Result for
Topic: Testing and Treatment
December 8, 2020
Hydroxychloroquine as Postexposure Prophylaxis to Prevent Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection
In a US household-randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial among PCR-negative close contacts of persons with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection (n=689), no difference in SARS-CoV-2 acquisition by day 14 was observed between those receiving hydroxychloroquine post-exposure prophylaxis or placebo (HR = 1.10, 95% CI = 0.73-1.66). More participants in the hydroxychloroquine group experienced adverse events, including gastrointestinal symptoms…
December 4, 2020
COVID-19 Investigational Treatments in Use among Hospitalized Patients Identified through the U.S. Coronavirus Disease 2019 -Associated Hospitalization Surveillance Network, March 1–June 30, 2020
Data analyzed from the COVID-19-Associated Hospitalization Surveillance Network (COVID-NET) indicate that among hospitalized individuals in the US with COVID-19 and with available data from March 1–June 30, 43% of received at least one COVID-19 investigational treatment. Hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, and remdesivir were used frequently; however, hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin use declined over time, while use of remdesivir…
Identification of Presymptomatic and Asymptomatic Cases Using Cohort-Based Testing Approaches at a Large Correctional Facility – Chicago, Illinois, USA, May 2020
Cohort-based SARS-CoV-2 testing among detained persons in a Chicago jail who had been exposed to individuals with laboratory-confirmed infection found that the approach identified infected individuals who would not have be detected by symptom screening, with more than half of newly-identified cases either presymptomatic or asymptomatic. Two testing strategies were evaluated, the first involved serial…
December 3, 2020
Increased Intensity Of PCR Testing Reduced COVID-19 Transmission Within Countries During The First Pandemic Wave
A study across 173 countries and territories representing 99% of global COVID-19 cases concluded that among COVID-19 interventions, PCR testing had the greatest association with reducing the average reproduction number (R0). Though testing intensity showed the largest variation among all interventions, a ten-fold increase in the ratio of tests to new cases reduced the R0…
Simple Questionnaires to Improve Pooling Strategies for SARS-CoV-2 Laboratory Testing
Questionnaire-based risk stratification could further enhance the efficiency of pooling strategies for SARS-CoV-2 lab testing. Schneitler et al. pooled samples using responses to a short questionnaire about clinical symptoms, travel history, and contact with people with confirmed COVID-19. In a sample (n=25,978) with overall SARS-CoV-2 prevalence of 0.9%, randomly pooled samples had higher pool positivity…
Pooled Saliva Specimens for SARS-CoV-2 Testing
A prospective study of pooled saliva specimens for RT-PCR testing for SARS-CoV-2 yielded lower sensitivity compared to nasopharyngeal (NP) or mid-turbinate (MT) swabs, but adequate detection in samples with high viral loads. Saliva specimens had 81.8% positive agreement with NP swabs, which rose to 90.0% positive agreement among samples with moderate to high viral load…
December 2, 2020
Repurposed Antiviral Drugs for Covid-19 — Interim WHO Solidarity Trial Results
In a randomized trial of 11,330 adult inpatients with COVID-19 from 30 countries, with 2750 assigned to remdesivir, 954 to hydroxychloroquine, 1411 to lopinavir (without interferon), 2063 to interferon (including 651 to interferon plus lopinavir), and 4088 to no trial drug, all trial drugs had little or no effect on overall mortality, initiation of ventilation,…
December 1, 2020
Large-Scale Testing of Asymptomatic Healthcare Personnel for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2
Large-scale one-time testing of over 12,000 asymptomatic healthcare personnel (HCP) in the San Francisco Bay Area during April-June 2020 found low SARS-CoV-2 prevalence (0.2% by RT-PCR and 0.9% by serology tests). Most SARS-CoV-2-infected HCP were involved with direct patient care. One asymptomatic person with high viral load was identified, which, although rare, highlights the potential…
November 30, 2020
Clinical Performance of the Point-of-Care Cobas Liat for Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in 20 Minutes: A Multicenter Study
A multi-site US study comparing the clinical performance of two cobas® RT-PCR tests, the Liat point of care test versus the most widely used test, the 68/8800 test, found that tests showed similar performance characteristics. The Liat test provides results in approximately 20 minutes. Overall agreement between the Liat and 68/8800 systems for SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics…
November 25, 2020
A Cluster-Randomized Trial of Hydroxychloroquine for Prevention of Covid-19
An open-label, cluster-randomized trial of healthy contacts of patients with PCR–confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection in Spain found that hydroxychloroquine did not prevent infection or symptomatic COVID-19 in these individuals. The incidence of PCR-confirmed, symptomatic COVID-19 was similar between those who received hydroxychloroquine and those who received usual care (5.7% and 6.2%, respectively; RR = 0.86). Hydroxychloroquine…
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