September 30, 2020
Association of a Prior Psychiatric Diagnosis With Mortality Among Hospitalized Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Infection
Among a cohort of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in the US (n=1685), the risk of death remained significantly greater among patients with a psychiatric disorder after controlling for demographic characteristics, other medical comorbidities, and hospital location. Li et al. (Sept 30, 2020). Association of a Prior Psychiatric Diagnosis With Mortality Among Hospitalized Patients With Coronavirus…
Risk of COVID-19-Related Death among Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease or Asthma Prescribed Inhaled Corticosteroids: An Observational Cohort Study Using the OpenSAFELY Platform
In a large cohort of people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the UK (n=148,557), and asthma (818,490), Schultze et al. found an increased risk of COVID-19 related death associated with use of inhaled corticosteroids, compared to other commonly-used medications. The authors note that the observed increased risks could be attributed to unmeasured confounding…
Reliability of Serological Tests for COVID-19: Comparison of Three Immunochromatography Test Kits for SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies
Three commercially available serological test kits using immunochromatography (Hangzhou AllTest, SD BIOSENSOR, and Vazyme) were evaluated using identical sample sets consisting of 99 serum samples from SARS-CoV-2 positive patients and 100 serum samples from healthy volunteers in 2017. All test kits achieved >97% specificity for IgM and IgG and >97% sensitivity to IgG at 13…
The Role of Anti-Hypertensive Treatment, Comorbidities and Early Introduction of LMWH in the Setting of COVID-19: A Retrospective, Observational Study in Northern Italy
Chronic treatment with the antihypertensive medications angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE-I) and early treatment with low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) were both associated with lower in-hospital mortality in a cohort of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Italy (n=575), after adjusting for age. Angiotensin receptor blockers, which are also antihypertensive agents acting on the same physiological pathway, were…
Comparative Study of Four SARS-CoV-2 Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) Platforms Demonstrates That ID NOW Performance Is Impaired Substantially by Patient and Specimen Type
The nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) platform Abbott ID NOW performed significantly worse than similar tests (Abbott m2000, DiaSorine Simplexa, and Cepheid Xpert) in detecting SARS-CoV-2 RNA in a comparative study. All four tests were used in parallel on nasopharyngeal and nasal samples from 88 emergency department and hospital-admitted patients. In particular, the ID NOW…
Efficacy and Safety of Hydroxychloroquine vs Placebo for Pre-Exposure SARS-CoV-2 Prophylaxis Among Health Care Workers
Daily administration of hydroxychloroquine to hospital-based healthcare workers as pre-exposure prophylaxis against SARS-CoV-2 infection did not change infection risk between participants receiving hydroxychloroquine vs placebo (6.3% vs 6.6%, p>0.99) in this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (n=132). The trial was terminated early due to futility and may have been underpowered to detect clinically important differences. Abella…
COVID-19 Literature Situation Report Sept. 30, 2020
Among patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in the US, prior psychiatric diagnosis was associated with a higher mortality rate after controlling for demographic characteristics, other comorbidities, and hospital locations.
September 29, 2020
Recent Increase in COVID-19 Cases Reported Among Adults Aged 18–22 Years — United States, May 31–September 5, 2020
During August 2–September 5, 2020, weekly COVID-19 cases among young people ages 18–22 increased 55% nationally, with the largest regional increases in the Northeast (144%) and Midwest (123%). Increases in cases were not solely due to increased testing. The incidence in all other age groups declined during the same period. When examined by race and…
Multiple COVID-19 Clusters on a University Campus — North Carolina, August 2020
Within 2 weeks of opening the campus to students (Aug 3 – Aug 25), a North Carolina university experienced 670 COVID-19 cases. Preliminary investigations suggest student gatherings and congregate living settings, both on and off campus, likely contributed to the rapid spread of COVID-19 on campus. The authors state that measures to reduce transmission on…
Strong Impact of Closing Schools Closing Bars and Wearing Masks during the Covid-19 Pandemic Results from a Simple and Revealing Analysis
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] Segmented regression applied to COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 case counts in a number of US states was used to estimate the impact of the closures of schools, restaurants and bars, general lockdown orders, and masking mandates. The authors estimate that school closings reduced SARS-CoV-2 infection rates by half, while lockdowns reduced transmission rates…
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