Background:Due to the rapidly escalating number of cases and the low baseline of overall health in Louisiana, we sought to determine the prognostic value of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in hospitalized COVID patients in 2 major metropolitan areas with the highest prevalence of casesand exceedingly high rates of obesity and other comorbid conditions.We hypothesized that elevated NLR would be a prognostic indicator of mortality. Methods: This was a review of a prospective registry of adult (18+ years) hospitalized SARS-CoV-2 patients from to two large urban safety net hospitals in Louisiana. Blood cell counts at days 2 and 5 were used to obtain NLR. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis assessed predictive capacity of NLR on mortality. Kaplan-Meier (KM) survival analysis and Cox regression models examined the effect of NLR on survival. Results:The study population of 125 patients was majority African American (88.6%) and female (54.8%) with a mean age and BMI of 58.7 years and 34.2. Most (96.0%) had comorbiditiesof which hypertension (72.0%), obesity (66.7%), and diabetes (40.0%) were the most common. Mortality was 18.4%. NLR > 4.94 on day 1 predicted intubation (P = 0.02). NLR above established cutoff values on hospital days 2 and 5 each significantly predicted mortality (P < 0.001 and P = 0.002, respectively). Conclusions:NLR is a prognostic factor for endotracheal intubation upon hospital admission and independent predictor for risk of mortality in SARS-CoV-2 patients on subsequent hospital days. Clinical research efforts should examine effects of strategies such as arginase inhibition alone and/or inhaled nitric oxide to ameliorate the effects of elevated NLR.

INTRODUCTION:Metropolitan cities in the United States suffer from higher rates of gun violence. However, the specific structural factors associated with increased gun violence are poorly defined. We hypothesized that firearm homicide in metropolitan cities would be impacted by Black-White segregation index. METHODS:This cross-sectional analysis evaluated 51 US metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) using data from 2013 to 2017. Several measures of structural racism were examined, including the Brooking Institute's Black-White segregation index. Demographic data were derived from the US Census Bureau, US Department of Education, and US Department of Labor. Crime data and firearm homicide mortality rates were obtained from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Centers for Disease Control. Spearman ρ and linear regression were performed. RESULTS:Firearm mortality was associated with multiple measures of structural racism and racial disparity, including White-Black segregation index, unemployment rate, poverty rate, single parent household, percent Black population, and crime rates. In regression analysis, percentage Black population exhibited the strongest association with firearm homicide mortality (β = 0.42, p < 0.001). Black-White segregation index (β = 0.41, p = 0.001) and percent children living in single-parent households (β = 0.41, p = 0.002) were also associated with higher firearm homicide mortality. Firearm legislation scores were associated with lower firearm homicide mortality (β = −0.20 p = 0.02). High school and college graduation rates were not associated with firearm homicide mortality and were not included in the final model. CONCLUSION:Firearm homicide disproportionately impacts communities of color and is associated with measures of structural racism, such as White-Black segregation index. Public health interventions targeting gun violence must address these systemic inequities. Furthermore, given the association between firearm mortality and single-parent households, intervention programs for at-risk youth may be particularly effective.