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January 15, 2021
Corticosteroid Treatment Has No Effect on Hospital Mortality in COVID-19 Patients
Treatment with corticosteroids was not associated with in-hospital mortality among adults hospitalized with COVID-19 (n=1,444) after adjusting for confounding factors, although patients receiving steroids were less likely to be admitted to the ICU compared to patients not receiving them. The authors used propensity score matching to account for potential differences between patients who were prescribed…
Emergence of SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 Lineage — United States, December 29, 2020–January 12, 2021. MMWR
A more highly transmissible variant of SARS-CoV-2, lineage B.1.1.7, has been confirmed to have caused 76 cases in at least 10 states in the US as of January 13, 2021. Models suggest that this variant has potential to drive a new phase of exponential growth in cases in the US, and that even if vaccination…
COVID-19: Performance Study of Microplastic Inhalation Risk Posed by Wearing Masks
A comparison of seven commercially available masks with a vacuum pump suggested that N95 respirators allow the fewest microplastics from the ambient air and from the mask to pass through the mask. The other types of masks, including surgical, cotton, non-woven, and activated carbon masks, reduced microplastic simulated inhalation risk through four hours of wear,…
January 14, 2021
COVID-19 Symptom Monitoring and Social Distancing in a University Population
Headache, followed by cough, sore throat, and aches, were the most frequently reported symptoms in a COVID-19 app-based monitoring study conducted within a public university population in the US (n=20,000). Analysis of data from individuals with GPS movement data (n=175) show that reported symptoms or prior COVID-19 contact did not significantly affect individual movement. Wojtusiak…
Testing, Infection and Complication Rates of COVID-19 among People with a Recent History of Homelessness in Ontario, Canada: A Retrospective Cohort Study
A population-based retrospective cohort study in Ontario, Canada (n=29,407) found that compared to community-dwelling people, people with a recent history of homelessness were more likely to be tested for SARS-CoV-2 and to have a positive test result during the pre-shutdown, peak, and reopening phases of the pandemic. During the peak period, people with a recent…
Bacterial but No SARS-CoV-2 Contamination after Terminal Disinfection of Tertiary Care Intensive Care Units Treating COVID-19 Patients
After disinfection of two tertiary COVID-19 ICUs in Switzerland, no SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected among 86 swabs sampled from defined locations. 90 swabs sampled in parallel in the same locations revealed low contamination with gram-negative bacteria, particularly in sinks and siphons. One ICU was disinfected with Kohrsolin 1% and dry mist hydrogen peroxide, while the…
Sleep Apnoea Is a Risk Factor for Severe COVID-19
A nationwide retrospective study in Finland (n=260,405) found that while obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) was not associated with a COVID-19 diagnosis, OSA was associated with COVID-19 hospitalization (aOR=2.93) after adjusting for age, sex, BMI, and comorbidities. A separate meta-analysis including other published studies found a pooled OR estimate of 1.55. Strausz et al. (Jan 12,…
Interim Results of a Phase 1–2a Trial of Ad26.COV2.S Covid-19 Vaccine
Interim results of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 1-2a trial of the Johnson & Johnson adenovirus vector vaccine Ad26.COV2.S (n=805) showed acceptable safety, reactogenicity, and immunogenicity profiles across age and dose groups. Participants included in the interim analysis were split between “cohort 1” (n=402, age 18-55 years), which received two doses 56 days apart, and…
Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in Outpatients: A Multi-Centre Comparison of Self-Collected Saline Gargle, Oral Swab and Combined Oral-Anterior Nasal Swab to a Provider Collected Nasopharyngeal Swab
Three self-collected non-nasopharyngeal swab techniques (saline gargle, oral swab, and oral-anterior nasal swab) demonstrated similar sensitivity to a provider-collected nasopharyngeal swab, when a positive test on any of the samples tested was used as the reference standard. Compared to 90% sensitivity using the provider-collected nasopharyngeal swab, the saline gargle, oral swab, and oral-anterior nasal swab…
Modelling Pool Testing for SARS-CoV-2: Addressing Heterogeneity in Populations
A modeling study suggests that pooled SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR testing where samples are pooled according to age group could decrease the number of tests per subject needed to diagnose one case, compared to conventional pooling that determines group size according to community prevalence. Though the decrease is small, large-scale testing could amplify savings, particularly in settings…
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