Article Summary
June 9, 2020
Pandemic Planning in Homeless Shelters: A Pilot Study of a COVID-19 Testing and Support Program to Mitigate the Risk of COVID-19 Outbreaks in Congregate Settings
In a homeless shelter system in Hamilton, Canada, Bodkin et al. tested 104 residents and 141 staff for COVID-19 by RT-PCR and found 1% of residents and 5% of staff had prevalent SARS-CoV-2 infection. They found 1 case of secondary spread. The investigators suggest that shelter restructuring, isolating confirmed cases and those awaiting test results, and providing rapid test results may have helped to preventing an outbreak. Bodkin et al. (June 8, 2020). Pandemic Planning in Homeless Shelters: A Pilot…
Estimating the Effects of Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions on COVID-19 in Europe
Flaxman et al. studied the impact of major non-pharmacological interventions across 11 European countries and estimated that recent interventions have been sufficient to achieve epidemic control and drive the reproduction number (Rt) from an initial average of 3.8 across all 11 countries to an average of 0.66. Lockdown measures had a large impact on transmission with an estimated 81% reduction. They estimate that between 12 and…
June 8, 2020
Effects of Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions on COVID-19 Cases, Deaths, and Demand for Hospital Services in the UK: A Modelling Study
Davies et al. used a transmission model to estimate that without mitigation measures 23 million cases and 350,000 deaths due to COVID-19 would occur in the UK by December, 2021. School closures, physical distancing, shielding people aged 70 or older, and isolation of symptomatic cases, in combination, was projected to reduce cases and deaths, but repeated periods of phased lockdowns would need to be in place for a large proportion…
Association Between Mode of Delivery Among Pregnant Women With COVID-19 and Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes in Spain
Severe adverse maternal outcomes occurred in 9/82 (11%) pregnant women who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in a Spanish cohort. Four of the 9 had mild COVID-19 symptoms and 5/9 had severe symptoms. Women who delivered by cesarean sections (necessitated by COVID-19 symptoms in 100% of those with severe symptoms and 10% of those with mild symptoms) were more likely to require ICU admission and…
Clinical Characteristics of 58 Children With a Pediatric Inflammatory Multisystem Syndrome Temporally Associated With SARS-CoV-2
Whittaker et al. compared the features of pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome temporally associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection (PIMS-TS) to that of Kawasaki Disease (KD) and KD shock syndrome. Of 58 PIMS-TS patients, 78% had evidence of current or prior SARS-CoV-2 infection. Fifty percent developed shock, 22% met the definition for KD, and 14% developed coronary artery dilatation or aneurysm. Compared with other cases of KD and KD…
Cardiovascular Complications in COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
A systematic review and meta-analysis found that the incidence of cardiovascular complications among patients with COVID-19 was highest for heart failure, myocardial injury, and cardiac arrhythmias. Incidence of myocardial injury was higher in older age groups and groups with a higher prevalence of pre-existing hypertension, but did not differ substantially between those with and without pre-existing cardiovascular disease. Kunutsor and Laukkanen. (June 3, 2020). Cardiovascular Complications in COVID-19: A…
Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies Using Commercial Assays and Seroconversion Patterns in Hospitalized Patients
Tuaillon et al. evaluated six point-of-care (POC) and three ELISA tests to determine their sensitivity and specificity for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies between 1 day and >15 days after onset of symptoms. Most tests detected antibodies in at least 50% of samples by day 7 and nearly all tests were positive for >80% of samples after 15 days, although none…
Identification of Nsp1 Gene as the Target of SARS-CoV-2 Real-Time RT-PCR Using Nanopore Whole Genome Sequencing
Chan et al. found that SARS-CoV-2 mutations in current binding sites for PCR tests may compromise their sensitivity and identified the nsp1 gene as a novel target. An RT-PCR assay developed using this target had a sensitivity of 93.1% and a specificity of 100%. Chan et al. (June 2020). Identification of Nsp1 Gene as the Target of SARS-CoV-2 Real-Time RT-PCR…
Side by Side Comparison of Three Fully Automated SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Assays with a Focus on Specificity
[pre-print, not peer reviewed] Comparison of the Abbott, Roche, and DiaSorin antibody assays found high specificity for all three (ranging from 98.3% to 99.2%). However, when seroprevalence is low, even these high specificities can result in very low positive predictive values (32.6% to 77.6% at 1% prevalence). Sensitivity was found to be lower than reported by…
Interleukin-1 Blockade with High-Dose Anakinra in Patients with COVID-19, Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, and Hyperinflammation: A Retrospective Cohort Study
Cavalli et al. observed that patients (n=29) who received a high-dose of intravenous anakinra (an interleukin (IL)-1 receptor blocker) had a higher probability of survival at 21 days among a cohort of patients with COVID-19 who had moderate-to-severe ARDS and hyperinflammation and who were managed with non-invasive ventilation outside of the ICU. Treated patients were…
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