ORCID Profile
0000-0002-4924-719X
Current Organisation
University of Tasmania
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Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 02-06-2020
DOI: 10.1101/2020.05.27.20115048
Abstract: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is an enveloped virus that may be sensitive to heat. We assessed whether the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) correlates with air temperature. We also studied whether additional climate, geographical, and population variables were correlated. The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and mortality rates reported in each country between 1 st Jan and 31 st Mar 2020 were compared with the country’s three-month average atmospheric air temperature, precipitation and latitude. Spearman’s correlation coefficient (ρ) was used to identify significant correlations. Our analysis included a total of 748,555 confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide. The total number of patients with COVID-19 decreased with increasing atmospheric air temperature (ρ = –0.54, 95%CI: [-0.64, –0.42] P .001) and increased with an increasing latitude (ρ = 0.60, 95%CI: [0.48, 0.70] P .001). Our findings justify further studies to examine the effect of air temperature on infectivity of SAR-CoV-2.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-05-2017
Abstract: Contemporary Australian data regarding antithrombotic prescribing patterns following approval of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) are limited. The aim of this study was to assess antithrombotic prescribing patterns before, during, and after the clinical introduction of DOACs. Using digital medical records, this retrospective cohort study included all patients with AF as a primary or secondary diagnosis who were admitted to the Royal Hobart Hospital, Tasmania, Australia, between January 2011 and July 2015. Antithrombotic agents were prescribed for 2078 (91.9%) of 2261 patients without documented contraindication to therapy. Higher rates of OAC prescribing were observed following government subsidization of DOACs in Quarter 3 (Q3) 2013 than anticoagulation rates in the prior quarters (54.4% in Q3, 2013, to 68.1% in Q2, 2015, P<.001), with the prescribing of warfarin and antiplatelet agents declining. DOACs, as a class, accounted for 18.4% of patients on antithrombotic therapy in 2011-2015 the proportion of patients receiving a DOAC steadily increased from 3.9% among OAC users in Q3, 2011, to 67.6% in Q2, 2015 (P<.001). In a subset of patients with newly diagnosed AF, patients commenced on DOACs were younger (70.4 vs 73.8 years, P=.04) and had lower stroke and bleeding risk scores (CHA2DS2-VASc 2.8 vs 3.3, P=.03, HAS-BLED 2 vs 3, P=.04) than patients who were newly prescribed warfarin. Direct oral anticoagulants rapidly became the most commonly prescribed class of antithrombotic medications in patients with AF soon after they became widely available. Warfarin and antiplatelet prescribing declined significantly, although a substantial proportion of patients continued to be prescribed antiplatelet therapy. Patients who were initiated on DOACs were typically younger with fewer comorbid conditions compared with those initiated on warfarin therapy.
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 25-05-2020
DOI: 10.1101/2020.05.21.20108993
Abstract: The effects of renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system (RAAS) inhibitors on the clinical outcomes of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) have been conflicting in different studies. This meta-analysis was undertaken to provide more conclusive evidence. A systematic search for published articles was performed in PubMed and EMBASE from January 5 2020 till May 5 2020. Studies that reported the clinical outcomes of patients with COVID-19, stratified by the class of concomitant antihypertensive drug therapy, were included. The Mantel-Haenszel random effects model was used to estimate pooled odds ratio (OR). A total of 6,997 patients with COVID-19 were included, and all of them had hypertension. The overall risk of poor patient outcomes (severe COVID-19 or death) was lower in patients taking RAAS inhibitors (OR=0.84, 95% CI: [0.73, 0.96] P=0.017) compared with those receiving non-RAAS inhibitor antihypertensives. Patients taking angiotensin-I-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) were less likely to experience poor clinical outcomes (OR=0.73, 95% CI: [0.58-0.92] P=0.01) compared with those receiving angiotensin-II receptor blockers (ARBs). In addition, comparison of ACEIs to the rest of non-ACEI antihypertensives gave a consistently decreased risk of poor COVID-19 outcome (OR=0.77, 95% CI: [0.63-0.93] P=0.002). However, ARBs did not decrease the risk of poor COVID-19 outcomes compared to all other non-ARB antihypertensives (OR=1.13, 95% CI: [0.95-1.35]). The risk of developing severe illness or death from COVID-19 was lower in patients who received RAAS inhibitors compared with those who took non-RAAS inhibitors. ACEIs might be better in decreasing the severity and mortality of COVID-19 than ARBs.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 11-04-2018
Abstract: Although utilization of anticoagulation in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) has increased in recent years, contemporary data regarding thromboembolism and mortality incidence rates are limited outside of clinical trials. This study aimed to investigate the impact of the direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) on the clinical outcomes of patients with AF included in the Tasmanian Atrial Fibrillation Study. The medical records of all patients with a primary or secondary diagnosis of AF who presented to public hospitals in Tasmania, Australia, between 2011 and 2015, were retrospectively reviewed. We investigated overall thromboembolic events (TEs), ischemic stroke/transient ischemic attack (IS/TIA), and mortality incidence rates in patients admitted to the Royal Hobart Hospital, the main teaching hospital in the state. We compared outcomes in 2 time periods: prior to the availability of DOACs (pre-DOAC 2011 to mid-2013) and following their general availability after government subsidization (post-DOAC mid-2013 to 2015). Of the 2390 patients with AF admitted during the overall study period, 942 patients newly prescribed an antithrombotic medication (465 and 477 from the pre-DOAC and post-DOAC time periods, respectively) were followed. We observed a significant decrease in the incidence rates of overall TE (3.2 vs 1.7 per 100 patient-years [PY] P .001) and IS/TIA (2.1 vs 1.3 per 100 PY P = .022) in the post-DOAC compared to the pre-DOAC period. All-cause mortality was significantly lower in the post-DOAC period (2.9 vs 2.2 per 100 PY, P = .028). Increasing age, prior stroke, and admission in the pre-DOAC era were all risk factors for TE, IS/TIA, and mortality in this study population. The risk of IS/TIA was more than doubled (hazard ratio: 2.54 95% confidence interval: 1.17-5.52) in current smokers compared to ex- and nonsmokers. Thromboembolic event and all-cause mortality rates were lower following the widespread availability of DOACs in this population.
Location: Ethiopia
No related grants have been discovered for Endalkachew Admassie Alamneh.