Article Summary
June 4, 2020
Racial Disparities in Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Related to COVID-19 in the USA
Among 1,216 adults in the March 2020 Kaiser Family Foundation ‘Coronavirus Poll’, in contrast to white respondents, non-white respondents were more likely to have low knowledge scores related to COVID-19 (58% vs. 30%; p<0.001) and low attitude scores (52% vs. 27%; p<0.001). Non-white respondents were more likely to have high practice scores to reduce risk of COVID-19 (81% vs. 59%; p<0.001). Alobuia et al. (June 3, 2020). Racial Disparities in…
Trajectories of Depression and Anxiety during Enforced Isolation Due to COVID-19 Longitudinal Analyses of 59318 Adults in the UK with and without Diagnosed Mental Illness
[pre-print, not peer reviewed] Fancourt et al. conducted a nationwide study exploring anxiety and depression over the first two months of lockdown in the UK. In total 24% of the population had moderate-severe anxiety (GAD-7 score ≥10), and 31% had moderate or severe depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 score ≥10) at first wave of data collection. There was a slight decrease in anxiety levels and…
Epidemiology, Clinical Features, and Disease Severity in Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in a Children’s Hospital in New York City, New York
A case series of 50 children and adolescents hospitalized with COVID-19 in New York City showed that patients with severe disease had significantly higher C-reactive protein and procalcitonin levels at admission, as well as elevated peak IL-6, ferritin, and D-dimer levels during hospitalization. Infants and immunocompromised patients were not at increased risk of severe disease. Zachariah et al. (June 3, 2020). Epidemiology,…
The Need of Health Policy Perspective to Protect Healthcare Workers during COVID-19 Pandemic. A GRADE Rapid Review on the N95 Respirators Effectiveness
A systematic review of 4 randomized trials involving 8,736 healthcare workers showed that, compared to surgical masks, wearing N95 respirators was associated with a lower risk of clinical respiratory infections (RR=0.43, 95%CI 0.29-0.64), corresponding to 73 (46-91) fewer infections per 1000 persons. No direct high–quality evidence was found on whether N95 respirators were better than surgical masks for protection from SARS-CoV-2. Iannone et…
Acute Myocarditis and Multisystem Inflammatory Emerging Disease Following SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Critically Ill Children
Grimaud et al. report a case series of 20 children admitted to PICUs in Paris with shock, fever, and suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection. SARS-CoV-2 PCR and serology were positive for 10 and 15 children, respectively. All of the children had cardiac abnormalities consistent with acute myocarditis. All children had highly –elevated C-reactive protein and procalcitonin. None of the patients had sufficient criteria for typical Kawasaki disease. …
Encephalopathy and Encephalitis Associated with Cerebrospinal Fluid Cytokine Alterations and Coronavirus Disease, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 2020
Benameur et al. present a case series of 3 patients with COVID-19 who developed encephalopathy and encephalitis. All 3 patients had increased cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of anti-S1 IgM, IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10. No SARS-CoV-2 was identified in any CSF sample. These changes provide evidence of CSF peri-infectious/post-infectious inflammatory changes with neurologic complications. Benameur et al. (June 2, 2020). Encephalopathy and…
Swabs Collected by Patients or Health Care Workers for SARS-CoV-2 Testing
Tu et al. evaluated the sensitivity of non-nasopharyngeal swabs self-collected by patients, compared to nasopharynx swabs collected by a health care worker, for the diagnosis of COVID-19. The estimated sensitivities of the tongue, nasal, and mid-turbinate self-collected samples were 89.8% (97.5%CI 78.2-100.0), 94.0% (83.8-100.0), and 96.2% (87.0-100.0), respectively. Tu et al. (June 3, 2020). Swabs Collected by Patients or Health Care Workers for SARS-CoV-2 Testing. The New…
Effect of Convalescent Plasma Therapy on Time to Clinical Improvement in Patients With Severe and Life-Threatening COVID-19: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Li et al. conducted a multicenter randomized trial of convalescent plasma therapy among 103 participants with “severe” or “life-threatening” COVID-19 in Wuhan, China. The trial was stopped early, which resulted in insufficient power to fully evaluate the primary outcomes. Overall, there were no statistically significant differences in clinical improvement within 28 days between those who did and did not receive convalescent plasma. However, an accompanying editorial points to promising trends among…
Retraction: “Hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine with or without a macrolide for treatment of COVID-19: a multinational registry analysis”
Retraction: Authors of an article previously published in the Lancet regarding treatment of COVID-19 with hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine retracted the article after Surgisphere declined to make the primary data available for an independent third party review. Mehra, Ruschitzka & Patel. (June 4, 2020). Retraction: “Hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine with or without a macrolide for treatment of COVID-19: a multinational registry analysis”. Lancet. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31324-6
Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in Hong Kong and in Residents Evacuated from Hubei Province, China: A Multicohort Study
Kai-Wang et al. conducted a seroepidemiology investigation using enzyme immunoassay and microneutralization assay on stored samples from before and after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. They conclude that SARS-CoV-2 was not circulating in the Hong Kong population before the COVID-19 pandemic and that there was no increase in the seroprevalence from 2018 up until the second month of the COVID-19 outbreak in Hong Kong. Among…
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