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We collected a multi-centric retrospective dataset of patients (N = 213) who were admitted to ten hospitals in Czech Republic and tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 during the early phases of the pandemic in March-October 2020. The dataset contains baseline patient characteristics, breathing support required, pharmacological treatment received and multiple markers on daily resolution. Patients in the dataset were treated with hydroxychloroquine (N = 108), azithromycin (N = 72), favipiravir (N = 9), convalescent plasma (N = 7), dexamethasone (N = 4) and remdesivir (N = 3), often in combination. To explore association between treatments and patient outcomes we performed multiverse analysis, observing how the conclusions change between defensible choices of statistical model, predictors included in the model and other analytical degrees of freedom. Weak evidence to constrain the potential efficacy of azithromycin and favipiravir can be extracted from the data. Additionally, we performed external validation of several proposed prognostic models for Covid-19 severity showing that they mostly perform unsatisfactorily on our dataset., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to obtain data on demands on the intensive care capacities to treat COVID-19 patients, and to identify predictors for in-hospital mortality., Methods: The prospective observational multicentre study carried out from 1 March till 30 June 2020 included adult patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection with respiratory failure requiring ventilatory support or high-flow nasal oxygen therapy (HFNO)., Results: Seventy-four patients, 46 males and 28 females, median age 67.5 (Q1-Q3: 56-75) years, were included. Sixty-four patients (86.5%) had comorbidity. Sixty-six patients (89.2%) were mechanically ventilated, four of them received extracorporeal membrane oxygenation therapy. Eight patients (10.8%) were treated with non-invasive ventilation and HFNO only. The median of intensive care unit (ICU) stay was 22.5 days. Eighteen patients (24.3%) needed continuous renal replacement therapy. Thirty patients (40.5%) died. Age and acute kidney injury were identified as independent predictors of in-hospital death, and chronic kidney disease showed trend towards statistical significance for poor outcome., Conclusions: Sufficient number of intensive care beds, organ support equipment and well-trained staff is a decisive factor in managing the COVID-19 epidemic. The study focused on the needs of intensive care in the COVID-19 patients. Advanced age and acute kidney injury were identified as independent predictors for in-hospital mortality. When compared to clinical course and ICU management of patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia caused by other pathogens, we observed prolonged need for ventilatory support, high rate of progression to acute respiratory distress syndrome and significant mortality in studied population.

Unlabelled: Determination of mTREM-1 expression on monocytes has been investigated as a perspective diagnostic method to distinguish infectious from non-infectious etiology of the inflammation., The Aims of Our Study Were: i) to investigate the expression of TREM-1 on monocytes in septic patients and in those after elective spinal surgery without infection; ii) to assess the dynamics of mTREM-1 expression on monocytes and its association with the outcome in patients with severe sepsis. Fifty two patients with severe sepsis, 20 healthy volunteers, and 20 patients after elective spinal surgery were involved in our study. TREM-1 expression on monocytes was evaluated by flow cytometry. Compared with the group of healthy adults (median 42.0, interquartile range (IQR) 30.3-76 MFI), mTREM-1 expression was increased in the group of septic patients both at entry (median 138.4, IQR 78.4-187.5 MFI) and the last examination (median 136.5, IQR 69.0-170.0 MFI) as well as in patients 24 hours after spinal surgery (median 138.5, IQR 45.3-165.5 MFI). The increase was statistically significant. mTREM-1 expression in patients undergoing spinal surgery and those with severe sepsis did not differ. TREM-1 expression on the monocytes in survivors was higher than in non-survivors (p=0.007). TREM-1 levels in septic non-surviving patients correlated weakly with TNF-α levels (r=0.38; p=0.003) and with HLA-DR/CD14 levels (r=0.38; p=0.003). Increased TREM-1 expression on monocytes is not associated exclusively with the presence of systemic infection.