Article Summary
July 20, 2020
Impact of Delays on Effectiveness of Contact Tracing Strategies for COVID-19: A Modelling Study
Kretzschmar et al. used a model to demonstrate the relative importance of minimizing delays and maximizing coverage of contact tracing and testing. With a delay of three days or longer in testing and tracing, even complete coverage of contacts was not sufficient to reach R values below 1, which would lead to decline of the epidemic. Kretzschmar…
Recurrence of Positive SARS-CoV-2 Viral RNA in Recovered COVID-19 Patients during Medical Isolation Observation
Yuan et al. report that 11% of recovered COVID-19 patients were found to be SARS-CoV-2 RNA positive one or two weeks after hospital discharge, although none were symptomatic at the time of testing. Patients under 18 and patients with shorter hospital stays were more likely to have a positive re-test; no severe cases tested positive after discharge. …
Subjective Smell and Taste Changes during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Short Term Recovery
Reiter et al. used a longitudinal national survey to assess the duration of acute loss of taste and smell associated with COVID-19 infection. After excluding respondents who reported a negative test, they found that after 1-month, 67% reported a return to “very good” or “good” smell and 73% reported a return to “very good” or “good” taste. …
ABO Polymorphism and SARS-CoV-2 Infection – a Meta-Analysis
[pre-print, not peer-reviewed] In a systematic review and meta-analysis, Golinelli et al. concluded that SARS-CoV-2 positive individuals are more likely to have blood group A (pooled OR=1.21, 95%CI 1.08-1.37) and less likely to have blood group O (pooled OR=0.76, 95% CI 0.66-0.87). The analysis included 7 studies with 7,524 SARS-CoV-2 positive cases and 2,962,160 controls. Golinelli et al. (July 17, 2020). ABO Polymorphism and…
Histopathology and Ultrastructural Findings of Fatal COVID-19 Infections in Washington State: A Case Series
In conducting post-mortem examinations of 14 people who died with COVID-19 in Washington state, Bradley et al. found coronavirus-like particles in the respiratory system, kidney, and gastrointestinal tract. One decedent had findings of lymphocytic myocarditis, with SARS-CoV-2 RNA detected in the myocardial tissue. All patients had clinically-significant comorbidities, with the most common being hypertension, chronic kidney disease, obstructive sleep apnea, and metabolic disease including diabetes and obesity. Bradley…
Thrombosis in Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19 in a New York City Health System
Bilaloglu et al. found that 533 of 3334 (16%) consecutive patients hospitalized in New York City with COVID-19 had thrombotic events diagnosed during routine clinical care. Age, sex, Hispanic ethnicity, coronary artery disease, prior myocardial infarction, and higher D-dimer levels at hospital presentation were associated with a thrombotic event, and all-cause mortality was higher in those who experienced them (43% vs. 21%). Bilaloglu et al. (July 20, 2020). Thrombosis in Hospitalized…
Articles Immunogenicity and Safety of a Recombinant Adenovirus Type-5-Vectored COVID-19 Vaccine in Healthy Adults Aged 18 Years or Older : A Randomised , Double-Blind , Placebo- Controlled , Phase 2 Trial
Zhu et al. conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2 trial of the Ad5-vectored COVID-19 vaccine to determine the immunogenicity and incidence of adverse reactions. Both doses of the vaccine induced significant neutralizing antibody responses to live SARS-CoV-2. Evidence of antigen-specific T-cell responses were observed in 88-90% of vaccine recipients. Within 14 days, 72% of participants in one vaccine dose…
Dexamethasone in Hospitalized Patients with Covid-19 — Preliminary Report
In the open-label RECOVERY trial among hospitalized COVID-19 patients, Horby et al. found that 28-day mortality was lower for patients receiving the steroid dexamethasone than for the usual care group among patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation (29% vs. 41%) or supplemental oxygen without invasive mechanical ventilation (23% vs. 26%), but not among those who were receiving no respiratory support at randomization (18% vs. 14%). [EDITORIAL NOTE: A version of these findings was published as…
Going beyond Clinical Routine in SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Testing – A Multiplex Corona Virus Antibody Test for the Evaluation of Cross-Reactivity to Endemic Coronavirus Antigens
[pre-print, not peer-reviewed] Becker et al. developed a multiplexed immunoassay to measure IgG and IgA responses against six SARS-CoV-2 antigens, achieving a sensitivity of 90% and a specificity of 100%. By monitoring IgA response, they were able to detect an early immune response in some patients. The authors suggest that the test may be useful in monitoring vaccination studies and conducting…
Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in an Entirely PCR-Sampled and Quarantined Community after a COVID-19 Outbreak – the CoNAN Study
[pre-print, not peer-reviewed] Screening for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR and antibody testing in a village in Germany that had been quarantined for six weeks after a SARS-CoV-2 outbreak found that only 53% of participants with previously confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections had detectable antibodies. Overall, 8% of the inhabitants had a positive SARS-CoV-2 antibody test (based on two or…
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