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September 24, 2020
Perceived Efficacy of COVID-19 Restrictions, Reactions and Their Impact on Mental Health during the Early Phase of the Outbreak in Six Countries
Participants in a multi-country survey (n=2264) that assessed perceived efficacy of COVID-19 restrictions and mental health impact found that school closings had the strongest perceived effect on daily life. Risk perception of infection was higher among participants who believed that their country reacted too mildly. Dissatisfaction with government response corresponded to increased distress levels. Mækelæ…
Outcomes of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus in Patients with or without a History of Cancer: A Multi-Centre North London Experience
Cancer diagnosis did not increase risk of death (OR: 1.05, 95% CI: 0.4-2.5) or severe outcomes (OR: 0.9, 95% CI: 0.7-24.0) among a matched cohort of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 (n=120). Cancer patients who had received systemic treatment within 28 days prior to hospital admission appeared to have a nonsignificantly increased risk of death (OR:…
The Incidence, Risk Factors, and Prognosis of Acute Kidney Injury in Adult Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019
In a retrospective cohort study in China, 7% of 1,392 COVID-19 patients developed acute kidney injury (AKI) during hospitalization. In-hospital mortality was higher among patients with AKI even after adjustment for confounders (OR: 5.1; 95% CI: 2.7-9.7). Cheng et al. (Sept 22, 2020). The Incidence, Risk Factors, and Prognosis of Acute Kidney Injury in Adult…
Association of SARS-CoV-2 Test Status and Pregnancy Outcomes. JAMA. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.19124
In a Swedish study conducted among pregnant women in labor, 5.8% of 2,682 women tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 via RT-PCR. Positive patients were more likely to have preeclampsia (7.7% vs 4.3%; PR: 1.8; 95% CI: 1.0-3.4) and less likely to undergo induction of labor (18.7% vs 29.6%; PR: 0.6; 95% CI: 0.45-0.9). Other maternal and…
Massive and Rapid COVID-19 Testing Is Feasible by Extraction-Free SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR
Smyrlaki et al. developed a streamlined protocol for SARS-CoV-2 testing using RT-PCR directly on heat-inactivated samples and lysates without the need for RNA extraction, which is a bottleneck in PCR testing. Their protocol achieved a sensitivity of 96% and specificity of 99.8% compared to conventional RT-PCR. The authors suggest that this novel protocol could have…
Decreased Mortality in COVID-19 Patients Treated with Tocilizumab: A Rapid Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies
Tocilizumab was associated with a lower mortality (RR:0.27, 95% CI: 0.12-0.59; risk difference 12%, 95% CI: 4.6%-20%) based on pooled data from 10 studies comprising 1358 patients with COVID-19. The number needed to treat was 11, suggesting that 1 death is prevented for every 11 patients with severe COVID-19 treated with tocilizumab. No differences in…
Utility of Repeat Nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR Testing and Refinement of Diagnostic Stewardship Strategies at a Tertiary Care Academic Center in a Low-Prevalence Area of the United States
Among 660 patients with at least 2 nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 PCR tests collected on different days in a low prevalence area of Wisconsin, only 6 (0.9%) negative-to-positive conversions were detected. All 6 were outpatient persons under investigation (PUI) for suspected COVID-19. Overall, 29.6% of repeat PUI testing and 31.4% of repeat asymptomatic screens should not have…
Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial with N-Acetylcysteine for Treatment of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Caused by COVID-19
In a randomized, placebo-controlled trial of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in Brazil among people with severe COVID-19, the frequency of intubation was similar in the NAC (20.6%) vs. placebo (23.9%) groups (p=0.68). No differences in secondary endpoints (ICU admission, time in ICU, and mortality) were observed. de Alencar et al. (Sept 23, 2020). Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial…
Performance Characteristics of Five Immunoassays for SARS-CoV-2: A Head-to-Head Benchmark Comparison
Four commercial and widely available SARS-CoV-2 IgG assays (Abott, DiaSorine, Roche, and Siemens), and a novel immunoassay (Oxford) were evaluated for performance using identical sample sets. All assays achieved a sensitivity ≥98% and specificity≥98% on samples taken 30 days or more post-symptom onset, based on 976 pre-pandemic blood samples collected in 2014-2016 and 536 blood…
September 23, 2020
Sharing a Household with Children and Risk of COVID-19 a Study of over 300000 Adults Living in Healthcare Worker Households in Scotland
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] A nationwide study among 310,000 healthcare workers in Scotland reported that sharing a household with young children (aged 0 to 11 years) was associated with a lower risk of testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 (aHR=0.89 per child). Sharing a household with young children had a non-significantly lower risk of severe COVID-19 requiring hospitalization…
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