Bethesda Hospital

About: Bethesda Hospital is a healthcare organization based out in Ambur, Tamil Nadu, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Helicobacter pylori. The organization has 386 authors who have published 472 publications receiving 15193 citations.

Autopsy Findings and Venous Thromboembolism in Patients With COVID-19: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Abstract: Background The new coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has caused more than 210 000 deaths worldwide However, little is known about the causes of death and the virus's pathologic features Objective To validate and compare clinical findings with data from medical autopsy, virtual autopsy, and virologic tests Design Prospective cohort study Setting Autopsies performed at a single academic medical center, as mandated by the German federal state of Hamburg for patients dying with a polymerase chain reaction-confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 Patients The first 12 consecutive COVID-19-positive deaths Measurements Complete autopsy, including postmortem computed tomography and histopathologic and virologic analysis, was performed Clinical data and medical course were evaluated Results Median patient age was 73 years (range, 52 to 87 years), 75% of patients were male, and death occurred in the hospital (n = 10) or outpatient sector (n = 2) Coronary heart disease and asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were the most common comorbid conditions (50% and 25%, respectively) Autopsy revealed deep venous thrombosis in 7 of 12 patients (58%) in whom venous thromboembolism was not suspected before death; pulmonary embolism was the direct cause of death in 4 patients Postmortem computed tomography revealed reticular infiltration of the lungs with severe bilateral, dense consolidation, whereas histomorphologically diffuse alveolar damage was seen in 8 patients In all patients, SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in the lung at high concentrations; viremia in 6 of 10 and 5 of 12 patients demonstrated high viral RNA titers in the liver, kidney, or heart Limitation Limited sample size Conclusion The high incidence of thromboembolic events suggests an important role of COVID-19-induced coagulopathy Further studies are needed to investigate the molecular mechanism and overall clinical incidence of COVID-19-related death, as well as possible therapeutic interventions to reduce it Primary funding source University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf

Age-Adjusted D-Dimer Cutoff Levels to Rule Out Pulmonary Embolism: The ADJUST-PE Study

Abstract: RESULTS Of the 3346 patients with suspected PE included, the prevalence of PE was 19%. Among the 2898 patients with a nonhigh or an unlikely clinical probability, 817 patients (28.2%) had a D-dimer level lower than 500 μg/L (95% CI, 26.6%-29.9%) and 337 patients (11.6%) had a D-dimer between 500 μg/L and their age-adjusted cutoff (95% CI, 10.5%-12.9%). The 3-month failure rate in patients with a D-dimer level higher than 500 μg/L but below the age-adjusted cutoff was 1 of 331 patients (0.3% [95% CI, 0.1%-1.7%]). Among the 766 patients 75 years or older, of whom 673 had a nonhigh clinical probability, using the age-adjusted cutoff instead of the 500 μg/L cutoff increased the proportion of patients in whom PE could be excluded on the basis of D-dimer from 43 of 673 patients (6.4% [95% CI, 4.8%-8.5%) to 200 of 673 patients (29.7% [95% CI, 26.4%-33.3%), without any additional false-negative findings. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Compared with a fixed D-dimer cutoff of 500 μg/L, the combination of pretest clinical probability assessment with age-adjusted D-dimer cutoff was associated with a larger number of patients in whom PE could be considered ruled out with a low likelihood of subsequent clinical venous thromboembolism. TRIAL REGISTRATION clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01134068

Outcome following traumatic brain injury: a comparison between 2 and 5 years after injury.

Abstract: This study examined long-term outcome in traumatically brain-injured individuals following discharge from a comprehensive rehabilitation programme. Of 254 traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients reviewed at 2 years, 103 have been followed up at 5 years using a structured interview format detailing neurological symptoms, mobility, independence in ADL, productivity status, relationship issues, communication and the presence of cognitive, behavioural and emotional changes. Visual difficulties, headache and fatigue were persistent in a significant number of patients. Between 2 and 5 years there was increased independence in personal, domestic and community ADL and the use of transport. Ten more patients had returned to driving. On the other hand there was a slightly higher incidence of cognitive, behavioural and emotional changes reported at 5 years. Thirty-two per cent of those working at 2 years were not employed at 5 years. Many students had also become unemployed. These findings suggest the need for intermittent lifelong intervention following TBI. Systems of rehabilitation need to be adapted to provide this.

Development and psychometric testing of a quality of recovery score after general anesthesia and surgery in adults.

Abstract: A variety of methods have been used to quantify aspects of recovery after anesthesia.Most are narrowly focused, are not patient-rated, and have not been validated. We therefore set out to develop a patient-rated quality of recovery score. We constructed a 61-item questionnaire that asked individuals