Geographic and Temporal Trends in COVID-Associated Acute Kidney Injury in the National COVID Cohort Collaborative

BACKGROUND

AKI is associated with mortality in patients hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); however, its incidence, geographic distribution, and temporal trends since the start of the pandemic are understudied.

METHODS

Electronic health record data were obtained from 53 health systems in the United States in the National COVID Cohort Collaborative. We selected hospitalized adults diagnosed with COVID-19 between March 6, 2020, and January 6, 2022. AKI was determined with serum creatinine and diagnosis codes. Time was divided into 16-week periods (P1-6) and geographical regions into Northeast, Midwest, South, and West. Multivariable models were used to analyze the risk factors for AKI or mortality.

RESULTS

Of a total cohort of 336,473, 129,176 (38%) patients had AKI. Fifty-six thousand three hundred and twenty-two (17%) lacked a diagnosis code but had AKI based on the change in serum creatinine. Similar to patients coded for AKI, these patients had higher mortality compared with those without AKI. The incidence of AKI was highest in P1 (47%; 23,097/48,947), lower in P2 (37%; 12,102/32,513), and relatively stable thereafter. Compared with the Midwest, the Northeast, South, and West had higher adjusted odds of AKI in P1. Subsequently, the South and West regions continued to have the highest relative AKI odds. In multivariable models, AKI defined by either serum creatinine or diagnostic code and the severity of AKI was associated with mortality.

CONCLUSIONS

The incidence and distribution of COVID-19-associated AKI changed since the first wave of the pandemic in the United States.

PODCAST

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Abstract 040: Prevalence Of Dual Indications For Antihypertensive Medications And Statins In The National Health And Nutrition Survey

Introduction: Despite widespread indications for concomitant treatment of hypertension and hyperlipidemia, the proportion of the U. S population eligible for both remains unknown. Further, although fixed-dose combinations of these drugs are associated with better adherence, few are available.

Hypothesis: We hypothesized a significant proportion of the population would be eligible for antihypertensive medication and a statin.

Methods: Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2011 to 2018 with survey weighting to represent the noninstitutionalized U.S. population ≥18 years were utilized. Prevalence of individuals with dual indications for antihypertensive and statin therapy was determined using the 2017 ACC/AHA guidelines for hypertension and the 2019 ACC/AHA guidelines for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease, respectively.

Results: Sociodemographic characteristics are shown in Table 1. Among those ≥18 years, there were 88 million (33.4%) individuals with an indication for antihypertensive medication and 88.5 million (33.9%) with an indication for a statin. 64.6 million adults or 24.8% (95% CI: 23.5 to 26.2) of the population had dual indications for antihypertensive medication and a statin. Notably, 73.4% of those indicated for antihypertensive medication were also indicated a statin.

Conclusions: Quarter of the U.S. adult population and nearly three-quarters of hypertensive patients are eligible for antihypertensive medication and a statin. Combining antihypertensive medications with a statin in fixed-dose combinations could reduce medication disutility and increase adherence to optimize lipid and blood pressure goals.

Adrenal Vein Sampling Lateralization Despite Mineralocorticoid Receptor Antagonists Exposure in Primary Aldosteronism

CONTEXT

Many antihypertensive medications modulate the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, possibly skewing the diagnosis and subtyping of primary aldosteronism (PA). Particularly, mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRA) might raise renin and stimulate aldosterone synthesis from nonautonomous areas, potentially obscuring lateralization on adrenal vein sampling (AVS). Withdrawal of MRA in severe PA, however, can precipitate hypokalemia and/or hypertension and therefore is not always practical.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the effects of MRA on the interpretation of AVS data.

DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS

A cohort study of all PA patients who underwent AVS at University of Michigan between January 2009 and January 2018 was conducted. Demographics, diagnostic, AVS, surgical pathology, and follow-up data were collected retrospectively.

RESULTS

Of 191 patients who underwent AVS, 51 (27%) were exposed to MRA at the time of the procedure. Plasma aldosterone concentration and the daily defined dose of antihypertensives were higher in patients taking vs those not taking MRA. Unilateral PA was more frequent in the MRA group, both precosyntropin and postcosyntropin (P < 0.05). The MRA group included two patients with unsuppressed renin, who demonstrated unequivocal AVS lateralization. To date, 86 patients underwent unilateral adrenalectomy, including 30 patients taking MRA during AVS. The proportion of clinical and biochemical success was not statistically different between patients exposed to and those not exposed to MRA during AVS (P = 0.17 and 0.65, respectively).

CONCLUSION

Our data suggest that conclusive AVS lateralization is often achieved in patients with severe PA despite MRA use.

Abstract P300: Countries’ Geographic Latitude And Their Populations’ Cholesterol And Blood Pressure

Background: Sunlight has been hypothesized to play a role in variation in cardiovascular disease according to geographic latitude.

Objectives: To evaluate the plausibility of sunlight as a factor in populations' average cholesterol and BP.

Methods: We analyzed 180 or more countries' age-standardized average cholesterol, age-standardized mean systolic BP, and age-standardized prevalence of raised BP, by latitude, over decades. We also performed analysis by ultraviolet B light (UVB) exposure.

Results: Mean cholesterol increases with distance from the Equator. This relationship has changed very little since 1980. Similarly, in 1975, mean systolic BP and prevalence of raised BP were higher farther from the Equator. However, the relationship between latitude and BP has changed dramatically ( Figure ); by 2015, the opposite pattern was observed in women. Countries' UVB exposure has a stable relationship with cholesterol over decades, but a changing relationship with BP.

Conclusions: Since sunlight exposure in a country is relatively fixed and its relationship with BP has changed dramatically in recent decades, countries' average sunlight exposure is an unlikely explanation for contemporary country-level variation in BP. However, our findings are consistent with a putative effect of sunlight on countries' average cholesterol, as well as a no longer detectable effect on BP decades ago. A parsimonious potential explanation for the relationship is that 7-dehydrocholesterol can be converted to cholesterol, or in the presence of ultraviolet light, can instead be converted to vitamin D. This work is archived in unrefereed preprint form: https://doi.org/10.1101/308726.

Figure.

Discordance between imaging and immunohistochemistry in unilateral primary aldosteronism

OBJECTIVE

Correct subtyping of primary aldosteronism (PA) is essential for good surgical outcomes. Adrenal vein sampling (AVS) and/or computed tomography (CT) are used for PA subclassification. Clinical and/or biochemical improvement after surgery, however, is not always achieved in patients with presumed unilateral PA. We aimed to identify the pitfalls in PA subclassification leading to surgical treatment failures.

PATIENTS AND DESIGN

We retrospectively studied 208 patients who underwent adrenal vein sampling (AVS) for PA subclassification in a tertiary referral centre, between January 2009 and August 2016. Simultaneous bilateral AVS was performed before and after cosyntropin administration. We implemented immunohistochemistry for aldosterone synthase (CYP11B2) and 17α-hydroxylase/17,20 lyase (CYP17A1) in adrenal glands resected from patients without improvement of PA after surgical treatment and from those with limitations in AVS interpretation.

RESULTS

Of 55 patients who underwent adrenalectomy, three (5.5%) had no improvement of PA. All three patients underwent partial adrenalectomy to remove a CT-detected nodule present on the same side with AVS lateralization. Immunohistochemistry revealed a CYP11B2-negative nodule in both cases available. All patients who underwent total adrenalectomy based on AVS lateralization benefitted from surgery, including three patients with unilateral unsuccessful AVS and aldosterone suppression in the catheterized side vs inferior vena cava.

CONCLUSIONS

Radiographically identified adrenal nodules are not always a source of PA, even when ipsilateral with AVS lateralization. These data caution against reliance on imaging findings, either alone or in conjunction with AVS, to guide surgery for PA.

Effect of bradykinin receptor antagonism on ACE inhibitor-associated angioedema

BACKGROUND

The B₂ receptor antagonist icatibant is approved for treatment of attacks of hereditary angioedema. Icatibant has been reported to decrease time-to-resolution of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor-associated angioedema in 1 study of European patients.

OBJECTIVE

We sought to test the hypothesis that a bradykinin B₂ receptor antagonist would shorten time-to-resolution from ACE inhibitor-associated angioedema.

METHODS

Patients with ACE inhibitor-associated angioedema (defined as swelling of lips, tongue, pharynx, or face during ACE inhibitor use and no swelling in the absence of ACE inhibitor use) were enrolled at Vanderbilt University Medical Center from October 2007 through September 2015 and at Massachusetts General Hospital in 2012. C1 inhibitor deficiency and patients with bowel edema only were excluded. Patients were randomized within 6 hours of presentation to subcutaneous icatibant 30 mg or placebo at 0 and 6 hours later. Patients assessed severity of swelling using a visual analog scale serially following study drug administration or until discharge.

RESULTS

Thirty-three patients were randomized and 31 received treatment, with 13 receiving icatibant and 18 receiving placebo. One patient randomized to icatibant did not complete the visual analog scale and was excluded from analyses. Two-thirds of patients were black and two-thirds were women. Time-to-resolution of symptoms was similar in placebo and icatibant treatment groups (P = .19 for the primary symptom and P > .16 for individual symptoms of face, lip, tongue, or eyelid swelling). Frequency of administration of H1 and H2 blockers, corticosteroids, and epinephrine was similar in the 2 treatment groups. Time-to-resolution of symptoms was similar in black and white patients.

CONCLUSIONS

This study does not support clinical efficacy of a bradykinin B₂ receptor antagonist in ACE inhibitor-associated angioedema.

Serum Cortisol-to-Cortisone Ratio and Blood Pressure in Severe Obesity before and after Weight Loss

BACKGROUND/AIMS

The pathogenesis of obesity-associated hypertension is poorly understood. Serum cortisol-to-cortisone ratio (F/E ratio) is a marker of cortisol metabolism. Our objective was to determine whether the serum F/E ratio is associated with blood pressure (BP) in patients after significant weight loss (≥15% from baseline weight).

METHODS

Sera from 43 nondiabetic, severely obese males participating in a weight management program were assayed for F and E by mass spectrometry. We assessed whether changes in the F/E ratio accompanying weight loss correlate with changes in the systolic (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP). Linear regression was used to evaluate change in the F/E ratio as a predictor of change in BP.

RESULTS

The body mass index decreased from 40.8 ± 5.6 to 33.7 ± 4.8 (p < 0.001); also, SBP (133.2 ± 13.8 vs. 124.1 ± 14.3 mm Hg; p < 0.001) and DBP (69.8 ± 8.0 vs. 66.6 ± 9.4 mm Hg; p = 0.026) decreased during the study. The baseline F/E ratio tended to associate with baseline DBP (Spearman's r = -0.29, p = 0.06), and change in the serum F/E ratio correlated with change in DBP (Spearman's r = -0.32, p = 0.036). Change in the F/E ratio also tended to associate with change in SBP (Spearman's r = -0.27, p = 0.08). A multiple linear regression model adjusted for change in the F/E ratio and age explained 22% of the variance in SBP change (R(2) = 0.22, p = 0.007). Change in the F/E ratio independently predicted change in SBP (p = 0.036).

CONCLUSION

In our sample of nondiabetic, severely obese males, change in the serum F/E ratio was associated with change in BP after weight loss.

Clopidogrel prescription filling delays and cardiovascular outcomes in a pharmacy system integrating inpatient and outpatient care: insights from the Veterans Affairs CART Program

BACKGROUND

Delays in filling clopidogrel prescriptions after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) have been demonstrated previously and associated with adverse outcomes.

METHODS

This was a retrospective cohort study of 11,418 patients undergoing PCI with stent placement in Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals between January 1, 2005, and September 30, 2010. Data were obtained from the national VA Clinical Assessment, Reporting, and Tracking Program, including post-PCI clopidogrel prescription fill date and outcomes of myocardial infarction and death within 90 days of discharge. Patients who did not fill a clopidogrel prescription on the day of discharge were considered to have a delay. Multivariable models assessed the association between clopidogrel delay and myocardial infarction/death using clopidogrel delay as a time-varying covariate.

RESULTS

Of the patients, 7.2% had a delay in filling their clopidogrel prescription. Delay in filling clopidogrel was associated with increased risk of major adverse events (hazard ratio 2.34, 95% CI 1.66-3.29, P < .001). The percentage of patients who delayed filling varied by hospital, ranging from 0 to 43.5% with a median of 6.2% (P < .001, χ(2) for difference across hospitals) and a median odds ratio of 2.13 (95% CI 1.85-2.68) suggesting large site variation in clopidogrel delay across hospitals.

CONCLUSIONS

In a health care system with integrated inpatient and outpatient pharmacy services, 1 in 14 patients delays filling a clopidogrel prescription. The large site variation suggests a need to identify best practices that allow hospitals to optimize prescription filling at discharge to potentially improve patient outcomes.

Genetic variants associated with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor-associated angioedema

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to identify genetic variants associated with angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor-associated angioedema.

PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS

We carried out a genome-wide association study in 175 individuals with ACE inhibitor-associated angioedema and 489 ACE inhibitor-exposed controls from Nashville (Tennessee) and Marshfield (Wisconsin). We tested for replication in 19 cases and 57 controls who participated in Ongoing Telmisartan Alone and in Combination with Ramipril Global Endpoint Trial (ONTARGET).

RESULTS

There were no genome-wide significant associations of any single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) with angioedema. Sixteen SNPs in African Americans and 41 SNPs in European Americans were associated moderately with angioedema (P<10) and evaluated for association in ONTARGET. The T allele of rs500766 in PRKCQ was associated with a reduced risk, whereas the G allele of rs2724635 in ETV6 was associated with an increased risk of ACE inhibitor-associated angioedema in the Nashville/Marshfield sample and ONTARGET. In a candidate gene analysis, rs989692 in the gene encoding neprilysin (MME), an enzyme that degrades bradykinin and substance P, was significantly associated with angioedema in ONTARGET and Nashville/Marshfield African Americans.

CONCLUSION

Unlike other serious adverse drug effects, ACE inhibitor-associated angioedema is not associated with a variant with a large effect size. Variants in MME and genes involved in immune regulation may be associated with ACE inhibitor-associated angioedema.

Abstract 360: Genetic Variants Associated With ACE Inhibitor-Associated Angioedema

We conducted a genomewide association study in 179 individuals with ACE inhibitor-associated angioedema and 489 ACE inhibitor-exposed controls from Nashville, TN and Marshfield, WI. We performed a replication study in 19 cases and 57 age-, sex-, and ancestry-matched controls from the Ongoing Telmisartan Alone and in Combination with Ramipril Global Endpoint Trial (ONTARGET). There were no genomewide significant associations (p<5x10 -8 ) of any SNP with angioedema in either African or European Americans. Sixteen SNPs in African Americans and 41 SNPs in European Americans that were moderately associated with angioedema (p<10 -4 ) were evaluated for replication in ONTARGET. The T allele of rs500766, a SNP in the gene encoding for protein kinase C θ, was associated with a reduced risk of angioedema in both the Nashville/Marshfield sample (OR 0.42, 95% CI 0.28-0.63, p=2.97x10 -5 in the additive model and OR 0.42, 95% CI 0.26-0.67, p=3.04x10 -4 in the dominant model) and in ONTARGET (OR 0.28, 95% CI 0.09-0.89, p=0.030 in the dominant model). The G allele of rs2724635, a SNP in ETS variant gene 6, was associated with increased risk of ACE inhibitor-associated angioedema in both the Nashville/Marshfield sample (OR 2.78, 95%CI 1.67-4.00, p=2.73x10 -5 in the additive model; OR 3.23, 95%CI 1.75-6.25, p=2.11x10 -4 dominant model; OR 5.56, 95%CI 1.85-16.6, p=2.01x10 -3 recessive mode) and in the ONTARGET sample (OR 3.27, 95%CI 1.03-10.35, p=0.044 in the recessive model). We also conducted a candidate-gene study, using the smaller ONTARGET sample for discovery, and the Nashville/Marshfield study for replication. In the candidate gene study, rs989692 in the gene encoding for neprilysin ( MME ), was significantly associated with angioedema in ONTARGET and in African Americans in the Nashville/Marshfield sample. Variants in genes involved in immune regulation and in neprilysin, an enzyme that degrades bradykinin and substance P, were associated with ACE inhibitor-associated angioedema.

Abstract 271: An Electronic, Point-of-Care Cath Lab Clinical Application Provides High Validity, Completeness, and Timeliness Compared to Traditional Medical Charting

Background: Beginning in 2005, an electronic, point-of-care clinical application (CART-CL) was implemented in all 78 VA cardiac catheterization laboratories. CART-CL collects pre-procedural and procedural data in a standardized format that is recorded in the VA electronic health record. This application was created to support quality improvement, but the validity, completeness, and timeliness of these data, relative to a standard medical record are unknown.

Methods: In a random sample of 10 VA catheterization labs, we abstracted a standardized set of key data elements (based on the National Cardiovascular Data Repository mortality model) from the reports of catheterization procedures. At each site, we selected 10 procedures performed before CART-CL adoption and 10 after adoption for comparison. Notes from procedures performed before CART-CL adoption were entered directly into VISTA/CPRS, VA’s electronic health record. Validity was assessed by comparing data elements recorded in notes generated by CART-CL versus VISTA/CPRS. Completeness was assessed using a standardized list of data elements. Timeliness was defined as the percentage of catheterization reports available to the treating provider on the day of the procedure.

Results: The 200 cases selected were evenly distributed between elective and ACS indications. Of the 1690 observations abstracted from CART-CL-generated notes and analyzed for validity, 1664 (98.5%) were valid. Only 7 data elements had less than 100% validity with lowest validity found in diabetes medications (94%) and statin dose (84%). Two thousand five hundred eighty-one of 3276 (79%) data elements in CART-CL were complete, as compared with 2098 of 3323 (63.1%) data elements in CPRS charts before CART-CL implementation (p-value < 0.0001). The number of data elements analyzed for validity and completeness differed due to varying prevalence of conditions and procedures within the study population. Seventy-one percent of CART-CL catheterization reports were available to treating providers the day of the procedure, as compared with 58.0% of VISTA/CPRS catheterization notes before CART-CL adoption (p-value = 0.055). Among those reports not available on the day of the procedure, the median time-to-availability was not significantly shorter after adoption of CART-CL than before (3.0 vs. 5.0 days, p-value = 0.887).

Conclusions: CART-CL is an electronic, point-of-care clinical application that collects VA cath lab patient and procedural information in a standardized fashion. Compared to the previous method of medical charting, it has high validity, and superior completeness and timeliness. Accordingly, it can serve as an effective quality assessment tool for cath labs.

Association of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor-associated angioedema with transplant and immunosuppressant use

BACKGROUND

Immunosuppressants decrease circulating dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPPIV) activity in transplant patients, and decreased DPPIV activity has been associated with angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor-associated angioedema. One study has reported an increased incidence of ACE inhibitor-associated angioedema among transplant patients compared to published rates, while several case series report angioedema in patients taking specific immunosuppressant agents.

OBJECTIVE

To test the hypothesis that transplant patients are at increased risk of ACE inhibitor-associated angioedema.

METHODS

We assessed the proportion of transplant patients in 145 cases with ACE inhibitor-associated angioedema and 280 ACE inhibitor-exposed controls. We measured the relationship between case-control status, transplant status, and immunosuppressant use and circulating DPPIV activity. We also assessed the incidence of angioedema among consecutive patients who underwent renal or cardiac transplant and were treated with an ACE inhibitor.

RESULTS

Transplant patients were significantly overrepresented among ACE inhibitor-associated angioedema cases compared to controls (odds ratio 18.5, 95% CI 2.3-147.2, P = 0.0004). Immunosuppressant use, chronic renal failure, seasonal allergies and smoking were also associated with ACE inhibitor-associated angioedema in univariate analysis. The association of transplant status with ACE inhibitor-associated angioedema was no longer significant after inclusion of immunosuppressant therapy in a multivariate analysis. Dipeptidyl peptidase IV activity was significantly decreased in sera from cases compared to ACE inhibitor-exposed controls, as well as in individuals taking immunosuppressants. Two of 47 ACE inhibitor-treated renal transplant patients and one of 36 ACE inhibitor-treated cardiac transplant patients developed angioedema.

CONCLUSION

Transplant patients are at increased risk of ACE inhibitor-associated angioedema possibly because of the effects of immunosuppressants on the activity of DPPIV.