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ObjectiveTo evaluate the impact of body mass index (BMI) on survival of a Chinese cohort of medical patients with sepsis.DesignA single-centre prospective cohort study conducted from May 2015 to April 2017.SettingA tertiary care university hospital in China.ParticipantsA total of 178 patients with sepsis admitted to the medical intensive care unit (ICU) were included.Main outcome measuresThe primary outcome was 90-day mortality while the secondary outcomes were in-hospital mortality, length of ICU stay and length of hospital stay.ResultsThe median age (IQR) was 78 (66–84) years old, and 77.0% patients were older than 65 years. The 90-day mortality was 47.2%. The in-hospital mortality was 41.6%, and the length of ICU stay and hospital stay were 12 (5–22) and 15 (9–28) days, respectively. Cox proportional hazard regression analysis identified that Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score (HR=1.229, p<0.001), Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score (HR=1.050, p<0.001) and BMI (HR=0.940, p=0.029) were all independently associated with the 90-day mortality. Patients were divided into four groups based on BMI (underweight 33 (18.5%), normal 98 (55.1%), overweight 36 (20.2%) and obese 11 (6.2%)). The 90-day mortality (66.7%, 48.0%, 36.1% and 18.2%, p=0.015) and in-hospital mortality (60.6%, 41.8%, 30.6% and 18.2%, p=0.027) were statistically different among the four groups. Differences in survival among the four groups were demonstrated by Kaplan-Meier survival analysis (p=0.008), with the underweight patients showing a lower survival rate.ConclusionsBMI was an independent factor associated with 90-day survival in a Chinese cohort of medical patients with sepsis, with patients having a lower BMI at a higher risk of death.

Background The roles of inflammation and hypercoagulation in predicting outcomes of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are unclear. Methods Adult patients diagnosed with COVID-19 from 28 January 2020 to 4 March 2020 in Tongji Hospital, Wuhan were recruited. Data on related parameters were collected. Univariate analysis and multivariable binary logistic regression were used to explore predictors of critical illness and mortality. Results In total, 199 and 44 patients were enrolled in the training and testing sets, respectively. Elevated ferritin, tumor necrosis factor-α and D-dimer and decreased albumin concentration were associated with disease severity. Older age, elevated ferritin and elevated interleukin-6 were associated with 28-day mortality. The FAD-85 score, defined as age + 0.01 * ferritin +D-dimer, was used to predict risk of mortality. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of FAD-85 were 86.4%, 81.8% and 86.4%, respectively. A nomogram was established using age, ferritin and D-dimer to predict the risk of 28-day mortality. Conclusions Thrombo-inflammatory parameters provide key information on the severity and prognosis of COVID-19 and can be used as references for clinical treatment to correct inflammatory and coagulation abnormalities.

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Background With the spread of COVID-19 from Wuhan, Hubei Province to other areas of the country, medical staff in Fever Clinics faced the challenge of identifying suspected cases among febrile patients with acute respiratory infections. We aimed to describe the prevalence and clinical features of COVID-19 as compared to pneumonias of other etiologies in a Fever Clinic in Beijing.