Objective Test whether high dose corticosteroid pulse therapy (HDCPT) with either methylprednisolone or dexamethasone is associated with increased survival in COVID-19 patients at risk of hyper-inflammatory response. Provide some initial diagnostic criteria using laboratory markers to stratify these patients. Methods This is a prospective observational study, 318 met the inclusion criteria. 64 patients (20.1%) were treated with HDCPT by using at least 1.5mg/kg/24h of methylprednisolone or dexamethasone equivalent. A multivariate Cox regression (controlling for co-morbidities and other therapies) was carried out to determine whether HDCPT (among other interventions) was associated with decreased mortality. We also carried out a 30-day time course analysis of laboratory markers between survivors and non-survivors, to identify potential markers for patient stratification. Results HDCPT showed a statistically significant decrease in mortality (HR = 0.087 [95% CI 0.021–0.36]; P < 0.001). 30-day time course analysis of laboratory marker tests showed marked differences in pro-inflammatory markers between survivors and non-survivors. As diagnostic criteria to define the patients at risk of developing a COVID-19 hyper-inflammatory response, we propose the following parameters (IL-6 > = 40 pg/ml, and/or two of the following: C-reactive protein > = 100 mg/L, D-dimer > = 1000 ng/ml, ferritin > = 500 ng/ml and lactate dehydrogenase > = 300 U/L). Conclusions HDCPT can be an effective intervention to increase COVID-19 survival rates in patients at risk of developing a COVID-19 hyper-inflammatory response, laboratory marker tests can be used to stratify these patients who should be given HDCPT. This study is not a randomized clinical trial (RCT). Future RCTs should be carried out to confirm the efficacy of HDCPT to increase the survival rates of COVID-19.

COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the world population, with a high rate of morbidity and mortality. While the evidence to date has attempted to describe clinical feature of acute illness, recent reports have also begun to describe persistent symptoms that extend beyond the initial period of illness. Adverse outcomes, in addition to respiratory, have been found to occur at different levels: cardiovascular, neurological, or immunological; skin, gastrointestinal or renal manifestations. The detrimental effect on mental health has also been described, not only in COVID-19 patients. The burden of disease secondary to this pandemic is likely to be enormous and not limited to acute disease alone, thus epidemiological studies are needed to further investigate the long-term impact of this disease. This review summarizes the current evidence on short-term effects and describes the possible long-term sequelae of COVID-19.

ObjectiveThis study aimed to analyze the prognostic factors for overall and progression-free survival in patients with vulvar cancer.MethodsThis international, multicenter, retrospective study included 2453 patients diagnosed with vulvar cancer at 100 different institutions. Inclusion criteria were institutional review board approval from each collaborating center, pathologic diagnosis of invasive carcinoma of the vulva, and primary treatment performed at the participating center. Patients with intraepithelial neoplasia or primary treatment at non-participating centers were excluded. Global survival analysis and squamous cell histology subanalysis was performed.ResultsAfter excluding patients due to incomplete data entry, 1727 patients treated for vulvar cancer between January 2001 and December 2005 were registered for analysis (1535 squamous, 42 melanomas, 38 Paget’s disease and 112 other histologic types). Melanomas had the worse prognosis (p=0.02). In squamous vulvar tumors, independent factors for increase in local recurrence of vulvar cancer were: no prior radiotherapy (p<0.001) or chemotherapy (p=0.006), and for distant recurrence were the number of positive inguinal nodes (p=0.025), and not having undergone lymphadenectomy (p=0.03) or radiotherapy (p<0.001), with a HR of 1.1 (95% CI 1.2 to 1.21), 2.9 (95% CI 1.4 to 6.1), and 3.1 (95% CI 1.7 to 5.7), respectively. Number of positive nodes (p=0.008), FIGO stage (p<0.001), adjuvant chemotherapy (p=0.001), tumor resection margins (p=0.045), and stromal invasion >5 mm (p=0.001) were correlated with poor overall survival, and large case volume (≥9 vs <9 cases per year) correlated with more favorable overall survival (p=0.05).ConclusionsAdvanced patient age, number of positive inguinal lymph nodes, and lack of adjuvant treatment are significantly associated with a higher risk of relapse in patients with squamous cell vulvar cancer. Case volume per treating institution, FIGO stage, and stromal invasion appear to impact overall survival significantly. Future prospective trials are warranted to establish these prognostic factors for vulvar cancer.

Patients with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) who receive antiretroviral therapy (ART) often achieve increased survival and improved quality of life. In this respect, monotherapy with darunavir/ritonavir (mDRV/r) can be a useful treatment strategy. This prospective study analyses the effect of mDRV/r on sperm quality and viral load in a group of 28 patients who had previously been given conventional ART and who had recorded a viral load <20 copies/mL for at least six months. These patients were given mDRV/r at a dose of 800/100 mg for 48 weeks. At baseline (V0), CD4, CD8, FSH, LH and testosterone levels were measured, together with HIV-1 viral load in plasma and semen. In addition, seminal fluid quality was studied before mDRV/r treatment was prescribed. At week 48 (V1), HIV-1 viral load in plasma and semen and the quality of the seminal fluid were again measured. The results obtained indicate that at V0, 10% of the patients with ART had a positive viral load in seminal fluid (>20 copies/ml), and that at V1, after mDRV/r treatment, this figure had fallen to 3%. The quality of seminal fluid was close to normal in 57% of patients at V0 and in 62% at V1. We conclude that, similar to ART, mDRV/r maintains HIV-1 viral load in most patients, and that there is no worsening in seminal fluid quality.