Article Summary
May 15, 2020
Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes of Hospitalized and Critically Ill Children and Adolescents with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) at a Tertiary Care Medical Center in New York City
Though previous studies have shown that children are at lower risk of developing severe illness compared to adults, the incidence of critical illness among children with COVID-19 is still not well known. Chao et al. observed 46 COVID-19 positive children (median age = 13.1) hospitalized in New York, and report that 28% were admitted to the pediatric intensive…
Hypoalbuminemia Predicts the Outcome of COVID‐19 Independent of Age and Co‐morbidity
This retrospective cohort study found a considerable difference in albumin levels between survivors and non-survivors of COVID-19. Results also showed that hypoalbuminemia was a predictive factor for mortality (OR = 6.4, 95%CI: 1.3, 31.1). Huang et al. (May 14, 2020). Hypoalbuminemia Predicts the Outcome of COVID‐19 Independent of Age and Co‐morbidity. Journal of Medical Virology. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmv.26003
Combination of Four Clinical Indicators Predicts the Severe/Critical Symptom of Patients Infected COVID-19
Using data on all 336 cases of COVID-19 in Shanghai, China through March 12, as well as 220 clinical and laboratory records, Sun et al. built a risk prediction model for discriminating severe/critical illness. Thirty-six clinical indicators were found to be significantly associated with severe/critical symptoms. The AUC for the final model (Support Vector Machine) for discriminating severe/critical cases from…
Rapid Implementation of Real-Time SARS-CoV-2 Sequencing to Investigate Healthcare-Associated COVID-19 Infections
Using a sequencing method with a sample-to-sequence delay of less than 24 hours, paired with a reporting system that integrates these genomic data with epidemiological data, Meredith et al. identified both hospital and community clusters among patients from a UK hospital. In addition to detecting cryptic transmission events, this real-time genomic surveillance approach was used to inform infection control and patient safety practices. …
Saliva Is Less Sensitive than Nasopharyngeal Swabs for COVID-19 Detection in the Community Setting
Saliva-based testing, compared to nasopharyngeal swabs (NPS), was found to be 15% less sensitive in a community-based diagnostic setting (N=88) and 50% less sensitive in a convalescent cohort (>8 and <21 days from first symptoms; N=24). In the community-based diagnostic setting, saliva samples were randomized to two collection tube types (OM-505 and OGD-610) with different proprietary nucleic acid stabilization solutions, and testing was completed at Helix, a high-complexity CLIA laboratory. NPS samples were…
Estimating the Extent of True Asymptomatic COVID-19 and Its Potential for Community Transmission Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
A systematic review that included 5 articles from three countries (China, USA, and Italy) reports a pooled estimate of the proportion of asymptomatic cases to be 16% (95% CI: 12%-20%). While the findings are lower than many highly publicized studies, the sampling frame for the US-based studies only included residents, healthcare personnel, and visitors of long-term care facilities and may not be a…
Strong Social Distancing Measures In The United States Reduced The COVID-19 Growth Rate
Researchers evaluated the impact of four government-imposed social distancing measures, including public school closures, bans on large social gatherings, closures of entertainment-related businesses, and shelter-in-place orders (SIPOs) on the spread of COVID-19 across US counties. They found that their combined adoption reduced the daily growth rate by 9.1% after 16-20 days of implementation. When considered separately, each measure was associated with a reduction in the daily…
May 14, 2020
A Novel Box for Aerosol and Droplet Guarding and Evacuation in Respiratory Infection (BADGER) A Potential Mitigating Strategy for the COVID-19 Pandemic and Future Outbreaks
Oberstar et al. report on the development of an affordable and scalable device that can contain droplets and aerosol particles for potentially use by healthcare providers treating COVID-19 patients. The BADGER (Box for Aerosol and Droplet Guarding and Evacuation in Respiratory Infection) creates a semi-sealed environment and has multiple hand-ports for healthcare providers to perform essential tasks…
Outbreak of Kawasaki Disease in Children during COVID-19 Pandemic a Prospective Observational Study in Paris France
There is an outbreak of a pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome, which resembles Kawasaki disease, among children in Paris, France that may be related to SARS-CoV-2. A total of 17 children were admitted to a university hospital in Paris with symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease over an 11-day period (April 27 to May 7, 2020). This is compared to a mean of 1.0 case per 2-week…
COVID-19 in Post-Operative Patients: Imaging Findings
COVID-19 clinical manifestations are similar to septic, thoracic, or gastrointestinal post-surgical complications. Moliere and Veillon recommend that patients who develop acute post-operative symptoms should receive chest computed tomography (CT) scans. Among 46 post-operative patients with acute symptoms, they found that 17% (n=8) were diagnosed with COVID-19 via chest CT scan (confirmed by PCR an average 1.2 days later). Among these patients, 5 required…
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