COVID-19 Commons^™

Sars-Cov-2 Niches In Human Placenta Revealed By Spatial Transcriptomics, Enrico R Barrozo, Maxim D Seferovic, Eumenia C C Castro, Angela M Major, David N Moorshead, Michael D Jochum, Ricardo Ferral Rojas, Cynthia D Shope, Kjersti M Aagaard

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Functional placental niches are presumed to spatially separate maternal-fetal antigens and restrict the vertical transmission of pathogens. We hypothesized a high-resolution map of placental transcription could provide direct evidence for niche microenvironments with unique functions and transcription profiles.

METHODS: We utilized Visium Spatial Transcriptomics paired with H&E staining to generate 17,927 spatial transcriptomes. By integrating these spatial transcriptomes with 273,944 placental single-cell and single-nuclei transcriptomes, we generated an atlas composed of at least 22 subpopulations in the maternal decidua, fetal chorionic villi, and chorioamniotic membranes.

FINDINGS: Comparisons of placentae from uninfected healthy controls (n = 4) with COVID-19 asymptomatic …

Stratification Of Pediatric Covid-19 Cases Using Inflammatory Biomarker Profiling And Machine Learning., Devika Subramanian, Aadith Vittala, Xinpu Chen, Christopher Julien, Sebastian Acosta, Craig Rusin, Carl Allen, Nicholas Rider, Zbigniew Starosolski, Ananth Annapragada, Sridevi Devaraj

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

While pediatric COVID-19 is rarely severe, a small fraction of children infected with SARS-CoV-2 go on to develop multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C), with substantial morbidity. An objective method with high specificity and high sensitivity to identify current or imminent MIS-C in children infected with SARS-CoV-2 is highly desirable. The aim was to learn about an interpretable novel cytokine/chemokine assay panel providing such an objective classification. This retrospective study was conducted on four groups of pediatric patients seen at multiple sites of Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX who consented to provide blood samples to our COVID-19 Biorepository. Standard laboratory markers of …

Variation In Early Anakinra Use And Short-Term Outcomes In Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome In Children, Joyce C Chang, Cameron C Young, Eyal Muscal, Sara K Sexson Tejtel, Margaret M Newhams, Suden Kucukak, Hillary Crandall, Aline B Maddux, Courtney M Rowan, Natasha B Halasa, Helen A Harvey, Charlotte V Hobbs, Mark W Hall, Michele Kong, Cassyanne L Aguiar, Jennifer E Schuster, Julie C Fitzgerald, Aalok R Singh, Kari Wellnitz, Ryan A Nofziger, Natalie Z Cvijanovich, Elizabeth H Mack, Adam J Schwarz, Sabrina M Heidemann, Jane W Newburger, Laura D Zambrano, Angela P Campbell, Manish M Patel, Adrienne G Randolph, Mary Beth F Son, Overcoming Covid Investigators

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVE: Evidence regarding effectiveness of interleukin-1 receptor antagonism in multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is lacking. We characterized variation in initial treatment with anakinra and evaluated cardiovascular outcomes associated with adding anakinra to standard initial therapy.

METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of MIS-C cases in a US surveillance registry from November 2020 to December 2021. Day 0 was the first calendar day of immunomodulatory treatment. Factors associated with initial anakinra use (days 0-1) were identified. We compared cases in patients ages 2-20 years receiving intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) and glucocorticoids versus anakinra plus IVIG and/or glucocorticoids on days …

Clinical Outcomes Associated With Overestimation Of Oxygen Saturation By Pulse Oximetry In Patients Hospitalized With Covid-19, Ashraf Fawzy, Tianshi David Wu, Kunbo Wang, Kenneth E Sands, Arielle M Fisher, Shanna A Arnold Egloff, Jeffrey D Dellavolpe, Theodore J Iwashyna, Yanxun Xu, Brian T Garibaldi

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

IMPORTANCE: Many pulse oximeters have been shown to overestimate oxygen saturation in persons of color, and this phenomenon has potential clinical implications. The relationship between overestimation of oxygen saturation with timing of COVID-19 medication delivery and clinical outcomes remains unknown.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between overestimation of oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry and delay in administration of COVID-19 therapy, hospital length of stay, risk of hospital readmission, and in-hospital mortality.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This cohort study included patients hospitalized for COVID-19 at 186 acute care facilities in the US with at least 1 functional arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) …

Radiologic-Pathologic Correlation Of Covid-19-Associated Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis, Amy Bezold, Huda Hussain, Julum Nwanze, James T Roberts, Kuang-Chun J Hsieh

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

A 42-year-old woman presented with drooling, slurred speech, inability to walk and talk, and a recent positive COVID-19 test. She had two prior hospital admissions within the past week for similar symptoms with inconclusive evaluation. MRI of the brain demonstrated multifocal white matter hyperintense lesions on fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR)/diffusion with variable enhancement. These imaging findings have been described in recent literature and are associated with inflammatory demyelinating disease, such as acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. The patient subsequently underwent a brain biopsy with a final diagnosis of inflammatory demyelinating lesion. To our knowledge, this is the first radiologic-pathologic correlation of COVID-19-associated …

The Acceptance Of Covid-19 Vaccine: The Projection From The First Year Of Covid-19 Pandemic In Indonesia, Rimawati Aulia Insani Sadarang, Tri Addya Karini, Yessy Kurniati

Preventia: The Indonesian Journal of Public Health

This study aimed to describe the acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine and to discover predictive factors of vaccine acceptance in Indonesia. A cross-sectional study with 164 respondents found that 70.1% would accept the vaccine. Trust in government press releases, perception of infection risk, and age were significant factors. Logistic regression showed a predictive model with 73% performance, highlighting the importance of government trust and evidence-based messaging.

Analysis Of Implementation Of Clean And Healthy Lifestyle Behavior (Phbs) During The Covid-19 Pandemic At Islamic Boarding School X, Malang City, Endang Sri Redjeki, Windi Chusniah Rachmawati, Tiara Dhea Yurisdian

Preventia: The Indonesian Journal of Public Health

Clean and Healthy Lifestyle Behavour (PHBS) is a set of behaviors that are practiced on the basis of awareness as learning outcomes that make a person, a family, a group, and community able to help themselves in the health sector and play an active role in realizing public health. It is still an effort to cultivate clean and healthy living behavior in Islamic boarding schools, as well as to recognize problems and levels of their health, and to be able to overcome, maintain, improve and protect their own health. This study aims to determine and analyze the implementation of PHBS …

Factors, Enablers And Challenges For Covid-19 Vaccine Development, Jean-Louis Excler, Melanie Saville, Lois Privor-Dumm, Sarah Gilbert, Peter J Hotez, Didi Thompson, Salim Abdool-Karim, Jerome H Kim

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a sense of vulnerability and urgency that led to concerted actions by governments, funders, regulators and industry to overcome traditional challenges for the development of vaccine candidates and to reach authorisation. Unprecedented financial investments, massive demand, accelerated clinical development and regulatory reviews were among the key factors that contributed to accelerating the development and approval of COVID-19 vaccines. The rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines benefited of previous scientific innovations such as mRNA and recombinant vectors and proteins. This has created a new era of vaccinology, with powerful platform technologies and a new model for vaccine development. …

Pulse Oximetry And Arterial Saturation Difference In Pediatric Covid-19 Patients: Retrospective Analysis By Race, Fabio Savorgnan, Adel Hassan, Nirica Borges, Sebastian Acosta

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVES: Pulse oximetry (Sp o2 ) may overestimate arterial oxygen saturation (Sa o2 ) in blood laboratory testing. This study aimed to assess Sp o2 -Sa o2 difference in relation to race (i.e., patient self-reporting as Black or White), occult hypoxemia, and length of stay (LOS) in pediatric patients with COVID-19.

DESIGN: Single-center retrospective study in pediatric COVID-19 patients. We used multivariable linear regressions to examine the association between race and oximetry measurements and between occult hypoxemia and LOS. Oximetry bias was defined using Sp o2 and Sa o2 data according to approved comparisons. Occult hypoxemia was defined as Sp …

The Impact Of Covid-19 On A Large Pragmatic Clinical Trial Embedded In Primary Care, Sarah M Leatherman, Cynthia Hau, Alison Klint, Peter A Glassman, Addison A Taylor, Ryan E Ferguson, William C Cushman, Areef Ishani

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic had significant impact on clinical care and clinical trial operations, but the impact on decentralized pragmatic trials is unclear. The Diuretic Comparison Project (DCP) is a Point-of Care (POC) pragmatic trial testing whether chlorthalidone is superior to hydrochlorothiazide in preventing major cardiovascular (CV) events and non-cancer death. DCP utilized telephone consent, data collection from the electronic health record and Medicare, forwent study visits, and limited provider commitment beyond usual care. We assessed the impact of COVID-19 on recruitment, follow-up, data collection, and outcome ascertainment in DCP.

METHODS: We compared data from two 8-month periods: Pre-Pandemic (July …

The Vitamin D Serum Levels In Pregnant Women Affected By Covid-19: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Luiza Szarpak, Stepan Feduniw, Michal Pruc, Michal Ciebiera, Basar Cander, Mansur Rahnama-Hezavah, Łukasz Szarpak

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Vitamin D can modulate immune responses, and its deficiency is linked to increased autoimmunity and susceptibility to infection. In the general population, it has been observed that serum vitamin D levels are connected with the risk of COVID-19 and its severity. Our study aims to examine reported findings on the effect of vitamin D serum levels on infection of COVID-19 during pregnancy. PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane Library were searched for relevant studies. Serum vitamin D serum levels in COVID-19-positive and COVID-19-negative pregnant women were 24.61 ± 20.86 ng/mL and 24.12 ± 17.33 ng/mL, respectively. In mild vs. …

5-Prong Approach Taken By Tsu College Of Pharmacy And Health Sciences To Mitigate Covid-19, Zuri Dale, Rashid Mosavin, Cynthia Johnson

COVID Research

The TSU COVID-19 Implementation and Response White Paper outlines Texas Southern University's (TSU) multifaceted approach to managing the COVID-19 pandemic, led by the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (COPHS). The initiative, focused on the safety of the TSU community, included creating a COVID Prevention Center (CPC) to enhance collaboration, public health adherence, and campus-wide surveillance.

Key Strategies:

1. Education and Communication: Weekly informational broadcasts, social media engagement, and an internal COVID guide aimed to inform the TSU community and counter vaccine hesitancy.
2. Integration and Coordination: Campus services were streamlined to improve communication and enhance response efficiency, with a comprehensive guide …

Covid19-Associated New-Onset Movement Disorders: A Follow-Up Study, Susanne A Schneider, Soaham Desai, Onanong Phokaewvarangkul, Elena Cecilia Rosca, Jirada Sringean, Pria Anand, Gary Álvarez Bravo, Francisco Cardoso, Anna M Cervantes-Arslanian, Harshad Chovatiya, David Crosiers, Femke Dijkstra, Conor Fearon, Francisco Grandas, Eric Guedj, Antonio Méndez-Guerrero, Muhammad Hassan, Joseph Jankovic, Anthony E Lang, Karim Makhoul, Lorenzo Muccioli, Sarah A O'Shea, Vahid Reza Ostovan, Javier Ricardo Perez-Sanchez, Ritesh Ramdhani, Victoria Ros-Castelló, Christina Schulte, Priyank Shah, Lars Wojtecki, Pramod Kumar Pal

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Neurological symptoms are common manifestation in acute COVID-19. This includes hyper- and hypokinetic movement disorders. Data on their outcome, however, is limited.

METHODS: Cases with new-onset COVID-19-associated movement disorders were identified by searching the literature. Authors were contacted for outcome data which were reviewed and analyzed.

RESULTS: Movement disorders began 12.6 days on average after the initial onset of COVID-19. 92% of patients required hospital admission (mean duration 23 days). In a fraction of patients (6 of 27; 22%; 4 males/2 females, mean age 66.8 years) the movement disorder (ataxia, myoclonus, tremor, parkinsonism) was still present after a follow-up …

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Characteristics And Outcomes In Children And Adolescents With Covid-19 Or Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome Admitted To Us Icus, Melania M Bembea, Laura L Loftis, Ravi R Thiagarajan, Cameron C Young, Timothy P Mccadden, Margaret M Newhams, Suden Kucukak, Elizabeth H Mack, Julie C Fitzgerald, Courtney M Rowan, Aline B Maddux, Amanda R Kolmar, Katherine Irby, Sabrina Heidemann, Stephanie P Schwartz, Michele Kong, Hillary Crandall, Kevin M Havlin, Aalok R Singh, Jennifer E Schuster, Mark W Hall, Kari A Wellnitz, Mia Maamari, Mary G Gaspers, Ryan A Nofziger, Peter Paul C Lim, Ryan W Carroll, Alvaro Coronado Munoz, Tamara T Bradford, Melissa L Cullimore, Natasha B Halasa, Gwenn E Mclaughlin, Pia S Pannaraj, Natalie Z Cvijanovich, Matt S Zinter, Bria M Coates, Steven M Horwitz, Charlotte V Hobbs, Heda Dapul, Ana Lia Graciano, Andrew D Butler, Manish M Patel, Laura D Zambrano, Angela P Campbell, Adrienne G Randolph

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVES: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has been used successfully to support adults with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-related cardiac or respiratory failure refractory to conventional therapies. Comprehensive reports of children and adolescents with SARS-CoV-2-related ECMO support for conditions, including multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) and acute COVID-19, are needed.

DESIGN: Case series of patients from the Overcoming COVID-19 public health surveillance registry.

SETTING: Sixty-three hospitals in 32 U.S. states reporting to the registry between March 15, 2020, and December 31, 2021.

PATIENTS: Patients less than 21 years admitted to the ICU meeting Centers for Disease Control criteria …

Effect Of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitor And Angiotensin Receptor Blocker Initiation On Organ Support-Free Days In Patients Hospitalized With Covid-19: A Randomized Clinical Trial, Patrick R Lawler, Lennie P G Derde, Frank L Van De Veerdonk, Bryan J Mcverry, David T Huang, Lindsay R Berry, Elizabeth Lorenzi, Roland Van Kimmenade, Frank Gommans, Muthiah Vaduganathan, David E Leaf, Rebecca M Baron, Edy Y Kim, Claudia Frankfurter, Slava Epelman, Yvonne Kwan, Richard Grieve, Stephen O'Neill, Zia Sadique, Michael Puskarich, John C Marshall, Alisa M Higgins, Paul R Mouncey, Kathryn M Rowan, Farah Al-Beidh, Djillali Annane, Yaseen M Arabi, Carly Au, Abi Beane, Wilma Van Bentum-Puijk, Marc J M Bonten, Charlotte A Bradbury, Frank M Brunkhorst, Aidan Burrell, Adrian Buzgau, Meredith Buxton, Maurizio Cecconi, Allen C Cheng, Matthew Cove, Michelle A Detry, Lise J Estcourt, Justin Ezekowitz, Mark Fitzgerald, David Gattas, Lucas C Godoy, Herman Goossens, Rashan Haniffa, David A Harrison, Thomas Hills, Christopher M Horvat, Nao Ichihara, Francois Lamontagne, Kelsey M Linstrum, Daniel F Mcauley, Anna Mcglothlin, Shay P Mcguinness, Zoe Mcquilten, Srinivas Murthy, Alistair D Nichol, David R J Owen, Rachael L Parke, Jane C Parker, Katrina M Pollock, Luis Felipe Reyes, Hiroki Saito, Marlene S Santos, Christina T Saunders, Christopher W Seymour, Manu Shankar-Hari, Vanessa Singh, Alexis F Turgeon, Anne M Turner, Ryan Zarychanski, Cameron Green, Roger J Lewis, Derek C Angus, Scott Berry, Anthony C Gordon, Colin J Mcarthur, Steve A Webb

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

IMPORTANCE: Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non-critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022).

INTERVENTIONS: Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor …

Reaching Late Adopters: Factors Influencing Covid-19 Vaccination Of Marshallese And Hispanic Adults, Jennifer L. Vincenzo, Marissa J. Spear, Ramey Moore, Rachel S. Purvis, Susan K. Patton, Jennifer Callaghan-Koru, Pearl A. Mcelfish, Geoffrey M. Curran

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background

Marshallese and Hispanic communities in the United States have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19. Identifying strategies to reach late vaccine adopters is critical for ongoing and future vaccination efforts. We utilized a community-engaged approach that leveraged an existing community-based participatory research collaborative of an academic healthcare organization and Marshallese and Hispanic faith-based organizations (FBO) to host vaccination events.

Methods

Bilingual Marshallese and Hispanic study staff conducted informal interviews with 55 participants during the 15-minute post-vaccination observation period and formal semi-structured interviews with Marshallese (n = 5) and Hispanic (n = 4) adults post-event to assess the implementation of community …

Differences In American Adolescent Sport Participation During The Covid-19 Pandemic By Learning Mode: A National Survey, Ashleigh M Johnson, Gregory Knell, Timothy J Walker, Emily Kroshus

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

This study aimed to examine the relation between learning mode with sport participation and compare participation prevalence in different settings by learning mode among United States adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional, national survey was conducted by a market research company (December 2021-January 2022) among parents whose child participated in sports pre-pandemic. Parents were asked about their child's learning mode (in-person, online, hybrid); sports participation (yes/no) during the pandemic; and participation setting (school, community, club/elite). Weighted logistic regression models examined the relation between learning mode with sport participation. Weighted prevalence estimates of participation setting were compared by learning mode. …

Pediatric Consultation-Liaison Psychology: Insights And Lessons Learned During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Nicole M Schneider, Dara M Steinberg, Andrea M Garcia, Jessy Guler, Emily Mudd, A Monica Agoston, Katherine N Schwartzkopf, Kristin A Kullgren, Laura Judd-Glossy

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

COVID-19 has presented a variety of challenges to the provision of psychology services. In the first month of the pandemic, pediatric consultation-liaison (CL) psychologists reported significant changes in methodology of service delivery (Steinberg et al. in Clin Pract Pediatr Psychol 9:1, 2020). To better understand how and if these changes persisted, as well as other emerging trends, a follow-up study examined changes and challenges six months into the pandemic. An anonymous questionnaire assessed topics related to pediatric CL psychology including practice changes, perception of changes, and institutional support. The questionnaire was sent to the APA Society of Pediatric Society's special …

Covid-19 Induced Environments, Health-Related Quality Of Life Outcomes And Problematic Behaviors: Evidence From Children With Syndromic Autism Spectrum Disorders, Corneliu Bolbocean, Kayla B Rhidenour, Maria Mccormack, Bernhard Suter, J Lloyd Holder

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Between July 2020 and January 2021, 230 principal caregivers completed a questionnaire to measure proxy-assessed health-related quality of life outcomes (HRQoL), behavioral outcomes in children with syndromic autism spectrum disorders and COVID-19 induced changes to lifestyle and environments. HRQoL and behavioral outcomes reported earlier during the pandemic were generally worse compared to those reported later. COVID-19 induced reduction to a caregiver's mental health appointments, and hours spent watching TV were associated with decreases in HRQoL and increased the likelihood of problematic behaviors. Increasing time outdoors and time away from digital devices were positively associated with HRQoL and behaviors and might …

Community-Onset Bacterial Coinfection In Children Critically Ill With Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection, Kristin L Moffitt, Mari M Nakamura, Cameron C Young, Margaret M Newhams, Natasha B Halasa, J Nelson Reed, Julie C Fitzgerald, Philip C Spinella, Vijaya L Soma, Tracie C Walker, Laura L Loftis, Aline B Maddux, Michele Kong, Courtney M Rowan, Charlotte V Hobbs, Jennifer E Schuster, Becky J Riggs, Gwenn E Mclaughlin, Kelly N Michelson, Mark W Hall, Christopher J Babbitt, Natalie Z Cvijanovich, Matt S Zinter, Mia Maamari, Adam J Schwarz, Aalok R Singh, Heidi R Flori, Shira J Gertz, Mary A Staat, John S Giuliano, Saul R Hymes, Katharine N Clouser, John Mcguire, Christopher L Carroll, Neal J Thomas, Emily R Levy, Adrienne G Randolph

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Community-onset bacterial coinfection in adults hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is reportedly uncommon, though empiric antibiotic use has been high. However, data regarding empiric antibiotic use and bacterial coinfection in children with critical illness from COVID-19 are scarce.

METHODS: We evaluated children and adolescents agedadmission, we adjudicated whether patients had community-onset bacterial coinfection. We compared demographic and clinical characteristics of those who did and did not (1) receive antibiotics and (2) have bacterial coinfection early in admission. Using Poisson regression models, we assessed factors associated with these outcomes.

RESULTS: Of the 532 patients, 63.3% received empiric antibiotics, but …

Role Of Biomarkers (Sflt-1/Plgf) In Cases Of Covid-19 For Distinguishing Preeclampsia And Guiding Clinical Management, Guilherme M Nobrega, Jose P Guida, Juliana M Novaes, Larissa M Solda, Luciana Pietro, Adriana G Luz, Giuliane J Lajos, Carolina C Ribeiro-Do-Valle, Renato T Souza, Jose G Cecatti, Indira U Mysorekar, Tabata Z Dias, Maria Laura Costa

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVES: To analyze soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt-1) and placental growth factors (PlGF) concentrations and their ratio in pregnant and postpartum women with suspected COVID-19, and further investigate conditions associated with an increased ratio (sFlt-1/PlGF > 38), including preeclampsia (PE) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

STUDY DESIGN: The present study is a secondary analysis of a prospective cohort. Blood samples were collected at time of COVID-19 investigation and the serum measurements of sFlt-1 and PlGF were performed. Clinical background, SARS-CoV-2 infection characteristics, maternal and perinatal outcomes were further analyzed.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Serum measurements of sFlt-1 and PlGF; obstetrics …

Impact Of High Neutrophil-To-Lymphocyte Ratio On Survival In Hospitalized Cancer Patients With Covid-19, Fernando A Díaz-Couselo, Santiago Flagel, Carla Nicolini, Sebastián Halac, Natalia Manzano, Marina Aguirre, Juan Rébora, Sandra Valle, Laura Noro, Chirayu Mohindroo, Florencia Mcallister, Marcelo Zylberman

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been studied as a prognostic factor for mortality in COVID-19 patients. Our study aimed to evaluate the association between NLR at COVID-19 diagnosis and survival during the following 90 days in hospitalized patients with solid cancer. Between May 2020 and June 2021, 120 patients were included in a retrospective cohort study. Univariable analysis showed patients with an NLR > 8.3 were associated with an increased risk of death (HR: 4.34; 95% CI: 1.74-10.84) compared to patients with NLR < 3.82 and with NLR ≥3.82 and ≤8.30 (HR: 2.89; 95% CI: 1.32-6.36). Furthermore, on multivariable analysis, NLR > 8.30 independently correlated with increased mortality. In patients with solid malignancies with COVID-19, an NLR > 8.3 is associated with …

The Silent Suffering Of Survivors: The Covid-19 Pandemic's Impact On Domestic Violence Resources, Osoniya I. Wodi

XULAneXUS

Increased reports of domestic violence has coincided with the eruptions and growth of the COVID-19 pandemic. Previous research has shown a positive correlation between domestic violence and the occurrence of humanitarian crises. Recently published research about domestic violence police reports in the COVID-19 pandemic has also supported this correlation. We used data from the National Network To End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) to analyze the number of survivors served by domestic violence programs in the United States, type of resources available, and unmet request from 2019-2021, one year pre-pandemic and the first two years of the pandemic. Findings from this study …

Evaluation Of Bnt162b2 Covid-19 Vaccine In Children Younger Than 5 Years Of Age, Flor M Muñoz, Lawrence D Sher, Charu Sabharwal, Alejandra Gurtman, Xia Xu, Nicholas Kitchin, Stephen Lockhart, Robert Riesenberg, Joanna M Sexter, Hanna Czajka, Grant C Paulsen, Yvonne Maldonado, Emmanuel B Walter, Kawsar R Talaat, Janet A Englund, Uzma N Sarwar, Caitlin Hansen, Martha Iwamoto, Chris Webber, Luke Cunliffe, Benita Ukkonen, Silvina N Martínez, Barbara A Pahud, Iona Munjal, Joseph B Domachowske, Kena A Swanson, Hua Ma, Kenneth Koury, Susan Mather, Claire Lu, Jing Zou, Xuping Xie, Pei-Yong Shi, David Cooper, Özlem Türeci, Uğur Şahin, Kathrin U Jansen, William C Gruber

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Safe and effective vaccines against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) are urgently needed in young children.

METHODS: We conducted a phase 1 dose-finding study and are conducting an ongoing phase 2-3 safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy trial of the BNT162b2 vaccine in healthy children 6 months to 11 years of age. We present results for children 6 months to less than 2 years of age and those 2 to 4 years of age through the data-cutoff dates (April 29, 2022, for safety and immunogenicity and June 17, 2022, for efficacy). In the phase 2-3 trial, participants were randomly assigned (in a …

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (Sars-Cov-2) Testing And Detection During Peripartum Hospitalizations Among A Multicenter Cohort Of Pregnant Persons: March 2020-February 2021, Miranda J Delahoy, Flor Munoz, De-Kun Li, Carmen Sofia Arriola, Nanette Lee Bond, Michael Daugherty, Jeannette Ferber, Nickolas Ferguson, Louise Hadden, Jillian T Henderson, Stephanie A Irving, Mary Juergens, Venkatesh Kancharla, Mara Greenberg, Roxana Odouli, Gabriella Newes-Adeyi, Erin G Nicholson, Lawrence Reichle, Momodou Sanyang, Margaret Snead, Fatimah S Dawood, Allison L Naleway

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Identifying severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections during peripartum hospitalizations is important to guide care, implement prevention measures, and understand infection burden.

METHODS: This cross-sectional analysis used electronic health record data from hospitalizations during which pregnancies ended (peripartum hospitalizations) among a cohort of pregnant persons at 3 US integrated healthcare networks (sites 1-3). Maternal demographic, medical encounter, SARS-CoV-2 testing, and pregnancy and neonatal outcome information was extracted for persons with estimated delivery and pregnancy end dates during March 2020-February 2021 and ≥1 antenatal care record. Site-stratified multivariable logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with testing …

Bnt162b2 Mrna Vaccination Against Coronavirus Disease 2019 Is Associated With A Decreased Likelihood Of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome In Children Aged 5-18 Years-United States, July 2021 - April 2022, Laura D Zambrano, Margaret M Newhams, Samantha M Olson, Natasha B Halasa, Ashley M Price, Amber O Orzel, Cameron C Young, Julie A Boom, Leila C Sahni, Aline B Maddux, Katherine E Bline, Satoshi Kamidani, Keiko M Tarquinio, Kathleen Chiotos, Jennifer E Schuster, Melissa L Cullimore, Sabrina M Heidemann, Charlotte V Hobbs, Ryan A Nofziger, Pia S Pannaraj, Melissa A Cameron, Tracie C Walker, Stephanie P Schwartz, Kelly N Michelson, Bria M Coates, Heidi R Flori, Elizabeth H Mack, Laura Smallcomb, Shira J Gertz, Samina S Bhumbra, Tamara T Bradford, Emily R Levy, Michele Kong, Katherine Irby, Natalie Z Cvijanovich, Matt S Zinter, Cindy Bowens, Hillary Crandall, Janet R Hume, Manish M Patel, Angela P Campbell, Adrienne G Randolph, Overcoming Covid-19 Investigators

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), linked to antecedent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, is associated with considerable morbidity. Prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection or coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by vaccination might also decrease MIS-C likelihood.

METHODS: In a multicenter, case-control, public health investigation of children ages 5-18 years hospitalized from 1 July 2021 to 7 April 2022, we compared the odds of being fully vaccinated (2 doses of BNT162b2 vaccine ≥28 days before hospital admission) between MIS-C case-patients and hospital-based controls who tested negative for SARS-CoV-2. These associations were examined by age group, timing of vaccination, …

Public Health Measures And Sars-Cov-2 Cases In The Juvenile Justice System: Implications For Pandemic Response In The Detention Setting, Asha Davidson, Shelley Aggarwal, Mona Eissa, Laura Benjamins, John Will, Rebecca Beyda

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 case positivity in juvenile justice facilities of two different states alongside institutional, local, and state public health policies during the first 6 months of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

METHODS: This retrospective chart review examined two large, urban juvenile justice centers in California and Texas. Positive intake or day 12 tests were considered suggestive of community-acquired severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 infection. Researchers examined state and county restrictions, closings, and openings. The study included all of the youths 10 to 18 years residing in the facilities between March …

Risks Of Mortality And Severe Coronavirus Disease 19 (Covid-19) Outcomes In Patients With Or Without Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Sebastian Bruera, Xiudong Lei, Hui Zhao, Jinoos Yazdany, Mariana Chavez-Macgregor, Sharon H Giordano, Maria E Suarez-Almazor

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVES: We compared the outcomes of patients with or without systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who were diagnosed with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) and evaluated factors within patients with SLE associated with severe outcomes.

METHODS: This retrospective cohort study used the deidentified Optum COVID-19 electronic health record dataset to identify patients with COVID-19 from 1/1/2020 to 31/12/2020. Cases with SLE were matched with general controls at a ratio of 1:10 by age, sex, race and ethnicity and COVID-19 diagnosis date. Outcomes included 30-day mortality, mechanical ventilation, hospitalisation and intensive care unit admission. We evaluated the relationship between COVID-19-related outcomes and SLE …

The Impact Of Covid-19 On Pediatric Cardiac Arrest Outcomes: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Alla Navolokina, Jacek Smereka, Bernd W Böttiger, Michal Pruc, Raúl Juárez-Vela, Mansur Rahnama-Hezavah, Zubaid Rafique, Frank W Peacock, Kamil Safiejko, Lukasz Szarpak

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) caused a global pandemic, required the donning of personal protective equipment during clinical contact, and continues to be a significant worldwide public health concern. Pediatric cardiac arrest is a rare but critical condition with a high mortality rate, the outcomes of which may be negatively affected by donning personal protective equipment. The aim of this study is to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on pediatric cardiac arrest outcomes. We conducted a systematic review with meta-analysis in the following databases: PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, …

Single-Cell Multi-Omics Integration For Unpaired Data By A Siamese Network With Graph-Based Contrastive Loss, Chaozhong Liu, Linhua Wang, Zhandong Liu

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Single-cell omics technology is rapidly developing to measure the epigenome, genome, and transcriptome across a range of cell types. However, it is still challenging to integrate omics data from different modalities. Here, we propose a variation of the Siamese neural network framework called MinNet, which is trained to integrate multi-omics data on the single-cell resolution by using graph-based contrastive loss.

RESULTS: By training the model and testing it on several benchmark datasets, we showed its accuracy and generalizability in integrating scRNA-seq with scATAC-seq, and scRNA-seq with epitope data. Further evaluation demonstrated our model's unique ability to remove the batch …