. Objectives To compare the diagnostic value of spirometry and IOS for identifying SADs in heavy-smokers and COPD based on the objective assessment with EB-OCT. Methods We recruited 59 COPD patients (stage I, n=17; stage II, n=18; stage III-IV, n=24), 26 heavy-smokers and 21 never-smokers. Assessments of clinical characteristics, spirometry, IOS and EB-OCT were performed. Receiver operation characteristic curve was employed to demonstrate the diagnostic value of IOS and spirometric parameters. Results More advanced staging of COPD was associated with greater abnormality of IOS and spirometric parameters. Resonant frequency (Fres) and peripheral airway resistance (R5-R20) conferred greater diagnostic values than forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1%) and maximal (mid-)expiratory flow (MMEF%) predicted in discriminating SADs in never-smokers from heavy-smokers (area under curve [AUC]: 0.771 and 0.753 vs 0.570 and 0.558, respectively), and heavy-smokers from patients with stage I COPD (AUC: 0.726 and 0.633 vs 0.548 and 0.567, respectively). The combination of IOS (Fres and R5-R20) and spirometric parameters (FEV1% and MMEF% predicted) contributed to a further increase in the diagnostic value for identifying SADs in early-stage COPD. Small airway wall area percentage (Aw% 7-9), an EB-OCT parameter, correlated significantly with Fres and R5-R20 in COPD and heavy-smokers, whereas EB-OCT parameters correlated with FEV1% and MMEF% in advanced, rather than early-stage, COPD. Conclusions IOS parameters correlated with the degree of morphologic abnormalities of small airways assessed with EB-OCT in COPD and heavy-smokers. Fres and R5-R20 might be sensitive parameters that reliably reflect SADs in heavy-smokers and early-stage COPD.

/pdf/significances-of-spirometry-and-impulse-oscillometry-for-352talbl0n.pdf

Significances of spirometry and impulse oscillometry for detecting small airway disorders assessed with endobronchial optical coherence tomography in COPD

Background Unsupervised learning technique allows researchers to identify different phenotypes of diseases with complex manifestations. Objectives To identify bronchiectasis phenotypes and characterise their clinical manifestations and prognosis. Methods We conducted hierarchical cluster analysis to identify clusters that best distinguished clinical characteristics of bronchiectasis. Demographics, lung function, sputum bacteriology, aetiology, radiology, disease severity, quality-of-life, cough scale and capsaicin sensitivity, exercise tolerance, health care use and frequency of exacerbations were compared. Results Data from 148 adults with stable bronchiectasis were analysed. Four clusters were identified. Cluster 1 (n = 69) consisted of the youngest patients with predominantly mild and idiopathic bronchiectasis with minor health care resource use. Patients in cluster 2 (n = 22), in which post-infectious bronchiectasis predominated, had the longest duration of symptoms, greater disease severity, poorer lung function, airway Pseudomonas aeruginosa colonisation and frequent health care resource use. Cluster 3 (n = 16) consisted of elderly patients with shorter duration of symptoms and mostly idiopathic bronchiectasis, and predominantly severe bronchiectasis. Cluster 4 (n = 41) constituted the most elderly patients with moderate disease severity. Clusters 2 and 3 tended to have a greater risk of bronchiectasis exacerbations (P = 0.06) than clusters 1 and 4. Conclusion Identification of distinct phenotypes will lead to greater insight into the characteristics and prognosis of bronchiectasis.

Wei-jie Guan

Papers

Measuring Airway Remodeling in Patients With Different COPD Staging Using Endobronchial Optical Coherence Tomography

A Critical Review of the Quality of Cough Clinical Practice Guidelines

Impulse Oscillometry in Adults with Bronchiectasis

Significances of spirometry and impulse oscillometry for detecting small airway disorders assessed with endobronchial optical coherence tomography in COPD

Unsupervised learning technique identifies bronchiectasis phenotypes with distinct clinical characteristics.