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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) appears to have significant extrapulmonary complications affecting multiple organ systems. 1-3 Critically ill patients with COVID-19 often develop gastrointestinal complications during their hospital stay, including bowel ischemia, transaminitis, gastrointestinal bleeding, pancreatitis, Ogilvie syndrome, and severe ileus. 3 Whether the high incidence of gastrointestinal complications is a manifestation of critical illness in general or is specific to COVID-19 remains unclear. We compared the incidence of gastrointestinal complications of critically ill patients with COVID-19-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) vs comparably ill patients with non-COVID-19 ARDS using propensity score analysis. Methods | All patients with confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection on reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction who were intubated and admitted to 1 of 13 (preexistent and surge) intensive care units (ICUs) of the Massachusetts General Hospital between March 13, 2020, and May 7, 2020, were included, then matched to a cohort of patients admitted between 2018 and 2019 and meeting the Berlin criteria for ARDS. 4 No changes

Aims Thromboprophylaxis guidelines for patients with concurrent atrial fibrillation (AF) during infections are unclear and not supported by data. We compared 1-year outcomes in patients with infection-related AF and infection without AF. Methods and results By crosslinking Danish nationwide registry data, AF naïve patients admitted with infection (1996–2016) were identified. Those with AF during the infection (infection-related AF) were matched 1:3 according to age, sex, type of infection, and year with patients with infection without AF. Outcomes (AF, thromboembolic events) were assessed by multivariable Cox regression. The study population comprised 30 307 patients with infection-related AF and 90 912 patients with infection without AF [median age 79 years (interquartile range 71–86), 47.6% males in both groups]. The 1-year absolute risk of AF and thromboembolic events were 36.4% and 7.6%, respectively (infection-related AF) and 1.9% and 4.4%, respectively (infection without AF). In the multivariable analyses, infection-related AF was associated with an increased long-term risk of AF and thromboembolic events compared with infection without AF: hazard ratio (HR) 25.98, 95% confidence interval (CI) 24.64–27.39 for AF and HR 2.10, 95% CI 1.98–2.22 for thromboembolic events. Further, differences in risks existed across different subtypes of infections. Conclusion During the first year after discharge, 36% of patients with infection-related AF had a new hospital contact with AF. Infection-related AF was associated with increased risk of thromboembolic events compared with infection without AF and our results suggest that AF related to infection may merit treatment and follow-up similar to that of AF not related to infection.

BACKGROUND:We sought to describe characteristics, multisystem outcomes, and predictors of mortality of the critically ill COVID-19 patients in the largest hospital in Massachusetts. METHODS:This is a prospective cohort study. All patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) with reverse-transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction-confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection between March 14, 2020, and April 28, 2020, were included; hospital and multisystem outcomes were evaluated. Data were collected from electronic records. Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) was defined as PaO2/FiO2 ratio of ≤300 during admission and bilateral radiographic pulmonary opacities. Multivariable logistic regression analyses adjusting for available confounders were performed to identify predictors of mortality. RESULTS:A total of 235 patients were included. The median (interquartile range [IQR]) Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score was 5 (3-8), and the median (IQR) PaO2/FiO2 was 208 (146-300) with 86.4% of patients meeting criteria for ARDS. The median (IQR) follow-up was 92 (86-99) days, and the median ICU length of stay was 16 (8-25) days; 62.1% of patients were proned, 49.8% required neuromuscular blockade, and 3.4% required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. The most common complications were shock (88.9%), acute kidney injury (AKI) (69.8%), secondary bacterial pneumonia (70.6%), and pressure ulcers (51.1%). As of July 8, 2020, 175 patients (74.5%) were discharged alive (61.7% to skilled nursing or rehabilitation facility), 58 (24.7%) died in the hospital, and only 2 patients were still hospitalized, but out of the ICU. Age (odds ratio [OR], 1.08; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.04-1.12), higher median Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score at ICU admission (OR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.06-1.43), elevated creatine kinase of ≥1,000 U/L at hospital admission (OR, 6.64; 95% CI, 1.51-29.17), and severe ARDS (OR, 5.24; 95% CI, 1.18-23.29) independently predicted hospital mortality.Comorbidities, steroids, and hydroxychloroquine treatment did not predict mortality. CONCLUSION:We present here the outcomes of critically ill patients with COVID-19. Age, acuity of disease, and severe ARDS predicted mortality rather than comorbidities.