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April 13, 2020
Blueprint for a Pop-up SARS-CoV-2 Testing Lab
The Innovative Genomics Institute SARS-CoV-2 Testing Consortium describe the strategy they used to establish a CLIA-licensed clinical laboratory to perform a validated Laboratory-Developed Test (LDT) for SARS-CoV-2 in Berkeley, California and the surrounding Bay Area community. The procedures for implementing the technical, regulatory, and data management work streams necessary for clinical sample processing provide a…
Insights on early mutational events in SARS-CoV-2 virus reveal founder effects across geographical regions
Farkas et al described early mutational events across samples from publicly available SARS-CoV-2 sequences from the archive repository. Five-point mutations with clonal (founder) effect were found in USA sequencing samples, but the Australian mutation signatures were more diverse than USA samples. Mutations in the helicase and orf1a coding regions were predominant, suggesting that these proteins…
COVID-19 in a patient with long-term use of glucocorticoids: A study of a familial cluster
Han et al report a familial cluster of COVID-19 where a 47-year-old woman with long-term use of glucocorticoids did not develop any symptoms within the 14- day quarantine period but was confirmed with COVID-19 on day 40 after she left Wuhan. The results suggest that the long-term use of glucocorticoids might cause atypical infections, a…
The Presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in Feces of COVID-19 Patients
Chen et al reported on fecal shedding of SARS-CoV-2 in COVID-19 patients, including those without gastrointestinal symptoms, and the severity of illness. They reported 7 (6-10) days as duration of viral shedding from feces after negative conversion in pharyngeal swabs, and suggested the possibility of SARS-CoV-2 transmission via the fecal-oral route. Chen et al. (April…
Protecting Labor and Delivery Personnel from COVID-19 during the Second Stage of Labor
Although the second stage of labor has previously not been considered an aerosol generating procedure (AGP), persons in labor exert extreme effort during the process and frequently blow out their breath, cough, shout, and vomit, all of which put the health care team at risk of COVID-19. Palatnik and McIntosh recommend that labor and delivery…
April 10, 2020
Awareness, Attitudes, and Actions Related to COVID-19 Among Adults With Chronic Conditions at the Onset of the U.S. Outbreak
A cross-sectional survey of 630 U.S. adults living with at least one chronic condition evaluated COVID-19 awareness, knowledge, attitudes, and related behaviors. Participants who were black, were living below the poverty level, and had low health literacy were more likely to be less worried about COVID-19, to not believe that they would become infected, and…
Radiological findings and clinical characteristics of pregnant women with COVID 19 pneumonia
The authors review CT images and clinical findings from 23 hospitalized pregnant COVID-19 patients (15 asymptomatic, 8 symptomatic). Clinical characteristics and radiological findings in pregnant women with COVID 19 were similar to those of non-pregnant women with COVID-19, and a correlation between clinical and radiological characteristics was observed in this study. Wu et al. (Apr…
Early virus clearance and delayed antibody response in a case of COVID-19 with a history of co-infection with HIV-1 and HCV
Zhao et al report on a COVID-19 case with HIV-1 and HCV co-infection. The case showed persistently negative SARS-CoV-2 RNA tests, but had a delayed antibody response in the plasma, highlighting the influence of HIV-1 induced immunosuppression on early SARS-CoV-2 clearance. Zhao et al. (Apr 9, 2020). Early virus clearance and delayed antibody response in…
Factors associated with prolonged viral RNA shedding in patients with COVID-19
This retrospective study of 113 patients identified risk factors of prolonged viral shedding in COVID-19 patients, including: male sex, delayed admission to hospital after illness onset, and invasive mechanical ventilation. Xu et al. (Apr 9, 2020). Factors associated with prolonged viral RNA shedding in patients with COVID-19. Clin Infect Dis. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciaa351
High prevalence of obesity in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) requiring invasive mechanical ventilation
The authors analyzed the relationship between clinical characteristics and the need for invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) in this retrospective cohort study of 124 patients in France. The study showed a high frequency of obesity among patients admitted to intensive care (48%). The need for IMV was associated with male sex and increased BMI, and the…
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