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OBJECTIVE: Severe COVID-19 is characterized by a dysregulated immune response in which neutrophils play a critical role. Calprotectin reflects neutrophil activation and is involved in the self-amplifying thrombo-inflammatory storm in severe COVID-19. We aimed to evaluate the role of calprotectin in early prediction of severity in COVID-19 patients. METHODS: This was a multicenter prospective observational study enrolling consecutive adult COVID-19 patients. On arrival to emergency department, blood samples were collected for laboratory tests, including serum calprotectin. The primary outcome was severe respiratory failure requiring invasive mechanical ventilation and the secondary outcome was need for Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission. RESULTS: Study population included 395 patients, 57 (14.4%) required invasive mechanical ventilation and 100 (25.3%) were admitted to ICU. Median serum calprotectin levels were significantly higher in intubated (3.73mg/L vs. 2.63mg/L; p

Background and Aims Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the sole causative agent of coronavirus infectious disease-19 (COVID-19). Methods and Results We performed a retrospective single-center study of consecutively admitted patients between March 1st and May 15th, 2020, with a definitive diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The primary end-point was to evaluate the association of lipid markers with 30-days all-cause mortality in COVID-19. A total of 654 patients were enrolled, with an estimated 30-day mortality of 22.8% (149 patients). Non-survivors had lower total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) levels during the entire course of the disease. Both showed a significant inverse correlation with inflammatory markers and a positive correlation with lymphocyte count. In a multivariate analysis, LDL-c ≤ 69 mg/dl (hazard ratio [HR] 1.94; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.14-3.31), C-reactive protein > 88 mg/dl (HR 2.44; 95% CI, 1.41-4.23) and lymphopenia < 1,000 (HR 2.68; 95% CI, 1.91-3.78) at admission were independently associated with 30-day mortality. This association was maintained 7 days after admission. Survivors presented with complete normalization of their lipid profiles on short-term follow-up. Conclusion Hypolipidemia in SARS-CoV-2 infection may be secondary to an immune-inflammatory response, with complete recovery in survivors. Low LDL-c serum levels are independently associated with higher 30-day mortality in COVID-19 patients.

Producción Científica, Background: Stratification of the severity of infection is currently based on the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score, which is difficult to calculate outside the ICU. Biomarkers could help to stratify the severity of infection in surgical patients. Methods: Levels of ten biomarkers indicating endothelial dysfunction, 22 indicating emergency granulopoiesis, and six denoting neutrophil degranulation were compared in three groups of patients in the first 12 h after diagnosis at three Spanish hospitals. Results: There were 100 patients with infection, 95 with sepsis and 57 with septic shock. Seven biomarkers indicating endothelial dysfunction (mid-regional proadrenomedullin (MR-ProADM), syndecan 1, thrombomodulin, angiopoietin 2, endothelial cell-specific molecule 1, vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 and E-selectin) had stronger associations with sepsis than infection alone. MR-ProADM had the highest odds ratio (OR) in multivariable analysis (OR 11·53, 95 per cent c.i. 4·15 to 32·08; P = 0·006) and the best area under the curve (AUC) for detecting sepsis (0·86, 95 per cent c.i. 0·80 to 0·91; P < 0·001). In a comparison of sepsis with septic shock, two biomarkers of neutrophil degranulation, proteinase 3 (OR 8·09, 1·34 to 48·91; P = 0·028) and lipocalin 2 (OR 6·62, 2·47 to 17·77; P = 0·002), had the strongest association with septic shock, but lipocalin 2 exhibited the highest AUC (0·81, 0·73 to 0·90; P < 0·001). Conclusion: MR-ProADM and lipocalin 2 could be alternatives to the SOFA score in the detection of sepsis and septic shock respectively in surgical patients with infection., Instituto de Salud Carlos III (grants PI15/01959, PI15/01451 and PI16/01156)

Introduction: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a systemic disease characterized by a disproportionate inflammatory response in the acute phase. This study sought to identify clinical sequelae and their potential mechanism. Methods: We conducted a prospective single-center study (NCT04689490) of previously hospitalized COVID-19 patients with and without dyspnea during mid-term follow-up. An outpatient group was also evaluated. They underwent serial testing with a cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET), transthoracic echocardiogram, pulmonary lung test, six-minute walking test, serum biomarker analysis, and quality of life questionaries. Results: Patients with dyspnea (n = 41, 58.6%), compared with asymptomatic patients (n = 29, 41.4%), had a higher proportion of females (73.2 vs. 51.7%, p = 0.065) with comparable age and prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors. There were no significant differences in the transthoracic echocardiogram and pulmonary function test. Patients who complained of persistent dyspnea had a significant decline in predicted peak VO2 consumption (77.8 (64–92.5) vs. 99 (88–105), p &lt, 0.00, 0.001), total distance in the six-minute walking test (535 (467–600) vs. 611 (550–650) meters, p = 0.001), and quality of life (KCCQ-23 60.1 ± 18.6 vs. 82.8 ± 11.3, 0.001). Additionally, abnormalities in CPET were suggestive of an impaired ventilatory efficiency (VE/VCO2 slope 32 (28.1–37.4) vs. 29.4 (26.9–31.4), p = 0.022) and high PETCO2 (34.5 (32–39) vs. 38 (36–40), p = 0.025). Interpretation: In this study, &gt, 50% of COVID-19 survivors present a symptomatic functional impairment irrespective of age or prior hospitalization. Our findings suggest a potential ventilation/perfusion mismatch or hyperventilation syndrome.

[ES] Se analiza la actividad física realizada por los adolescentes del estudio, su relación con el sobrepeso (sobrepeso+obesidad) y la estructura de la red social de amistad establecida en adolescentes que practican deportes colectivos, utilizando diferentes parámetros indicativos de centralidad., [EN]Objectives To analyse the physical activity carried out by the adolescents in the study, its relationship to being overweight (overweight+obese) and to analyse the structure of the social network of friendship established in adolescents doing group sports, using different parameters indicative of centrality. Setting It was carried out in an educational environment, in 11 classrooms belonging to 5 Schools in Ponferrada (Spain). Participants 235 adolescents were included in the study (49.4% female), who were classified as normal weight or overweight. Primary and secondary outcome measures Physical Activity Questionnaire for Adolescents (PAQ-A) was used to study the level of physical activity. A social network analysis was carried out to analyse structural variables of centrality in different degrees of contact. Results 30.2% of the participants in our study were overweight. Relative to female participants in this study, males obtained significantly higher scores in the PAQ-A (OR: 2.11; 95% CI: 1.04 to 4.25; p value: 0.036) and were more likely to participate in group sport (OR: 4.59; 95% CI: 2.28 to 9.22; p value: 0.000). We found no significant relationship between physical activity and the weight status in the total sample, but among female participants, those with overweight status had higher odds of reporting high levels of physical exercise (OR: 4.50; 95% CI: 1.21 to 16.74; p value: 0.025). In terms of centrality, differentiating by gender, women who participated in group sports were more likely to be classified as having low values of centrality, while the opposite effect occurred for men, more likely to be classified as having high values of centrality. Conclusions Our findings, with limitations, underline the importance of two fundamental aspects to be taken into account in the design of future strategies: gender and the centrality within the social network depending on the intensity of contact they have with their peers.

Background Early identification of patients at high risk of progression to severe COVID‐19 constituted an unsolved challenge. Although growing evidence demonstrates a direct association between endotheliitis and severe COVID‐19, the role of endothelial damage biomarkers has been scarcely studied. We investigated the relationship between circulating mid‐regional proadrenomedullin (MR‐proADM) levels, a biomarker of endothelial dysfunction, and prognosis of SARS‐CoV‐2‐infected patients. Methods Prospective observational study enrolling adult patients with confirmed COVID‐19. On admission to emergency department, a blood sample was drawn for laboratory test analysis. Primary and secondary endpoints were 28‐day all‐cause mortality and severe COVID‐19 progression. Area under the curve (AUC) and multivariate regression analysis were employed to assess the association of the biomarker with the established endpoints. Results A total of 99 patients were enrolled. During hospitalization, 25 (25.3%) cases progressed to severe disease and the 28‐day mortality rate was of 14.1%. MR‐proADM showed the highest AUC to predict 28‐day mortality (0.905; [CI] 95%: 0.829‐0.955; P

STRUCTURED ABSTRACTBackgroundSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the sole causative agent of coronavirus infectious disease-19 (COVID-19).MethodsWe performed a retrospective single-center study of consecutively admitted patients between March 1st and May 15th, 2020, with a definitive diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The primary end-point was to evaluate the association of lipid markers with 30-days all-cause mortality in COVID-19.ResultsA total of 654 patients were enrolled, with an estimated 30-day mortality of 22.8% (149 patients). Non-survivors had lower total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) levels during the entire course of the disease with complete resolution among survivors. Both showed a significant inverse correlation with inflammatory markers and a positive correlation with lymphocyte count. In a multivariate analysis, LDL-c ≤ 69 mg/dl (hazard ratio [HR] 1.94; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.14-3.31), C-reactive protein > 88 mg/dl (HR 2.44; 95% CI, 1.41-4.23) and lymphopenia < 1,000 (HR 2.68; 95% CI, 1.91-3.78) at admission were independently associated with 30-day mortality. This association was maintained 7 days after admission.ConclusionHypolipidemia in SARS-CoV-2 infection may be secondary to an immune-inflammatory response, with complete recovery in survivors. Low LDL-c serum levels are independently associated with higher 30-day mortality in COVID-19 patients.

BACKGROUND Following the SEPSIS-3 consensus, detection of organ failure as assessed by the SOFA (Sequential Organ Failure Assessment) score, is mandatory to detect sepsis. Calculating SOFA outside of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is challenging. The alternative in this scenario, the quick SOFA, is very specific but less sensible. Biomarkers could help to detect the presence of organ failure secondary to infection either in ICU and non-ICU settings. MATERIALS AND METHODS We evaluated the ability of four biomarkers (C-Reactive protein (CRP), lactate, mid-regional proadrenomedullin (MR-proADM) and procalcitonin (PCT)) to detect each kind of organ failure considered in the SOFA in 213 patients with infection, sepsis or septic shock, by using multivariate regression analysis and calculation of the area under the receiver operating curve (AUROC). RESULTS In the multivariate analysis, MR-proADM was an independent predictor of five different failures (respiratory, coagulation, cardiovascular, neurological and renal). In turn, lactate predicted three (coagulation, cardiovascular and neurological) and PCT two (cardiovascular and renal). CRP did not predict any of the individual components of SOFA. The highest AUROCs were those of MR-proADM and PCT to detect cardiovascular (AUROC, CI95%): MR-proADM (0.82 [0.76-0.88]), PCT (0.81 [0.75-0.87] (P

Early recognition of sepsis is a key factor to improve survival to this disease in surgical patients, since it allows prompt control of the infectious source. Combining pro-inflammatory and immunosupression biomarkers could represent a good strategy to improve sepsis detection. Here we evaluated the combination of procalcitonin (PCT) with gene expression levels of HLA-DRA to detect sepsis in a cohort of 154 surgical patients (101 with sepsis and 53 with no infection). HLA-DRA expression was quantified using droplet digital PCR, a next-generation PCR technology. Area under the receiver operating curve analysis (AUROC) showed that the PCT/HLA-DRA ratio outperformed PCT to detect sepsis (AUROC [CI95%], p): PCT: 0.80 [0.73-0.88],0.001; PCT/HLA-DRA: 0.85 [0.78-0.91],0.001. In the multivariate analysis, the ratio showed a superior ability to predict sepsis compared to that of PCT (OR [CI 95%], p): PCT/HLA-DRA: 7.66 [1.82-32.29], 0.006; PCT: 4.21 [1.15-15.43] 0.030. Multivariate analysis was confirmed using a new surgical cohort with 74 sepsis patients and 21 controls: PCT/HLA-DRA: 34.86 [1.22-995.08], 0.038; PCT: 5.52 [0.40-75.78], 0.201. In conclusion, the combination of PCT with HLA-DRA is a promising strategy for improving sepsis detection in surgical patients.

Producción Científica, Early recognition of sepsis is a key factor to improve survival to this disease in surgical patients, since it allows prompt control of the infectious source. Combining pro-infammatory and immunosupression biomarkers could represent a good strategy to improve sepsis detection. Here we evaluated the combination of procalcitonin (PCT) with gene expression levels of HLA-DRA to detect sepsis in a cohort of 154 surgical patients (101 with sepsis and 53 with no infection). HLA-DRA expression was quantifed using droplet digital PCR, a next-generation PCR technology. Area under the receiver operating curve analysis (AUROC) showed that the PCT/HLA-DRA ratio outperformed PCT to detect sepsis (AUROC [CI95%], p): PCT: 0.80 [0.73–0.88], Instituto de Salud Carlos III - Consejeria de Sanidad de Castilla y Leon (grants EMER 07/050, PI15/01451 and PI16/01156)

Producción Científica, Background: The use of novel sepsis biomarkers has increased in recent years. However, their prognostic value with respect to illness severity has not been explored. In this work, we examined the ability of mid-regional proadrenomedullin (MR-proADM) in predicting mortality in sepsis patients with different degrees of organ failure, compared to that of procalcitonin, C-reactive protein and lactate. Methods: This was a two-centre prospective observational cohort, enrolling severe sepsis or septic shock patients admitted to the ICU. Plasma biomarkers were measured during the first 12 h of admission. The association between biomarkers and 28-day mortality was assessed by Cox regression analysis and Kaplan–Meier curves. Patients were divided into three groups as evaluated by the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score. The accuracy of the biomarkers for mortality was determined by area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) analysis. Results: A total of 326 patients with severe sepsis (21.7%) or septic shock (79.3%) were enrolled with a 28-day mortality rate of 31.0%. Only MR-proADM and lactate were associated with mortality in the multivariate analysis: hazard ratio 8.5 versus 3.4 (p < 0.001). MR-proADM showed the best AUROC for mortality prediction at 28 days in the analysis over the entire cohort (AUROC [95% CI] 0.79 [0.74–0.84]) (p < 0.001). When patients were stratified by the degree of organ failure, MR-proADM was the only biomarker to predict mortality in all severity groups (SOFA ≤ 6, SOFA = 7–12, and SOFA ≥ 13), AUROC [95% CI] of 0.75 [0.61–0.88], 0.74 [0.66–0.83] and 0.73 [0.59–0.86], respectively (p < 0.05). All patients with MR-proADM concentrations ≤0.88 nmol/L survived up to 28 days. In patients with SOFA ≤ 6, the addition of MR-proADM to the SOFA score increased the ability of SOFA to identify non-survivors, AUROC [95% CI] 0.70 [0.58–0.82] and 0.77 [0.66–0.88], respectively (p < 0.05 for both). Conclusions: The performance of prognostic biomarkers in sepsis is highly influenced by disease severity. MRproADM accuracy to predict mortality is not affected by the degree of organ failure. Thus, it is a good candidate in the early identification of sepsis patients with moderate disease severity but at risk of mortality.

In sepsis, none of the prognostic biomarkers employed have shown the necessary sensitivity and specificity to be used routinely in clinical practice. In this research we analyze the relationship between proADM an other routinely biomarkers employed in the management of severe sepsis with mortality.

Proadrenomedulin (proADM) is a novel prognostic biomarker employed in pneumonia and more recently in severe sepsis and septic shock. Release kinetics of proADM in this disease has not been studied. in this research we analyze the variation in plasma levels of this prohormone based upon the type of causative agent, the site of infection and the presence of renal failure.

El presente artículo pretende justificar la relevancia de las relaciones sociales en el entorno del adolescente obeso. La motivación por este enfoque surgió debido al vacío que se ha encontrado en estudios que expliquen si los adolescentes comen mejor o peor y/o realizan más o menos ejercicio físico dependiendo de su red de amigos. Se realizó una búsqueda bibliográfica centrada en la obesidad y el análisis de las redes sociales de los jóvenes a través de la Biblioteca de la Universidad de León, en diferentes bases de datos tales como Web of Knowledge (WOK), Scielo, Scopus, entre otras. Se obtuvieron artículos y otros documentos de interés utilizando revistas pertenecientes a las disciplinas de la Sociología y de las Ciencias de la Salud. Tras realizar la lectura de los textos más relevantes se pudo obtener los siguientes resultados: (1) las relaciones influyen en los hábitos de los adolescentes, (2) la calidad y la cantidad de comida puede depender del tipo de red que le rodea, y (3) el nivel de ejercicio físico que tiene un individuo se puede ver influenciado por sus mejores amigos, por el grupo en general que le rodea e incluso por los amigos de sus amigos. De todo ello se deriva, que el estudio de la red social del individuo puede ser una herramienta útil a la hora de visualizar los patrones de comportamiento, y por tanto, aplicable a los programas de salud y salud pública contribuyendo, de esta forma, a la sostenibilidad del sistema. ABSTRACT This aim of this article is to demonstrate the importance of social networks in the obese adolescent's environment. This study emerged in response to the paucity of information encountered in the literature as regards whether adolescents eat better or worse and/or performs more or less physical exercise Enfermería Global Nº 38 Abril 2015 Página 250 depending on their friendship networks. We performed a literature search at the University of León library which focused on obesity and an analysis of young people's social networks, exploring databases such as the Web of Knowledge (WOK), SciELO and Scopus, among others. Articles and other documents of interest were identified using journals from the disciplines of Sociology and the Health Sciences. After the most relevant texts had been read in full, the following results were obtained: (1) relationships influence adolescents' habits, (2) the quality and quantity of food they consume can depend on the type of network to which they belong, and (3) the amount of physical exercise that adolescents do can be influenced by their best friends, by the wider group to which they belong and even by friends of friends. The foregoing suggests that the study of adolescents' social networks could be a useful tool for identifying behaviour patterns; it is therefore applicable to health and public health programmes and would contribute to the sustainability of the system.

Teratomas are tumours that rarely exist in children. Their location in head and neck is, however, an unusual finding.A strange case of middle ear congenital teratoma reaching the cervical area is presented here. In the last 20 years it is only the second case to be published in the English literature. The tumour was revealed by the presence of a peripheral congenital facial palsy.