Result for
Topic: Testing and Treatment
June 1, 2020
Efficacy and Safety of Interferon Beta-1a in Treatment of Severe COVID-19 A Randomized Clinical Trial
[pre-print, not peer reviewed] Davoudi-Monfared et al. report the results of a randomized trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of interferon β-1a (IFN) in patients with severe COVID-19, which showed no significant difference of time to clinical response between the IFN and the control groups (9.7 ± 5.8 vs. 8.3 ± 4.9 days). The IFN group had a higher discharge rate on day 14 and lower 28-day mortality (66.7% vs. 43.6% and 19.0%…
Performance of Abbott ID NOW COVID-19 Rapid Nucleic Acid Amplification Test in Nasopharyngeal Swabs Transported in Viral Media and Dry Nasal Swabs, in a New York City Academic Institution
Basu et al. evaluated the performance of the recently–released Abbott ID NOW COVID-19 assay for SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection with the Cepheid Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2. They found that the ID NOW assay has utility as a rapid rule-in test for COVID-19 with samples at high viral load; however, an overall low positive percent agreement (55%-67%) of ID NOW with Xpert Xpress raises concerns regarding…
May 28, 2020
Remdesivir for 5 or 10 Days in Patients with Severe Covid-19
A randomized trial among hospitalized COVID-19 patients who did not require mechanical ventilation found no differences between a 5-day course and a 10-day course of remdesivir. By day 14, clinical improvement was observed in over half of patients in both treatment arms. However, this trial lacked a placebo control and could not determine if this improvement that was attributable to remdesivir. Goldman et al. (May 27,…
May 27, 2020
Efficacy of therapeutic plasma exchange in severe COVID-19 patients
Zhang et al. report the efficacy of therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) in three severe COVID-19 patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome in China. Approximately 10 days after TPE, all three patients had met discharge criteria. The results suggested TPE might be a possible strategy to attenuate circulating cytokines and inflammatory mediators. Zhang et al. (May 26, 2020). Efficacy of therapeutic plasma exchange in severe COVID-19 patients. British Journal of Haematology. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjh.16890
COVID-19 Serology at Population Scale SARS-CoV-2-Specific Antibody Responses in Saliva
[pre-print, not peer reviewed] Randad et al. evaluated the correlation of results obtained in 167 saliva samples vs. 324 serum samples and found that SARS-CoV-2 appears to trigger a humoral immune response resulting in the almost simultaneous rise of IgG, IgM and IgA levels in serum and in saliva, consistent with the stimulation of existing cross-reactive B cells. …
Sample Pooling as a Strategy of SARS-COV-2 Nucleic Acid Screening Increases the False-Negative Rate
[pre-print, not peer reviewed] Gan et al. diluted three SARS-CoV-2 positive samples (2 with high viral load and 1 with low viral load) with 8,094 negative samples or double distilled water to form RNA pools. SARS-CoV-2 was detected in pools from high viral load samples up to 1/1000 dilution, while the low viral load sample could only be observed at a low dilution ratio. Based on…
May 26, 2020
Remdesivir for the Treatment of Covid-19 – Preliminary Report
A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of IV remdesivir (200mg on day 1, then 100mg daily for up to 9 days) in adults hospitalized with COVID-19 with evidence of lower respiratory tract involvement (n=1,059) found that, compared to placebo, recovery was 32% faster in those who received remdesivir (95%CI 12% to 55%; median recovery time 11 vs 15 days). Though not statistically significant, Remdesivir treatment was associated with…
Spatial and Temporal Dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 in COVID-19 Patients A Systematic Review
[pre-print, not peer reviewed] A meta-analysis of 22 studies comprising 650 COVID-19 patients found that the duration of positive detection of SARS-CoV-2 following symptom onset among mild cases was 12.1 days in samples from the upper respiratory tract (URT), 24.1 days in samples from the lower respiratory tract (LRT), and 15.5 days in fecal samples. Differences in the…
May 22, 2020
Hydroxychloroquine or Chloroquine with or without a Macrolide for Treatment of COVID-19: A Multinational Registry Analysis
A multinational registry analysis of the use of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine, with or without a macrolide (e.g., azithromycin), included 671 hospitals and 96,032 hospitalized patients across 6 continents. Patients for whom treatment was not initiated within 48 hours or prior to ventilation were excluded, as were those who received remdesivir. After controlling for confounders, including risk factors for…
May 21, 2020
Systematic and Statistical Review of Coronavirus Disease 19 Treatment Trials
[pre-print, not peer reviewed] Siordia et al. conducted a systematic review and identified 17 COVID-19 treatment trials with viral clearance and clinical outcomes. Favipiravir had a positive impact on symptoms compared to other medications. Lopinavir/ritonavir, hydroxychloroquine, and arbidol (umifenovir) had no statistically significant effects on viral clearance. There was no significant clinical improvement with lopinavir/ritonavir, arbidol, hydroxychloroquine, or remdesivir. Siordia et al. (May 20, 2020). Systematic and Statistical Review of Coronavirus Disease 19…
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