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Background The clinical and virological course of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are lacking. We aimed to describe the clinical and virological characteristics of COVID-19 patients from 10 designated hospitals in 10 cities of Jiangsu province, China. The factors associated with the clearance of SARS-CoV-2 were investigated. Methods A total of 328 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 were retrospectively recruited. The epidemiological, clinical, laboratory, radiology and treatment data were collected. The associated factors of SARS-CoV-2 clearance were analyzed. Results The median duration of hospitalization was 16.0 days (interquartile range [IQR] 13.0–21.0 days). On multivariate Cox regression analysis, age > 60 years (hazard ratio [HR] 0.643, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.454–0.911, P = 0.013) was associated with the delayed SARS-CoV-2 clearance, while the atomized inhalation of interferon α-2b could improve the clearance of SARS-CoV-2 (HR, 1.357, 95% CI 1.050–1.755, P = 0.020). Twenty-six (7.9%) patients developed respiratory failure and 4 (1.2%) patients developed ARDS. Twenty (6.1%) patients were admitted to the ICU, while no patient was deceased. Conclusions Our study found that age > 60 years was associated with the delayed SARS-CoV-2 clearance, while treated with atomized inhalation of interferon α-2b could promote the clearance of SARS-CoV-2.

We aimed to describe liver injury and identify the risk factors of liver injury in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients without chronic liver diseases (CLD). The clinical data of 228 confirmed COVID-19 patients without CLD were retrospectively collected from ten hospitals in Jiangsu, China. Sixty-seven (29.4%) of 228 patients without CLD showed abnormal liver function on admission, including increased alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (25 [11.0%]) U/L, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) 30 [13.2%]) U/L, gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) 28 [12.4%]) U/L, total bilirubin (Tbil) 16 [7.0%] µmol/L, and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) 10 [4.5%]) U/L. During hospitalization, 129 (56.3%) of 228 patients showed abnormal liver function, including elevated ALT (84 [36.8%]), AST (58 [25.4%]), GGT (67 [29.5%]), and Tbil (59 [25.9%]). Age over 50 years (odds ratio [OR], 2.086; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.030-4.225; p = .041), male sex (OR, 2.737; 95% CI, 1.418-5.284; p = .003), and lopinavir-ritonavir (OR, 2.504; 95% CI, 1.187-5.283; p = .016) were associated with higher risk of liver function abnormality, while the atomized inhalation of interferon α-2b (OR, 0.256; 95% CI 0.126-0.520; p < .001) was associated with reduced risk of liver function abnormality during hospitalization. Mild to moderate liver injury was common in COVID-19 patients in Jiangsu, China. Age over 50 years, male sex, and lopinavir-ritonavir were the independent risk factors of liver impairment in COVID-19 patients during hospitalization.

The impact of corticosteroid treatment on virological course of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients remains unclear. This study aimed to explore the association between corticosteroid and viral clearance in COVID-19. The clinical data of COVID-19 patients from 10 hospitals of Jiangsu, China, were retrospectively collected. Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier analysis were used to analyze the adverse factors of virus clearance. Of the 309 COVID-19 patients, eighty-nine (28.8%) patients received corticosteroid treatment during hospitalization. Corticosteroid group showed higher C-reactive protein (median 11.1 vs. 7.0 mg/l, P = 0.018) and lower lymphocytes (median 0.9 vs. 1.4 × 109/l, P

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to observe the clinical characteristics of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with overweight and obesity. METHODS: Consecutive patients with COVID-19 from 10 hospitals of Jiangsu province, China, were enrolled. RESULTS: A total of 297 patients with COVID-19 were included, and 39.39% and 13.47% of patients had overweight and obesity, respectively. The proportions of bilateral pneumonia (92.50% vs. 73.57%, P = 0.033) and type 2 diabetes (17.50% vs. 3.57%, P = 0.006) were higher in patients with obesity than lean patients. The proportions of severe illness in patients with overweight (12.82% vs. 2.86%, P = 0.006) and obesity (25.00% vs. 2.86%, P < 0.001) were significantly higher than lean patients. More patients with obesity developed respiratory failure (20.00% vs. 2.86%, P < 0.001) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (5.00% vs. 0%, P = 0.024) than lean patients. The median days of hospitalization were longer in patients with obesity than lean patients (17.00 days vs. 14.00 days, P = 0.029). Overweight (OR, 4.222; 95% CI: 1.322-13.476; P = 0.015) and obesity (OR, 9.216; 95% CI: 2.581-32.903; P = 0.001) were independent risk factors of severe illness. Obesity (HR, 6.607; 95% CI: 1.955-22.329; P = 0.002) was an independent risk factor of respiratory failure. CONCLUSIONS: Overweight and obesity were independent risk factors of severe illness in COVID-19 patients. More attention should be paid to these patients.

Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) have been increasingly used in various biomedical applications in preclinical and clinical settings. Although the interactions of IONPs with macrophages have been well-reported in the context of nanoparticle toxicity, harnessing the capacity of IONPs in reprograming macrophages towards bactericidal activity has not been explored. Here, using an in vitro culture model of macrophages and an in vivo mouse model of skin wound infection by Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), we demonstrated that IONPs in combination with a strategy to trigger the Fenton reaction could significantly enhance bactericidal effects of macrophages against intracellular S. aureus by inducing a M1 macrophage polarization that stimulates the production of reactive oxygen species. Our study supports that harnessing the characteristic of IONPs to tune macrophage polarization to exhibit a bactericidal activity may provide a new strategy for treating infectious diseases.

The formation of beta-amyloid (Aβ) plaques is a classical hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) that is associated with the promotion of neuroinflammation and subsequent neurotoxicity. Given the limited therapeutic options for targeting and clearing Aβ plaques in AD, there is an urgent need to develop effective approaches to reduce plaque accumulation. The objective of this study was to validate mild magnetic nanoparticle (MNP) hyperthermia technology as a strategy to clear Aβ deposits and determine the impact on microglia functionality. Our results demonstrated that the heating of MNPs localized to Aβ aggregates upon exposure to high frequency alternating magnetic field (AMF) was sufficient to disrupt Aβ plaques, resulting in its fragmentation. Importantly, this could facilitate the phagocytic clearance of Aβ as well as attenuate pro-inflammatory responses by human microglial cells. Our results support the feasibility of mild MNP/AMF hyperthermia as a new strategy for reducing beta-amyloid burdens in Alzheimer’s disease.

VTE has emerged as a major public health problem. However, data on VTE burden in China are seldom reported.This study collected data on patients with a principal diagnosis of VTE, pulmonary embolism (PE), or DVT by using the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, from 90 hospitals across China. The trends in hospitalization rates, mortality, length of stay (LOS), and comorbidities from 2007 to 2016 were analyzed.In total, 105,723 patients with VTE were identified. For patients with VTE, the age- and sex-adjusted hospitalization rate increased from 3.2 to 17.5 per 100,000 population, and in-hospital mortality decreased from 4.7% to 2.1% (P .001). The mean LOS declined from 14 to 11 days (P .001). In addition, the data in 2016 showed that the hospitalization rate of VTE was higher in elderly male patients (male patients vs female patients, 155.3 vs 125.4 per 100,000 population in patients aged ≥ 85 years; P .001) and in northern China (north vs south, 18.4 vs 13.4 per 100,000 population; P .001). Higher mortality rates were found in patients with cancer and Charlson Comorbidity Index scores2. Similar trends were also observed in patients with PE and those with DVT. The hospitalization rate in China was much lower than that of the United States or selected sites in Canada and Europe, the LOS was much longer, and the in-hospital mortality rates were similar.The hospitalization rates of VTE increased steadily, and the mortality declined. This study provides important information on the disease burden of VTE in China.