Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37348870›Full record

ArticleClinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America2023

Maintaining the Utility of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic Severity Surveillance: Evaluation of Trends in Attributable Deaths and Development and Validation of a Measurement Tool.

Caitlin Trottier, Jennifer La, Lucy L Li, Majd Alsoubani, Austin D Vo, Nathanael R Fillmore, Westyn Branch-Elliman, Shira Doron, Paul A Monach

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Median Income and Clinical Outcomes of Hospitalized Persons With COVID-19 at an Urban Veterans Affairs Medical Center.Federal practitioner : for the health care professionals of the VA, DoD, and PHS · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Observational
  5. Pulmonary aspergillosis in US Veterans with COVID-19: a nationwide, retrospective cohort study.Antimicrobial stewardship & healthcare epidemiology : ASHE · 2025
    Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Caitlin TrottierDivision of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Jennifer LaVA Boston Cooperative Studies Program, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Lucy L LiDepartment of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Majd AlsoubaniDivision of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Austin D VoVA Boston Cooperative Studies Program, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Nathanael R FillmoreVA Boston Cooperative Studies Program, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Westyn Branch-EllimanVA Boston Cooperative Studies Program, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Shira DoronDivision of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Paul A MonachVA Boston Cooperative Studies Program, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Funding

CTSA Graduate ProgramTL1TR002546 · NCATS · TUFTS UNIVERSITY BOSTON · PI KENT, DAVID M · 2018 to 2022
$4.2M
NCATS NIH HHS TL1 TR002546
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDeath within a specified time window following a positive SARS-CoV-2 test is used by some agencies for attributing death to COVID-19. With Omicron variants, widespread immunity, and asymptomatic screening, there is cause to re-evaluate COVID-19 death attribution methods and develop tools to improve case ascertainment.

methodsAll patients who died following microbiologically confirmed SARS-CoV-2 in the Veterans Health Administration (VA) and at Tufts Medical Center (TMC) were identified. Records of selected vaccinated VA patients with positive tests in 2022, and of all TMC patients with positive tests in 2021-2022, were manually reviewed to classify deaths as COVID-19-related (either directly caused by or contributed to), focused on deaths within 30 days. Logistic regression was used to develop and validate a surveillance model for identifying deaths in which COVID-19 was causal or contributory.

resultsAmong vaccinated VA patients who died ≤30 days after a positive test in January-February 2022, death was COVID-19-related in 103/150 cases (69%) (55% causal, 14% contributory). In June-August 2022, death was COVID-19-related in 70/150 cases (47%) (22% causal, 25% contributory). Similar results were seen among the 71 patients who died at TMC. A model including hypoxemia, remdesivir, and anti-inflammatory drugs had positive and negative predictive values of 0.82-0.95 and 0.64-0.83, respectively.

conclusionsBy mid-2022, "death within 30 days" did not provide an accurate estimate of COVID-19-related death in 2 US healthcare systems with routine admission screening. Hypoxemia and use of antiviral and anti-inflammatory drugs-variables feasible for reporting to public health agencies-would improve classification of death as COVID-19-related.

Indexed as

COVID-19Anti-Inflammatory AgentsHumansHypoxiaPandemicsSARS-CoV-2Anti-Inflammatory Agentscause of deathCOVID-19vaccinationveterans

Identifiers

PMID37348870
PMCPMC10640692

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.