How doctors can predict which patients are more likely to die of COVID Several studies have come out about the COVID prognosis.
As a result, we now have a powerful way to predict which patients with COVID pneumonia are more likely to die and require longer stays in the hospital. We already know that less than 15% of people who get COVID have a severe disease to the point of requiring hospitalization. Less than 5% of people who get coronavirus require ICU.
For those with COVID pneumonia who require ICU, and for some of the other patients in the hospital who might not necessarily need ICU, these are the patients who have the cytokine storm that we keep hearing about, meaning the immune system is going haywire.
There is a ton of inflammation taking place in the body….especially the lungs. But now, we have a more specific way of predicting who is more likely to develop cytokine storm, and therefore more likely to die, and who is more likely to require a longer stay in the hospital….and it’s based on the bloodwork we get when patients are hospitalized.
When we get bloodwork, we’re doing various lab tests. It is most commonly a complete blood count, CBC, and a complete metabolic panel or CMP. We often check other things like troponin, d-dimer, LDH, ferritin, and CRP. A complete blood count is specifically looking at 3 things: hemoglobin levels, platelets, and white blood cells. We can use the total number and the breakdown of the percentages of the types of white blood cells, meaning what percentage are neutrophils, monocytes, lymphocytes, eosinophils, and basophils. Lymphocytes generally make up about 15-45% of WBC. This is very important as it pertains to COVID, and you’ll see why in a little bit.
The CMP stands for the complete metabolic pan looking at sodium, potassium, chloride, bicarbonate, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, glucose calcium, bilirubin, albumin, and liver enzymes like AST ALT alkaline phosphatase. Some of these also have important implications when it comes to COVID disease severity. Because In the recent study done at Temple University, they analyzed over 500 hospitalized COVID patients, all of which had inflammation in their lungs seen on a CT scan of the chest (show). They determined the criteria for COVID cytokine storm. For patients who met these criteria, their length of stay in the hospital was 15 days, compared to 6 days if they did not meet the criteria.
Mortality was 28.8% in the group that met the criteria, vs. 6.6% in those who did not. So if they met cytokine storm criteria, their likelihood of dying was 4 times higher. And how accurate was this prediction model? Pretty accurate, as this study had a specificity of 79% and a sensitivity of 85%, which is a lot of predictive power. Most of the patients who met the criteria for CS did so at the time of admission or shortly after. This suggests that there is an early and rapid progression in these patients and that there is a low likelihood of developing cytokine storms after 10 days of hospitalization.
So based on these specific lab parameters, this is how doctors can predict which patients are more likely to die of COVID. I find that this study correlates with what I’ve seen in my personal experience with hospitalized covid patients. And yes, the man whose CT scan I showed you earlier in this video met all of these criteria for cytokine storm, and he did so as soon as 24 hours of being admitted to the hospital.
Doctor Mike Hansen, MD Internal Medicine | Pulmonary Disease | Critical Care Medicine
News
Scientists Unlock a New Way to Hear the Brain’s Hidden Language
Scientists can finally hear the brain’s quietest messages—unlocking the hidden code behind how neurons think, decide, and remember. Scientists have created a new protein that can capture the incoming chemical signals received by brain [...]
Does being infected or vaccinated first influence COVID-19 immunity?
A new study analyzing the immune response to COVID-19 in a Catalan cohort of health workers sheds light on an important question: does it matter whether a person was first infected or first vaccinated? [...]
We May Never Know if AI Is Conscious, Says Cambridge Philosopher
As claims about conscious AI grow louder, a Cambridge philosopher argues that we lack the evidence to know whether machines can truly be conscious, let alone morally significant. A philosopher at the University of [...]
AI Helped Scientists Stop a Virus With One Tiny Change
Using AI, researchers identified one tiny molecular interaction that viruses need to infect cells. Disrupting it stopped the virus before infection could begin. Washington State University scientists have uncovered a method to interfere with a key [...]
Deadly Hospital Fungus May Finally Have a Weakness
A deadly, drug-resistant hospital fungus may finally have a weakness—and scientists think they’ve found it. Researchers have identified a genetic process that could open the door to new treatments for a dangerous fungal infection [...]
Fever-Proof Bird Flu Variant Could Fuel the Next Pandemic
Bird flu viruses present a significant risk to humans because they can continue replicating at temperatures higher than a typical fever. Fever is one of the body’s main tools for slowing or stopping viral [...]
What could the future of nanoscience look like?
Society has a lot to thank for nanoscience. From improved health monitoring to reducing the size of electronics, scientists’ ability to delve deeper and better understand chemistry at the nanoscale has opened up numerous [...]
Scientists Melt Cancer’s Hidden “Power Hubs” and Stop Tumor Growth
Researchers discovered that in a rare kidney cancer, RNA builds droplet-like hubs that act as growth control centers inside tumor cells. By engineering a molecular switch to dissolve these hubs, they were able to halt cancer [...]
Platelet-inspired nanoparticles could improve treatment of inflammatory diseases
Scientists have developed platelet-inspired nanoparticles that deliver anti-inflammatory drugs directly to brain-computer interface implants, doubling their effectiveness. Scientists have found a way to improve the performance of brain-computer interface (BCI) electrodes by delivering anti-inflammatory drugs directly [...]
After 150 years, a new chapter in cancer therapy is finally beginning
For decades, researchers have been looking for ways to destroy cancer cells in a targeted manner without further weakening the body. But for many patients whose immune system is severely impaired by chemotherapy or radiation, [...]
Older chemical libraries show promise for fighting resistant strains of COVID-19 virus
SARS‑CoV‑2, the virus that causes COVID-19, continues to mutate, with some newer strains becoming less responsive to current antiviral treatments like Paxlovid. Now, University of California San Diego scientists and an international team of [...]
Lower doses of immunotherapy for skin cancer give better results, study suggests
According to a new study, lower doses of approved immunotherapy for malignant melanoma can give better results against tumors, while reducing side effects. This is reported by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in the Journal of the National [...]
Researchers highlight five pathways through which microplastics can harm the brain
Microplastics could be fueling neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, with a new study highlighting five ways microplastics can trigger inflammation and damage in the brain. More than 57 million people live with dementia, [...]
Tiny Metal Nanodots Obliterate Cancer Cells While Largely Sparing Healthy Tissue
Scientists have developed tiny metal-oxide particles that push cancer cells past their stress limits while sparing healthy tissue. An international team led by RMIT University has developed tiny particles called nanodots, crafted from a metallic compound, [...]
Gold Nanoclusters Could Supercharge Quantum Computers
Researchers found that gold “super atoms” can behave like the atoms in top-tier quantum systems—only far easier to scale. These tiny clusters can be customized at the molecular level, offering a powerful, tunable foundation [...]
A single shot of HPV vaccine may be enough to fight cervical cancer, study finds
WASHINGTON -- A single HPV vaccination appears just as effective as two doses at preventing the viral infection that causes cervical cancer, researchers reported Wednesday. HPV, or human papillomavirus, is very common and spread [...]
