Result for
Topic: Testing and Treatment
September 29, 2020
Epidemiological Correlates of PCR Cycle Threshold Values in the Detection of SARS-CoV-2
A study of household transmission from people with mild COVID-19 found that SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations were lowest soon after symptoms appeared and increased with time since symptom onset. Viral concentrations were higher in patients under 18 years of age (p=0.01) and those reporting upper respiratory symptoms at the time of sample collection (p=0.001), and were…
September 28, 2020
Mass Screening of Asymptomatic Persons for SARS-CoV-2 Using Saliva
A study that conducted mass screening for SARS-CoV-2 among two cohorts of asymptomatic persons in Japan, a contact tracing cohort (n=161) and an airport quarantine cohort (n=1,763), reported the overall sensitivity of RT-PCR testing with nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs was 86% and saliva samples was 92%, with specificity for both samples >99.9%. Due to the lack…
Humoral Response and PCR Positivity in Patients with COVID-19 in the New York City Region, USA: An Observational Study
A cross-sectional study in the New York City region reported that 99.5% patients with PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection (n=624) and 37% patients with suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection (n=719) showed evidence of seroconversion with anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike antibodies detected 4 weeks after the illness. PCR positivity was detected up to 28 days from symptom resolution. Wajnberg et al. (Sept…
September 25, 2020
Efficacy of corticosteroid treatment for hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19: a multicenter study
Corticosteroid treatment of COVID-19 patients was not statistically significantly associated with lower mortality across all patients with COVID-19, but there was significantly lower mortality among the sub-group of patients with severe respiratory failure. A multicenter observational study (February 22 to June 30, 2020) found that 170 of 513 COVID-19 patients were treated with corticosteroids, and…
Comparative assessment of multiple COVID-19 serological technologies supports continued evaluation of point-of-care lateral flow assays in hospital and community healthcare settings
[Pre-print, not peer reviewed] A comparison of ten commercial serological tests for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies found sensitivity ranging from 61% to 87% and specificity ranging from 82% to 100% when compared to an in-house ELISA. The in-house test was selected as the reference test because there is no accepted “gold standard” for the detection of SARS-CoV2…
Sensitive detection of SARS-CoV-2-specific-antibodies in dried blood spot samples
[Pre-print, not peer reviewed] Dried blood spot (DBS) sampling was validated for detection of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies. DBS sampling achieved a sensitivity of 98.1% and specificity of 100% for detecting anti-spike glycoprotein antibodies based on samples from 87 matched DBS and serum samples obtained from eighty individuals. Morley et al. (Sept 25, 2020). Sensitive detection of…
Assessment of Disparities in COVID-19 Testing and Infection Across Language Groups in Seattle, Washington
Out of a patient population of 562,242 in King County, WA, a slightly lower percentage of non-English speakers had been tested for SARS-CoV-2 compared to English-speakers (5% vs 6%), but the proportion of positive tests was 4.6-fold higher among non-English speakers (19% vs 4%). The elevated proportion of positive tests was observed across multiple languages….
September 24, 2020
Massive and Rapid COVID-19 Testing Is Feasible by Extraction-Free SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR
Smyrlaki et al. developed a streamlined protocol for SARS-CoV-2 testing using RT-PCR directly on heat-inactivated samples and lysates without the need for RNA extraction, which is a bottleneck in PCR testing. Their protocol achieved a sensitivity of 96% and specificity of 99.8% compared to conventional RT-PCR. The authors suggest that this novel protocol could have…
Decreased Mortality in COVID-19 Patients Treated with Tocilizumab: A Rapid Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies
Tocilizumab was associated with a lower mortality (RR:0.27, 95% CI: 0.12-0.59; risk difference 12%, 95% CI: 4.6%-20%) based on pooled data from 10 studies comprising 1358 patients with COVID-19. The number needed to treat was 11, suggesting that 1 death is prevented for every 11 patients with severe COVID-19 treated with tocilizumab. No differences in…
Utility of Repeat Nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR Testing and Refinement of Diagnostic Stewardship Strategies at a Tertiary Care Academic Center in a Low-Prevalence Area of the United States
Among 660 patients with at least 2 nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 PCR tests collected on different days in a low prevalence area of Wisconsin, only 6 (0.9%) negative-to-positive conversions were detected. All 6 were outpatient persons under investigation (PUI) for suspected COVID-19. Overall, 29.6% of repeat PUI testing and 31.4% of repeat asymptomatic screens should not have…
Previous page Next page