Peer Reviewed

COVID-19

COVID-19 Roundup: Hospital Mortality, Hand Dermatitis, Long-Term Outcomes

Hospital Mortality1

In the most comprehensive study to-date on COVID-19-related hospital mortality rates in the United States, researchers found that rates decreased by more than 33% from March 2020 to June 2020.

In order to examine whether patient characteristics were associated with decreases in mortality rates, the researchers conducted a retrospective cohort study of 20x736 adults with COVID-19 from the US American Heart Association COVID-19 Cardiovascular Disease Registry. All participants were admitted to the hospital between March and November 2020.

Overall, mortality rates dropped from 19.1% in March and April to 11.9% in May and June, 11.0% in July and August, to 10.8% in September through November.

“This difference in mortality rates between the months of March and April and later months persisted even after adjusting for age, sex, medical history, and COVID-19 disease severity and did not appear to be associated with changes in the characteristics of patients being admitted,” the researchers concluded.

Hand Dermatitis2,3

Hand dermatitis was present in nearly 70% of individuals in a recent study on the effects of overzealous hand washing during the pandemic.

The researchers examined transepidermal water loss (TEWL) from 291 health care professionals (HCPs) and 291 healthy individuals from the general population in India. Overall, despite only 3% of HCPs and 2.4% of the general public reporting previous hand dermatitis, it was now present in 92.6% of HCPs and 68.7% of the general population.

"This research truly demonstrates the impact of increased hand washing and uptake of alcohol-based rubs on the hand skin health of HCPs and the general public. Moreover, we now know that using TEWL to measure skin barrier function can help us compare the efficacy of various barrier protective measures and discover suitable modifications of hand hygiene practices and products to help prevent hand eczema. Finding suitable modifications to practices and products that may increase the accessibility of proper hand hygiene is something of vital importance to many in our community."

Long-Term Vascular Outcomes4

Young adults recovering from COVID-19 had greater risk of carotid artery stiffness and aortic stiffness than those without COVID-19, according to a recent study.

COVID-19 has been associated with negative effects on vascular function. To further explore this, the researchers evaluated 15 young adults 3 to 4 weeks after diagnosis with COVID-19, comparing them with 15 young adults evaluated before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Overall, “this cross‐sectional analysis revealed higher carotid artery stiffness and aortic stiffness among young adults with SARS‐CoV‐2. These results provide further evidence of cardiovascular impairments among young adults recovering from SARS‐CoV‐2 infection, which should be considered for cardiovascular complications associated with SARS‐CoV‐2,” they wrote.

—Michael Potts

References:

  1. Roth GA, Emmons-Bell S, Alger HM, et al. Trends in patient characteristics and COVID-19 in-hospital mortality in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(5):e218828. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.8828
  2. Madhumita M, Bhat R. Challenges in curbing SARS-CoV2 - overzealous hand hygiene and the overlooked skin damage. Abstract submitted to EADV Spring Symposium 2021.
  3. Hand dermatitis in two thirds of public due to stringent hand hygiene during COVID. News release. Father Muller Medical College. May 6, 2021. Accessed May 7, 2021. https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-05/sc-hdi050621.php
  4. Szeghy RE, Province VM, Stute NL, et al. Carotid stiffness, intima media thickness, and aortic augmentation index among adults with SARS‐CoV‐2. EP. Published online April 26, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1113/EP089481