Result for
Topic: Testing and Treatment
April 3, 2020
Gargle lavage as a safe and sensitive alternative to swab samples to diagnose COVID-19: a case report in Japan
Saito et al report a case in which gargle lavage samples yielded positive PCR and oropharyngeal swabs results. Gargle lavages may be a safer and potentially more sensitive alternative to oropharyngeal swabs, as gargle lavage can be done by patients themselves. Saito et al. (Apr 2, 2020). Gargle lavage as a safe and sensitive alternative…
Characterization and treatment of SARS-CoV-2 in nasal and bronchial human airway epithelia.
Pizzorno et al provide new insights on SARS-CoV-2 biology, evidence on the antiviral efficacy of remdesivir, and the therapeutic potential of a virus-detected and a host-direct drug combination (e.g. remdesivir-diltiazem combination) as a probable option to respond to the current unmet medical need imposed by COVID-19. Pizzorno et al. (Mar 31, 2020). Characterization and treatment…
April 2, 2020
Computed Tomographic Imaging of 3 Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pneumonia With Negative Virus Real-time Reverse-Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction Test
Xu et al. report chest CT findings from 3 patients who initially tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 but were later confirmed as positive using rt-PCR. Findings emphasize the possibility that swab testing is not sensitive at early stages of clinical presentation, and may miss patients if case definitions focus on viral detection. Xu et al. (March…
March 31, 2020
Diagnostic Indexes of a Rapid IgG/IgM Combined Antibody Test for SARS-CoV-2
Several new studies demonstrate that antibody tests have important diagnostic value in addition to RNA tests. Ying et al found an IgG/IgM combined test was easy to use, had adequate sensitivity and specificity, short turnaround time and no specific requirements for additional equipment or skilled technicians. They suggest it could be used for mass testing…
Organ-protective Effect of Angiotension-converting Enzyme 2 and Its Effect on the Prognosis of COVID-19
The authors describe the essential role of ACE2 in vascular and organ protection functions, and postulate that protein-based vaccine and drugs enhancing ACE2 activity may become one of the most promising approaches for the treatment of COVID-19. Cheng et al. (Mar 27, 2020). Organ-protective Effect of Angiotension-converting Enzyme 2 and Its Effect on the Prognosis…
March 30, 2020
Role of Chloroquine and Hydroxychloroquine in the Treatment of COVID-19 Infection- A Systematic Literature Review.
Kapoor and Kapoor conducted a systematic review of 19 publications on the role of chloroquine and/or hydroxychloroquine in limiting the infection with SARS-CoV-2. They conclude that there is theoretical, experimental, preclinical and clinical evidence to support effectiveness of chloroquine in patients affected with COVID-19. They further report adequate evidence of drug safety from the long-time…
March 27, 2020
Lactate dehydrogenase, a Risk Factor of Severe COVID-19 Patients
This retrospective observational study on 47 COVID-19 patients from Wuhan, China, showed that elevated lactate dehydrogenase could be a powerful predictor for lung injury and severe COVID-19 cases. Han et al. (Mar 27, 2020). Lactate dehydrogenase, a Risk Factor of Severe COVID-19 Patients. Pre-print downloaded Mar 27 from https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.03.24.20040162
A special case of COVID-19 with a long duration of viral shedding for 49 days.
The authors describe a mild COVID-19 family cluster, including a patient with a 49-day viral shedding period, the longest ever recorded. This cluster might have low toxicity and transmissibility but prolonged infective ability, contradicting known associations between viral shedding and prognosis. Infusion of plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients showed high efficiency in viral elimination. Tan…
Factors associated with prolonged viral shedding and impact of Lopinavir/Ritonavir treatment in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection.
In this retrospective cohort study of 120 COVID-19 patients, risk factors for prolonged SARS-CoV-2 shedding include older age and lack of Lopinavir/Ritonavir treatment. Earlier administration of Lopinavir/Ritonavir treatment could shorten the duration of viral shedding. Yan et al. (Mar 27, 2020). Factors associated with prolonged viral shedding and impact of Lopinavir/Ritonavir treatment in patients with…
Evaluation of COVID-19 RT-qPCR test in multi-sample pools.
The authors found that a pooled sampling approach consistently detected single samples of SARS-Cov-2 in pools of up to 32 unique samples, with an estimated false negative rate of 10%. This method could be applied immediately in current clinical testing laboratories, potentially enabling expansion of screening capacities to enable monitoring cohesive groups like hospital staff,…
Previous page Next page