Article Summary
June 25, 2020
Relationships Between Initial COVID-19 Risk Perceptions and Protective Health Behaviors: A National Survey
An online survey of a nationally representative US sample (n=6,684) found that the median perceived risk of infection with COVID-19 was 10% and death was 5%. An increase of 1 quartile in perceived infection risk was associated with 1.5-fold greater likelihood of reporting handwashing and a 1.2-fold greater likelihood of practicing social distancing behavior. de Bruin and Bennett. (May 22, 2020). Relationships Between Initial COVID-19 Risk Perceptions and Protective Health Behaviors: A National Survey. American Journal of…
June 24, 2020
COVID-19 Lockdown: If, When, and How
[pre-print, not peer reviewed] Moyorga et al. evaluated the impact of different timings and lengths of lockdown periods under scenarios using different values of R0, the basic reproductive number for SARS-CoV-2. They found that the timing for the lockdown has a large effect on ICU usage and fatalities. As R0 increases, an earlier lockdown is needed to control the outbreak, while in lower R0 scenarios later lockdowns are…
The End of Social Confinement and COVID-19 Re-Emergence Risk
Results from a stochastic model of SARS-CoV-2 transmission developed by Lopez et al. suggest that lockdowns should remain in place for a minimum of 60 days, followed by a gradual reintroduction of the workforce. The authors found that social distancing, face masks, gloves and other individual protection measures have a massive impact in reducing the current…
Risk Factors for 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Patients Progressing to Critical Illness: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
In a meta-analysis of 20 studies, Xu et al. found that gender, advanced age, higher BMI, and comorbidities (diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) are associated with higher risk for developing severe COVID-19 disease. In addition, several laboratory measures were also associated with severe disease, notably: high white blood cell count, low…
Clinical Predictors of Donor Antibody Titer and Correlation with Recipient Antibody Response in a COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma Clinical Trial
[pre-print, not peer reviewed] Madariaga et al. investigated predictors of convalescent antibody production in 103 convalescent plasma donors with confirmed COVID-19 disease and found that age, fever, absence of myalgia, fatigue, AB blood type, and hospitalization were all associated with higher convalescent antibody titer to COVID-19. Most (8/10) convalescent plasma recipients had significant increases in antibody levels post-transfusion. Anti-receptor binding domain antibody titer increased on average 31% per…
Impact of Glucocorticoid Treatment In SARS-CoV-2 Infection Mortality: A Retrospective Controlled Cohort Study
In a retrospective analysis of 463 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, Fernandez-Cruz et al. found that in-hospital mortality was lower among patients treated with steroids (14%; 55/396) than in those who were not (24%; 16/67). Glucocorticoids steroid treatment was associated with a 42% reduction in mortality. Fernández Cruz et al. (June 22, 2020). Impact of Glucocorticoid Treatment In SARS-CoV-2 Infection Mortality:…
Simulation of Pool Testing to Identify Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019 Under Conditions of Limited Test Availability
Using mathematical simulations, Cherif et al. suggest that a pooled testing strategy (testing a pooled sample from several patients) was more efficient than individual testing when prevalence was below 30%. The optimal pool size was inversely related to the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 positive specimens and the sensitivity of the assay. Cherif et al. (June 23, 2020). Simulation of Pool Testing to Identify Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019…
Development and Potential Usefulness of the COVID-19 Ag Respi-Strip Diagnostic Assay in a Pandemic Context
Respi-Strip is an immunochromatographic (ICT) assay for the rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2 antigen on nasopharyngeal specimens that provides diagnostic results within 15 minutes. When validated against RT-PCR tests (n=328), the assay had low sensitivity (57.6%) and high specificity (99.5%). Mertens et al. (May 8, 2020). Development and Potential Usefulness of the COVID-19 Ag Respi-Strip Diagnostic Assay in a Pandemic Context. Frontiers…
ACE2 and TMPRSS2 Variation in Savanna Monkeys (Chlorocebus Spp.): Potential Risk for Zoonotic/Anthroponotic Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and a Potential Model for Functional Studies
Schmitt et al. found genomic evidence that several species of savanna monkey (Chlorocebus spp.) are likely as susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection as humans. These findings suggest they may be a promising animal model for SARS-CoV-2 infection for vaccine and therapy development as well as the potential for bi-directional zoonotic transfer in savanna monkey populations. This may have further implications of…
Persistent Positivity and Fluctuations of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in Clinically-Recovered COVID-19 Patients
Cento et al. found that 47% (235/501) of hospitalized COVID-19 patients still tested positive at symptom resolution. Among patients who were discharged, 14% (976/7127) still tested positive 14–days after hospital discharge. In addition, among patients who were retested following their first negative RT-PCR test result, 91% (196/264) tested positive again within the first month of discharge. Cento et al….
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