Significance of the thrombo-inflammatory status-based novel prognostic score as a useful predictor for in-hospital mortality of patients with type B acute aortic dissection

Predictive Value of the White Blood Cells Count for the Prognosis of Hospitalized Patients with Acute Aortic Dissection

Objective

Our study evaluated the prognostic significance of white blood cells (WBC) count and WBC subsets in relation to the risk of mortality in acute aortic dissection (AAD) patients during their hospital stay.

Methods

We included 833 patients with AAD in this retrospective study. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Cox regression analysis was employed to determine the independent risk factors for mortality in patients with AAD. Amidst the low- and high-WBC groups, we use Kaplan‒Meier survival analysis to compare the cumulative survival rates of patients with AAD.

Results

Within 342 patients with type A AAD, patients belonging to the high-WBC group exhibited a notably higher mortality rate compared to patients in the low-WBC group. Kaplan-Meier analysis exhibited that the patients in high-WBC patients had a significantly higher mortality rate. Multivariable Cox regression analysis demonstrated that an elevated WBC was an independent impact factor of in-hospital mortality of patients with type A AAD (hazard ratio, 2.01; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.24 to 3.27; p = 0.005). Corresponding outcomes were witnessed in 491 patients with type B AAD.

Conclusions

An elevated WBC count was strongly correlated with an elevated risk of mortality in hospitalized patients afflicted with either type A or type B AAD.

Thrombo-inflammatory prognostic score can predict the outcome of stroke: a retrospective cohort study

Introduction

Inflammatory and thrombotic biomarkers are simple prognostic indicators of adverse clinical outcomes in patients with ischemic stroke (IS). However, isolated assessment of inflammatory or thrombus biomarkers in patients with IS is limited in clinical practice.

Methods

This study aimed to evaluate the predictive value of a novel, simplified thrombo-inflammatory prognostic score (TIPS) that combines both inflammatory and thrombus biomarkers in the early phase of IS and to identify high-risk patients at the time of admission. The study population comprised 915 patients with a primary diagnosis of IS in the emergency departments of five grade A tertiary hospitals in China.

Results

Patients were divided into two groups based on the modified Rankin Scale (mRS): <3 and ≥3. TIPS with a value of "2" indicates biomarkers for high inflammation and thrombosis, "1" represents a biomarker, and "0" signals the absence of a biomarker. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was employed to identify the association between TIPS and clinical outcomes. TIPS was an independent predictor of unfavorable functional outcomes and mortality. It had a superior predictive value for clinical outcomes compared to the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) (effect ratio, 37.5%), D-dimer (effect ratio, 12.5%), and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (effect ratio, 25%).

Conclusion

The survival probability of TIPS with a score of 0 is twice as high as that of TIPS with a score of 2. The survival rate for TIPS with a score of 1 is one time higher than that for TIPS with a score of 2. The predictive value of TIPS for unfavorable functional outcomes is represented by an AUC of 0.653. TIPS is associated with an increased risk of death and unfavorable functional outcomes in patients with IS and may be a useful tool for identifying high-risk patients at the time of admission.

Evaluation of a novel scoring system based on thrombosis and inflammation for predicting stroke-associated pneumonia: A retrospective cohort study

Background

Inflammation and thrombosis are involved in the development of stroke-associated pneumonia (SAP). Our aim was to evaluate the predictive value of a novel, simplified, thrombo-inflammatory prognostic score (TIPS) that combines both inflammatory and thrombus biomarkers in the early phase of ischemic stroke (IS).

Methods

The study population consisted of 897 patients with a first diagnosis of IS admitted to the emergency department of five tertiary hospitals in China. Of these, the data from 70% of patients was randomly selected to derive the model and the other 30% for model validation. A TIPS of “2” was indicative of high inflammation and thrombosis biomarkers and “1” of one biomarker, with “0” indicative of absence of biomarkers. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to identify the association between TIPS and SAP.

Results

The TIPS was an independent predictor of SAP and 90-day mortality, with the incidence of SAP being significantly higher for patients with a high TIPS. The TIPS provided superior predictive value for SAP than clinical scores (A2DS2) and biomarkers currently used in practice, for both the derivation and validation sets. Mediation analysis revealed that TIPS provided a predictive value than either thrombotic (NLR) and inflammatory (D-dimer) biomarkers alone.

Conclusion

The TIPS score may be a useful tool for early identification of patients at high-risk for SAP after IS.

Evaluation of risk stratification program based on trajectories of functional capacity in patients with acute coronary syndrome: The REACP study

Background

As a validated assessment tool for functional disability (activities of daily living), the Barthel index (BI) assessed initially at admission has the potential to stratify patients with high-risk acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Dynamic trajectory evaluation of functional capacity in hospitals may provide more prognostic information. We aimed to establish a novel dynamic BI-based risk stratification program (DBRP) during hospitalization to predict outcomes among ACS patients.

Methods

A total of 2,837 ACS patients were included from the Retrospective Multicenter Study for Early Evaluation of Acute Chest Pain. The DBRP rating (low, medium, and high-risk categories) was calculated from dynamic BI at admission and discharge. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality, and the secondary outcome was cardiac mortality.

Results

Of all the included patients, 312 (11%) died during a median follow-up period of 18.0 months. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that the cumulative mortality was significantly higher in patients in the higher risk category according to the DBRP. Multivariable Cox regression analysis indicated that, compared to the low-risk category, the higher risk category in the DBRP was an independent strong predictor of all-cause mortality after adjusting for confounding factors (medium-risk category: hazard ratio [HR]: 1.756, 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 1.214-2.540; P = 0.003; high-risk category: HR: 5.052, 95% CI: 3.744-6.817; P < 0.001), and the same result was found for cardiac mortality.

Conclusion

The DBRP was a useful risk stratification tool for the early dynamic assessment of patients with ACS.

Clinical trial registration

[http://www.chictr.org.cn], identifier [ChiCTR1900024657].

Thrombo-Inflammatory Prognostic Scores Improve BISAP-Based Risk Stratification in Acute Pancreatitis Patients: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Purpose

The thrombo-inflammatory prognostic score (TIPS) and the bedside index for severity in acute pancreatitis (BISAP) are both scoring systems that enable the rapid prognostic assessment of early-stage acute pancreatitis (AP) patients, but the overall prognostic utility of these individual systems is limited. This study was thus developed to explore whether a combination of TIPS and BISAP scores would offer better insight to facilitate the risk stratification of AP patients.

Methods

This single-center retrospective cohort research evaluated AP cases referred to the emergency department from January 1, 2017 to September 30, 2017. The ability of TIPS scores to improve BISAP-based AP patient risk stratification was appraised employing the curves of receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) and decision curve analysis (DCA) approaches. The initial endpoint for this research was 28-day mortality, while secondary endpoints comprised intensive care unit admission (AICU) and mechanical ventilation (MV) over a 28-day follow-up period.

Results

Totally, 440 cases enrolled in the current study were divided at a ratio of 1:1 to derivation and validation cohorts. When estimating 28-day mortality, the combination of TIPS and BISAP (T-BISAP) improved the area under the curve (AUC) value in the derivation group from 0.809 to 0.903 (P < 0.05), in addition to similarly improving this AUC value from 0.709 to 0.853 (P < 0.05) in the validation cohort. Moreover, T-BISAP significantly improved the AUC values for 28-day AICU from 0.751 to 0.824 (P < 0.05) and the AUC values for 28-day MV from 0.755 to 0.808 (P < 0.05). A DCA approach revealed T-BISAP to exhibit higher net benefit when used for patient risk stratification as compared to BISAP alone.

Conclusion

The addition of TIPS scores to BISAP scores can enable prediction of 28-day adverse clinical outcomes with AP patients in the ED.

Prognostic Value of Preoperative Hemoglobin Levels for Long-Term Outcomes of Acute Type B Aortic Dissection Post-thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair

Background and Aims: There is scant information available about the prognostic value of preoperative hemoglobin (Hb) levels on the long-term outcomes of acute type B aortic dissection (ABAD) following thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR).

Methods: A retrospective analysis of consecutive patients from 2010 to 2018 regarding the relationship between Hb level and long-term outcomes was conducted. The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality. Major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) included all-cause death, recurrent ruptures, and secondary procedures.

Results: In total, 391 subjects treated by TEVAR were enrolled, with a mean age of 57.1 ± 12.0 years; 79.5% of them were male. Cox multivariate analysis showed that the preoperative Hb level was independently associated with all-cause death [adjusted hazard ratio (HR) 0.797 (per 1 g/dl), 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.693–0.918, p = 0.002] and MACEs (adjusted HR 0.795, 95% CI 0.672–0.871, p = 0.000). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of Hb for all-cause death and MACEs were 0.617 (95% CI 0.548–0.687, p = 0.008) and 0.617 (95% CI 0.551–0.684, p = 0.005), respectively. In the linear trend test, Hb concentration was significantly related to all-cause mortality (p for trend = 0.001) and MACEs (p for trend = 0.000). Moreover, in Kaplan–Meier analysis, lower Hb levels (< 12 g/dl) were significantly different from higher Hb (≥12 g/dl) levels for both all-cause death (log-rank p = 0.001) and MACEs (log-rank p = 0.001). Similar results were found when assessing the prognostic value of red blood cell count and anemia.

Conclusions: Preoperative Hb may serve as a prognostic marker for long-range adverse outcomes for ABAD patients post-TEVAR.

Barthel Index as a Predictor of Mortality in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome: Better Activities of Daily Living, Better Prognosis

Background

The Barthel index (BI) is a widely used assessment tool for evaluating physical performance in activities of daily living (ADL). The association between BI scores and mortality in hospital and during follow-up of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients remains unclear. The present study investigated whether the BI score could be used as a predictor for mortality of ACS.

Methods

We investigated ACS patients from the multi-center Retrospective Evaluation of Acute Chest Pain (REACP) study. The association between BI scores and all-cause mortality of patients with ACS was analyzed by Cox proportional hazards models. The primary endpoint was all-cause death and the secondary endpoint was cardiac death during follow-up.

Results

Among 2908 patients with ACS enrolled, 277 (9.5%) patients died within a median follow-up time of 10.6 months. Patients with lower BI had higher risks of mortality, compared with those with higher BI in ACS patients. Kaplan–Meier analysis revealed that patients with lower BI had worse survival rates than patients with higher BI (P < 0.001). After adjustment for potential influencing factors, multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that the BI was independently associated with all-cause mortality and cardiac mortality, respectively.

Conclusion

The BI at admission has the powerful potential to provide useful prognostic information of early risk stratification, and routine recording of the BI at the ED visit may help in decision-making and health care planning for patients with ACS.

Early risk stratification of acute myocardial infarction using a simple physiological prognostic scoring system: insights from the REACP study

BACKGROUND

A more accurate and simpler scoring systems for early risk stratification of acute myocardial infarction at admission can accelerate and improve decision-making.

AIM

To develop and validate a simple physiological prognostic scoring system for early risk stratification in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

METHODS

Easily accessible physiological vital signs and demographic characteristics of patients with acute myocardial infarction at the time of presentation in the multicentre Retrospective Evaluation of Acute Chest Pain study were used to develop a multivariate logistic regression model predicting 12 and 24-month mortality. The study population consisted of 2619 patients from seven hospitals and was divided into a 70% sample for model derivation and a 30% sample for model validation. A nomogram was created to enable prospective risk stratification for clinical care.

RESULTS

The simple physiological prognostic scoring system consisted of age, heart rate, body mass index and Killip class. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of the simple physiological prognostic scoring system was superior to that of several risk scoring systems in clinical use. Net reclassification improvement, integrated discrimination improvement and decision curve analysis of the derivation set also revealed superior performance to the Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events score, and the Hosmer-Lemeshow test indicated good calibration for predicting mortality in patient with acute myocardial infarction in the validation set (P = 0.612).

CONCLUSION

This simple physiological prognostic scoring system may be a useful risk stratification tool for early assessment of patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Prognostic nutritional index predicts in-hospital mortality in patients with acute type A aortic dissection

BACKGROUND

The prognostic nutritional index (PNI) has recently been reported to associate with the surgical prognosis of patients with some cardiovascular diseases. However, the prognosis significance of the preoperative PNI in patients with acute type A aortic dissection (AAAD) remains unclear.

OBJECTIVES

The present study aimed to explore the relationship between PNI and postoperative in-hospital mortality in patients with AAAD.

METHODS

Between June 2013 and December 2019, we retrospectively reviewed the clinical data of 651 patients undergoing AAAD surgery. Patients were divided into two groups according to the median PNI. The risk factors of postoperative in-hospital mortality were identified by univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis.

RESULTS

In-hospital mortality was significantly more common in the low group (24.8% vs 16.3%: P = .007). The percentage of prolonged mechanical ventilation (58.9% vs 49.8%: P = .020) and the median duration of intensive care unit stays (7.0 vs 6.0 days: P = .003) were also higher and longer in the low group. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the PNI, age, hypertension, and operation time independently predicted in-hospital mortality. Besides, compared with patients with a history of hypertension, the low PNI affected in-hospital mortality more than those without (odds ratio [OR]: 2.07; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.20-3.56; P = .009).

CONCLUSIONS

Lower PNI may be independently associated with in-hospital mortality of patients after AAAD surgery.

Thrombo-inflammatory prognostic score improves qSOFA for risk stratification in patients with sepsis: a retrospective cohort study

Background

Both the thrombo-inflammatory prognostic score (TIPS) and the quick sequential (sepsis-related) organ failure assessment (qSOFA) are quick prognostic scores for sepsis during the early phase, while either of two scores has limited prognostic value for sepsis patients. This study aimed to evaluate whether TIPS adds more information of sepsis risk stratification for qSOFA.

Methods

This was a retrospective cohort study of patients with sepsis in the emergency department (ED). We performed a receiver-operating characteristic curve, integrated discrimination improvement (IDI), net reclassification improvement (NRI) and decision-curve analysis (DCA) analyses to investigate whether TIPS can improve qSOFA for risk prediction in patients with sepsis. The primary endpoint was mortality and the secondary endpoints were mechanical ventilation and admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) during the 28-day follow-up.

Results

We identified 821 patients with sepsis. We randomly assigned the patients’ data to a derivation group (n = 498; n = 112 died during the 28-days follow-up) or to a validation group (n = 323; n = 61). The addition of TIPS to qSOFA (T-qSOFA) improved the area under the curve (AUC) from 0.724 to 0.824 (p < 0.001) for predicting 28-day mortality. The discrimination improvement was confirmed by an IDI of 0.092 (p < 0.001). Addition of TIPS to the qSOFA resulted in a NRI of 0.247 (p < 0.001). The DCA showed that the net benefit of T-qSOFA was higher than that of TIPS or qSOFA for any threshold probabilities.

Conclusions

The prognostic value of qSOFA for patients with sepsis was enhanced by adding the TIPS score on admission for risk prediction in patients with sepsis during early phases in the ED.

Oxygenation impairment in patients with acute aortic dissection is associated with disorders of coagulation and fibrinolysis: a prospective observational study

Background

Stanford type-A acute aortic dissection (AAD) is typically accompanied by oxygenation impairment before surgery. In addition, inflammation, coagulation and fibrinolysis also impair blood oxygenation. However, our understanding of the concentration of these factors in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) has not been reported. The objective of the study was to investigate the impact of preoperative acute lung injury (ALI) on postoperative oxygenation impairment and to explore the effect of coagulation and fibrinolysis in blood and BALF.

Methods

This investigation utilized a prospective observational study design, which was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov (identifier NCT01894334). The study included 53 patients undergoing surgery for Stanford type-A AAD at an academic hospital in China between October 2013 and July 2014. Preoperative ALI was identified according to the oxygenation index calculated by the PaO₂/FiO₂ ratio. The subjects were divided into the ALI group (oxygenation index ≤300 mmHg) or the control group (oxygenation index >300 mmHg). The primary outcome was patient oxygenation index, while secondary outcomes were concentrations of tissue factor (TF), tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI), and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) in serum and BALF.

Results

The incidence of preoperative ALI for Stanford type-A AAD patients was 41.5%. Stanford type-A AAD patients with preoperative ALI had a lower postoperative oxygenation index (104.6±31.7 vs. 248.7±48.0 mmHg, P<0.001), higher concentrations of TF in serum and BALF (F=133.67, P<0.001; F=68.14, P<0.001), higher concentrations of TFPI in serum and BALF (F=31.98, P<0.001; F=45.58, P<0.001), and higher concentrations of PAI-1 in serum and BALF (F=213.88, P<0.001; F=107.95, P<0.001) when compared with those without preoperative ALI. Type-A AAD patients also showed a greater loss of blood (1,524±458 vs. 1,175±327 mL, P=0.040), longer mechanical ventilation time in the ICU (27.24±8.37 vs. 17.33±7.36 h, P<0.001), longer total stay in the ICU (42.27±10.85 vs. 33.45±9.05 h, P=0.002), and longer total hospital stay (17.77±5.00 vs. 13.48±3.97 days, P=0.001). Multivariate linear regression analysis indicated that preoperative PAI-1 in BALF, and TF in both serum and BALF were significantly associated with preoperative oxygenation impairment in patients with Stanford type-A AAD.

Conclusions

Preoperative ALI caused more serious postoperative oxygenation impairment for Stanford type-A AAD, and coagulation and fibrinolysis appear to play critical roles in this process. Preoperative PAI-1 in BALF and TF in both serum and BALF were significant factors related to the occurrence of preoperative oxygenation impairment for Stanford type-A AAD.

Evaluation of a novel prognostic score based on thrombosis and inflammation in patients with sepsis: a retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

Inflammation and thrombosis are involved in the development and progression of sepsis. A novel thrombo-inflammatory prognostic score (TIPS), based on both an inflammatory and a thrombus biomarker, was assessed for its ability to predict adverse outcomes of sepsis patients in the emergency department (ED).

METHODS

This was a retrospective cohort study of sepsis patients. TIPS (range: 0-2) was predictive of adverse outcomes. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to investigate the associations between TIPS and 28-day adverse outcomes. The study end points were mortality, mechanical ventilation (MV), consciousness disorder (CD) and admission to the intensive care unit (AICU).

RESULTS

In total, 821 sepsis patients were enrolled; 173 patients died within the 28-day follow-up period. Procalcitonin and D-dimer values were used to calculate TIPS because they had the best performance in the prediction of 28-day mortality by receiver operating characteristic curves. The 28-day mortality and the incidence of MV, CD and AICU were significantly higher in patients with higher TIPS. Multivariable logistic regression analysis indicated TIPS was an independent predictor of 28-day mortality, MV and AICU. TIPS performed better than other prognostic scores, including quick sequential organ failure assessment, Modified Early Warning Score and Mortality in Emergency Department Sepsis Score for predicting 28-day mortality, and similar to the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II, but inferior to sequential organ failure assessment.

CONCLUSIONS

TIPS is useful for stratifying the risk of adverse clinical outcomes in sepsis patients shortly after admission to the ED.

Prognostic value of serum albumin for patients with acute aortic dissection: A retrospective cohort study

Serum albumin (SA) is associated with inflammation and thrombosis, which are involved in acute aortic dissection (AAD). Our aim was to investigate the effect of SA level on survival in patients with AAD.We analyzed 777 patients with AAD. The patients were divided into hypoalbuminemia and non-hypoalbuminemia groups according to their AAD Stanford classification. Multivariable Cox regression was used to investigate the association between SA levels and in-hospital mortality in type A and B AAD.A total of 103 (13.3%) patients died in-hospital. The in-hospital mortality in type A and B patients with hypoalbuminemia was higher compared to those without (type A: 34.2% vs 13.9%, P <.001; type B: 7.9% vs 1.6%, P = .001). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that survival was significantly lower in patients with hypoalbuminemia compared to those without, regardless of AAD type (type A: log-rank χ = 14.71; P <.001; Type B: log-rank χ = 10.42; P = .001). After adjusting for confounding factors, hypoalbuminemia was an independent predictor of in-hospital mortality in patients with either type A (HR, 2.492; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.247-4.979; P = .010) or type B (HR, 8.729; 95% CI, 1.825-41.736; P = .007).SA is independently associated with increased in-hospital mortality in both type A and B AAD.

Correlation between Sex and Prognosis of Acute Aortic Dissection in the Chinese Population

BACKGROUND

The prevalence, presentation, management, and prognosis of coronary heart disease differ according to sex. Greater understanding on the differences between men and women with acute aortic dissection (AAD) is needed. We aimed to investigate whether sex disparities are found in patients with AAD, and to study sex differences in complications, mortality in-hospital, and long-term.

METHODS

We included 884 patients enrolled in our institute between June 2002 and May 2016. Considering psychosocial factors, treatments, and the outcomes in men versus those in women with AAD, we explored the association of sex with psychosocial characteristics and mortality risk. For categorical variables, significant differences between groups were assessed with the Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test, and continuous parameters were assessed with Student's t-test. Univariate and stratified survival statistics were computed using Kaplan-Meier analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 884 patients (76.1% male, mean age 51.4 ± 11.8 years) were included in this study. There were fewer current smokers in female compared with male (17.5% vs. 67.2%, χ2 = 160.06, P < 0.05). The percentage of men who reported regular alcohol consumption was significantly higher than that in women (40.6% vs. 3.8%, χ2 = 100.18, P < 0.05). About 6.2% (55 of 884) of patients with AAD died before vascular or endovascular surgery was performed, 34.4% (304 of 884) of patients underwent surgical procedures, and 52.7% (466 of 884) and 12.8% (113 of 884) of patients received endovascular treatment and medication. Postoperative mortality similar (6.0% vs. 5.6%, respectively, χ2 = 0.03, P = 0.91) between men and women. Follow-up was completed in 653 of 829 patients (78.8%). Adjustment for age, history of coronary disease, hypertension, smoking and drinking, Type A and use of beta-blocker, angiotensin II receptor blockers, angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, calcium-channel blockers and statins by multivariate logistic regression analysis suggested that age (odds ratios [OR s], 1.04; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01-1.07; P < 0.05), using of calcium-channel blockers (OR, 0.37; 95% CI, 0.18-0.74; P < 0.05), at discharge were independent predictors of late mortality, ACE inhibitors (OR, 1.91; 95% CI, 1.03-3.54; P = 0.04) was independent risk factor of late mortality.

CONCLUSIONS

In Chinese with AAD, sex is not independently associated with long-term clinical outcomes. Age, the intake of calcium-channel blockers at discharge might help to improve long-term outcomes.