Article Summary
June 11, 2020
What We Know so Far about Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Children: A Meta-Analysis of 551 Laboratory-Confirmed Cases
Zhang et al. conducted meta-analyses of 46 articles reporting 551 cases of COVID-19 in children. Results showed 18% of cases were asymptomatic. The most common radiographic and computed tomography (CT) findings were patchy consolidations (33%, 95%CI 23%-43%) and ground glass opacities (28%, 95%CI 18%-39%). Six patients, all with major underlying medical conditions, needed invasive mechanical ventilation, including one who died. Zhang et al. (June 10,…
Anesthesiologists’ and Intensive Care Providers’ Exposure to COVID-19 Infection in a New York City Academic Center: A Prospective Cohort Study Assessing Symptoms and COVID-19 Antibody Testing
Morcuende et al. assessed the incidence of COVID-19-like symptoms and presence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among 105 anesthesiologists and affiliated intensive care providers in a large academic hospital in New York City. 58% (61/105) of respondents reporting at least one work-related exposure, of whom only 16 (26%) had post-exposure COVID-19-like symptoms. SARS-CoV-2 was detected in 12% respondents (11/91) with no difference between those who did…
Effects of Tocilizumab on Mortality in Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19 A Multicenter Cohort Study
[pre-print, not peer reviewed] Martinez-Sanz et al. conducted a cohort study of 1,229 patients with COVID-19 in Spain to determine the relationship between tocilizumab use and ICU admission or death. Tocilizumab was associated with decreased risk of death (aHR=0.34, 95%CI 0.16-0.72) and ICU admission or death (0.38, 0.19-0.81; p=0.011) among patients with high C–reactive protein (CRP) levels (>150…
Genomic Surveillance Reveals Multiple Introductions of SARS-CoV-2 into Northern California
Phylogenetic analyses of samples from 36 patients in Northern California and the Grand Princess cruise ship showed at least 7 different SARS-CoV-2 lineages were introduced into California, including the epidemic WA1 strains associated with Washington State, with lack of a predominant lineage and limited transmission between communities. The authors conclude that these findings support contact tracing, social distancing, and travel restrictions to contain SARS-CoV-2…
Longitudinal Surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 RNA Among Asymptomatic Staff in Five Colorado Skilled Nursing Facilities Epidemiologic Virologic and Sequence Analysis
[pre-print, not peer reviewed] Quicke et al. monitored the presence of viral RNA and infectious virus among workers at five skilled nursing facilities in Colorado. They reported that the percentage of nasopharyngeal swabs that tested positive for viral RNA varied considerably by facility, but there was a general downward trend over the course of the study period. Levels of viral RNA also tended to decline over the duration…
Rates of Maternal and Perinatal Mortality and Vertical Transmission in Pregnancies Complicated by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-Co-V-2) Infection: A Systematic Review
Huntley et al. conducted a systematic review of 13 studies with a total sample size of 538 individuals to ascertain pregnancy complications of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Maternal ICU admission occurred in 3% of cases (8/263, 95%CI 1.6-5.9%) and maternal critical disease in 1.4% (3/209, 95%CI 0.5-4.1%). No maternal deaths were reported (0/348). The neonatal death rate was 0.3% (1/313, 95%CI…
A Study on Infectivity of Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Carriers
Gao et al. reported a contact investigation involving an asymptomatic person with SARS-CoV-2 infection who presented to the emergency room of a hospital in Guangdong, China. They investigated 455 contacts, including 35 patients, 196 family members, and 224 hospital staff members. No SARS-CoV-2 infections were detected by nucleic acid test. They concluded that some asymptomatic people with SARS-CoV-2 may be weakly infectious. Gao et al. (May 13, 2020). A Study on Infectivity of Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Carriers. Respiratory…
Clusters of Coronavirus Disease in Communities, Japan, January-April 2020
Furuse et al. analyzed 3,184 cases of COVID-19 in Japan during January 15–April 4, 2020 and identified 61 case-clusters in healthcare and other care facilities, restaurants and bars, workplaces, and music events. They also identified 22 probable primary case-patients from non-nosocomial clusters, 9 of whom (41%) were pre-symptomatic or asymptomatic at the time of transmission. Furuse et al. (June 10, 2020). Clusters of…
Population-Scale Longitudinal Mapping of COVID-19 Symptoms Behavior and Testing Identifies Contributors to Continued Disease Spread in the United States
[pre-print, not peer reviewed] Allen et al. developed a web and mobile application to collect self-reported data related to COVID-19. Data from over 500,000 users in the US indicate that adding information beyond symptoms—such as household and community exposure, occupation, and demographics—may improve predictive models of COVID-19 risk and better inform triage of individuals for molecular testing. Allen et al. (June 11, 2020). Population-Scale Longitudinal Mapping…
A Novel Approach to Monitoring the COVID-19 Pandemic Using Emergency Department Discharge Diagnoses
[pre-print, not peer reviewed] Duber et al. identified 422 Emergency Department (ED) visits as with COVID-like illness (CLI) in King County, WA between January 1 and May 1, 2020. Compared to confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths, CLI visits appear to rise and peak well in advance of both confirmed cases and deaths. They concluded that ED-based CLI visits are a temporally leading indicator of the pandemic, and that adopting and…
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