Chest Medicine (all articles)
Masks and face coverings for the lay public: A narrative update
13 Jan, 2021 | 02:23h | UTCMasks and Face Coverings for the Lay Public: A Narrative Update – Annals of Internal Medicine
Commentary on Twitter (thread – click for more)
Masks work.
A new and comprehensive update from @trishgreenhalgh
et al."Evidence that the virus can be airborne (and therefore be inhaled) and that masking policies, when effectively delivered, save lives is now strong."https://t.co/Tl9VrmPNlW pic.twitter.com/zfuV774jyN
— Laura McCall #Code Zwart (@equibotanica) December 29, 2020
Six RCTs to answer one question: what is the role of tocilizumab in COVID-19?
13 Jan, 2021 | 02:28h | UTCSix RCTs to answer one question: what is the role of tocilizumab in COVID-19? – PulmCrit
Related (study and commentaries): Randomized trial: Arthritis drugs improve survival in critically ill patients with Covid-19
Video (3 min): Which Covid vaccine is better? Pfizer v Oxford v Moderna
13 Jan, 2021 | 02:21h | UTCWhich Covid vaccine is better? Pfizer v Oxford v Moderna – BBC
An evidence review of face masks against COVID-19
13 Jan, 2021 | 02:26h | UTCAn evidence review of face masks against COVID-19 – Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Commentary on Twitter
https://mobile.twitter.com/jeremyphoward/status/1348771993949151232
Loss of smell in mild Covid-19 cases occurs 86% of the time, study says
13 Jan, 2021 | 02:20h | UTCLoss of smell in mild Covid-19 cases occurs 86% of the time, study says – CNN
Original study: Prevalence and 6‐month recovery of olfactory dysfunction: a multicentre study of 1363 COVID‐19 patients – Journal of Internal Medicine
Blood plasma treatment has limited effect for sickest COVID-19 patients
12 Jan, 2021 | 02:07h | UTCBlood plasma treatment has limited effect for sickest COVID-19 patients – Imperial College London
See also: Expert reaction to REMAP-CAP recruitment of severely ill COVID-19 patients into convalescent plasma trial being paused after initial analysis suggested it did not improve outcomes – Science Media Centre AND Trial of COVID-19 blood plasma finds no benefit in severely ill patients – Reuters
Randomized trial: Plasma therapy administered early is beneficial in high-risk elderly patients
12 Jan, 2021 | 02:05h | UTCCommentaries: Early convalescent plasma may lower risk of severe COVID in seniors – CIDRAP AND Covid-19: Early Plasma Treatment Improved Outcomes in Older Patients – Physician’s Weekly
Commentaries on Twitter
Just published @NEJM: A small, placebo-controlled randomized trial (N=160) of high IgG titer convalescent plasma administered early (within 72 hrs) for mild covid-19 to older adults (median age >70) shows benefit https://t.co/dhyFH4OwpH pic.twitter.com/14lMBBofUh
— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) January 6, 2021
Early convalescent plasma may lower risk of severe COVID in seniors@NEJM study finds that 16% of those treated with high-titer convalescent therapy developed severe #COVID19, compared with 31% in the placebo grouphttps://t.co/7hqCXsNHDM pic.twitter.com/dZDUwcjxUh
— CIDRAP (@CIDRAP) January 6, 2021
Randomized trial: Renin–angiotensin system inhibitors can be safely continued in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19
12 Jan, 2021 | 01:59h | UTC
NEW Research—renin–angiotensin system inhibitors can be safely continued in patients admitted to hospital with #COVID19
RCT from Julio Chirinos & colleagues https://t.co/ZNfqJ0NsRK pic.twitter.com/Kpg6xSsWKl
— The Lancet Respiratory Medicine (@LancetRespirMed) January 8, 2021
CDC Study: Reducing quarantine to fewer than 14 days might be easier to comply with but carries some risk of spreading the virus
12 Jan, 2021 | 02:03h | UTCCommentaries: Shorter Quarantines Can Eliminate Most Contagion. Is Most Enough? New Data – Brief19 AND Some Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 Occurs After Seven, 10 Days – Physician’s Wekly
Related (guideline and commentary): Why the CDC changed its Covid-19 quarantine guidelines
Commentary on Twitter
An ongoing CDC study of household spread of COVID-19 published in MWMR finds reducing quarantine to fewer than 14 days might be easier to comply with but carries some risk of spreading the virus. Learn more: https://t.co/3HCtyxCLiO pic.twitter.com/Frepnp0QRQ
— MMWR (@CDCMMWR) January 1, 2021
CDC Study: Among young, healthy athletes exposed to Covid-19, the probability of receiving positive test results after day 10 of quarantine is low (less than 5%)
12 Jan, 2021 | 02:01h | UTC
Commentary on Twitter
A new @CDCMMWR looking at college athletes exposed to #COVID19 supports giving health departments options to potentially shorten quarantine periods to increase adherence. Learn more: https://t.co/WuPF7MWtOF. pic.twitter.com/irsA0Zn7d7
— CDC (@CDCgov) January 7, 2021
[Preprint] Randomized trial: Arthritis drugs improve survival in critically ill patients with Covid-19
10 Jan, 2021 | 20:56h | UTCCommentaries: Covid-19: Arthritis drugs improve survival in intensive care patients, shows study – The BMJ AND Arthritis drugs could help save lives of Covid patients, research finds – The Guardian AND Expert comment – Two potentially life-saving drugs for critically ill COVID-19 patients – London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Commentary on Twitter
Two rheumatoid arthritis drugs will now be used to treat the patients with severe covid-19 in intensive care, after new findings have shown that they significantly improve survival and cut the time spent in hospital by a week to 10 days https://t.co/cxNM64L5S6
— The BMJ (@bmj_latest) January 8, 2021
New SARS-CoV-2 variants: increased transmissibility likely to cause more deaths and possibly a new wave of the disease
10 Jan, 2021 | 20:54h | UTC- SARS-CoV-2 Variants – World Health Organization
- Why epidemiologists are so worried about the new Covid-19 variants, in 2 charts – Vox
- We lost to SARS-CoV-2 in 2020. We can defeat B-117 in 2021 – STAT
- Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 Lineage B.1.1.7 in England: insights from linking epidemiological and genetic data – Imperial College of London AND Commentary: New COVID-19 variant growing rapidly in England – Imperial College London
- Genetic Variants of SARS-CoV-2—What Do They Mean? – JAMA
- Podcast: Understanding SARS-CoV-2 Genetic Variants – JAMA
- Podcast: Understanding the New SARS-CoV-2 Mutation Found in England – JAMA
- Viral mutations may cause another ‘very, very bad’ COVID-19 wave, scientists warn – Science
- Mutant coronavirus in the United Kingdom sets off alarms, but its importance remains unclear – Science
- New variant of SARS-CoV-2 in UK causes surge of COVID-19 – The Lancet Respiratory Medicine
- Scientists are monitoring a coronavirus mutation that could affect the strength of vaccines – STAT
- Instead of debating ‘first-shot’ vs. ‘set-aside’ vaccine approaches, hospitals’ study should compare them – STAT
- The Mutated Virus Is a Ticking Time Bomb – Vox
- What We Know About The New U.K. Variant Of Coronavirus — And What We Need To Find Out – NPR
- The New Mutations – Science Translational Medicine
- New Virus Strain’s Transmissibility to Cause More Deaths: Study – Bloomberg
- U.K. variant puts spotlight on immunocompromised patients’ role in the COVID-19 pandemic – Science
- When unusually severe COVID is seen, rapid identification-and-virus-sequencing are needed world-wide – Science Speaks: Global ID News
- Covid-19: New coronavirus variant is identified in UK – The BMJ
- The looming questions scientists need to answer about the new variant of the coronavirus – STAT
- With limited surveillance of Covid-19 variant, it’s déjà vu all over again – STAT
- New coronavirus variant: What do we know? – BBC
- Covid-19 in South Africa: Scientists seek to understand new variant – BBC
- New coronavirus variant: what is the spike protein and why are mutations on it important? – The Conversation
Randomized trial: Neutralizing monoclonal antibody not efficacious among hospitalized patients with covid-19
10 Jan, 2021 | 20:55h | UTCCommentaries: Covid-19: Trial of LY-CoV555 Stopped for Futility – Physician’s Weekly AND Results of NIH-sponsored ACTIV-3 trial published – NIH News Releases AND Bamlanivimab Flops in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients – MedPage Today (free registration required)
Peter Doshi: Pfizer and Moderna’s “95% effective” vaccines—we need more details and the raw data
10 Jan, 2021 | 20:48h | UTC
Moderna COVID-19 vaccine phase III trial results published; it is 94.1% efficacious in preventing symptomatic COVID-19
10 Jan, 2021 | 20:49h | UTCEfficacy and Safety of the mRNA-1273 SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine – New England Journal of Medicine
Commentaries: Peer-reviewed report on Moderna COVID-19 vaccine publishes – NIH News Releases AND Peer-reviewed data show high protection for leading COVID vaccines – CIDRAP AND The Moderna Vaccine’s Antibodies May Not Last As Long As We Hoped – Forbes
Commentary on Twitter
In the phase 3 mRNA-1273 trial participants received 2 doses of vaccine or placebo 28 days apart. The mRNA-1273 vaccine showed 94.1% efficacy in preventing #SARSCoV2, including severe disease. #IDTwitter
— NEJM (@NEJM) December 30, 2020
Debate: Should we delay second vaccine doses to give one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine to more people?
10 Jan, 2021 | 20:51h | UTC- Editorial: U.S. COVID-19 Vaccination Challenges Go Beyond Supply – Annals of Internal Medicine
- Speed Versus Efficacy: Quantifying Potential Tradeoffs in COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment – Annals of Internal Medicine
- A Public Health COVID-19 Vaccination Strategy to Maximize the Health Gains for Every Single Vaccine Dose – Annals of Internal Medicine
- Alternative Dose Allocation Strategies to Increase Benefits From Constrained COVID-19 Vaccine Supply – Annals of Internal Medicine
- Delaying the second COVID vaccine dose – a medical expert answers key questions – The Conversation
- Should we give one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine to more people? The debate, explained. – Vox
- Debates intensify over dosing plans for authorized COVID-19 vaccines – Science
- Covid-19 vaccination: What’s the evidence for extending the dosing interval? – The BMJ Opinion
- Covid-19 vaccines: to delay or not to delay second doses – The BMJ Opinion
- Britain takes a gamble with Covid-19 vaccines, upping the stakes for the rest of us – STAT
- UK Delay of Second COVID-19 Vaccine Dose – A Risky Strategy That Could Give Rise To More Virus Mutations, Some Experts Warn – Health Policy Watch
- What’s the scientific basis for delaying the Covid vaccine second dose? – The Guardian
- FDA says people need both doses of coronavirus vaccines – CNN
- WHO experts weigh in on COVID-19 vaccine dose interval – CIDRAP
- For mRNA vaccines, we should stick to the schedule – The Guardian
- Expert comment on whether giving two doses of COVID vaccine separated by a longer period is sensible – Science Media Centre
- How safe is it to switch and space COVID-19 vaccine doses? – Reuters
[Press release – results not published yet] International trials of blood thinners in critically ill COVID-19 patients pause due to futility
10 Jan, 2021 | 20:44h | UTC
Commentary on Twitter
The 3 largest RCTs of therapeutic #anticoagulation for #COVID19 pts in the ICU have ALL been stopped early for futility. (@remap_cap @ATTACC_COVID & #ACTIV4)
Nothing published yet, but given the large n of these RCTs, I'm increasingly skeptical about anticoagulation in COVID19. pic.twitter.com/RrLSoOsp3v
— Nick Mark MD (@nickmmark) December 22, 2020
Sinovac vaccine 78% effective in Brazil trial, experts call for more details
10 Jan, 2021 | 20:46h | UTCSinovac vaccine 78% effective in Brazil trial, experts call for more details – Reuters
Long Covid: 6-month consequences of COVID-19 in patients discharged from hospital
10 Jan, 2021 | 20:43h | UTC6-month consequences of COVID-19 in patients discharged from hospital: a cohort study – The Lancet
Commentaries: Most patients hospitalized for Covid-19 still have symptoms six months later, China study finds AND Long-term follow-up of recovered patients with COVID-19 – The Lancet
Commentary on Twitter
Largest #LongCovid cohort @TheLancet just published:
6 months post-hospital,
—76% still had ≥ 1 symptom
—63% fatigue/muscle weakness
—sleep, anxiety, depression common
—Sig % w/CT lung abnormalities
—13% had abnormal kidney function https://t.co/zfRf7MGdxB pic.twitter.com/LI4DaJPis8— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) January 8, 2021
[Preprint] Characterizing Long COVID in an International Cohort: 7 Months of Symptoms and Their Impact
10 Jan, 2021 | 20:41h | UTCRelated: Explanations for ‘long Covid’ remain elusive. For now, believing patients and treating symptoms is the best doctors can do – STAT AND Long COVID: who is at risk? – The Conversation
Commentary on Twitter
How long is #LongCovid?
The most extensive symptom assessment and longest duration (7 months) of nearly 3,800 individuals shows how debilitating this is in young, predominantly women, w/ most unable to return to full prior work https://t.co/o0YUNse1EA @ahandvanish @AthenaAkrami pic.twitter.com/3miXJFdVp0— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) December 29, 2020
NICE Guideline: Managing the long-term effects of COVID-19
18 Dec, 2020 | 10:27h | UTC
NICE Guideline: Do not use Vitamin D to prevent or treat COVID 19
18 Dec, 2020 | 10:03h | UTCCOVID-19 rapid guideline: vitamin D – National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
News release: NICE, PHE and SACN publish rapid COVID-19 guidance on vitamin D
Commentaries: Covid and vitamin D: ‘Not enough evidence’ for treatment – BBC AND Covid-19: Evidence is lacking to support vitamin D’s role in treatment and prevention – The BMJ
Commentary on Twitter
New NICE guidance:
“1.2 Do not offer a vitamin D supplement to people solely to prevent COVID-19, except as part of a clinical trial.
1.3 Do not offer a vitamin D supplement to people solely to treat COVID-19, except as part of a clinical trial.” https://t.co/AsTZF2xgYA— onisillos sekkides (@onisillos) December 17, 2020
Vaccines are here. We have to talk about side effects
18 Dec, 2020 | 09:59h | UTCVaccines Are Here. We Have to Talk About Side Effects – Wired
Commentary on Twitter
All vaccines have side effects and trust comes from freely discussing them. Nice piece by @marynmck https://t.co/eUISXTiFVP
— Madhu Pai, MD, PhD (@paimadhu) December 17, 2020
“Racial Bias in Pulse Oximetry Measurement”. In two large cohorts, Black patients had nearly three times the frequency of occult hypoxemia that was not detected by pulse oximetry as White patients
18 Dec, 2020 | 10:01h | UTCRacial Bias in Pulse Oximetry Measurement – New England Journal of Medicine
Commentary: Devices Used In COVID-19 Treatment Can Give Errors For Patients With Dark Skin – NPR
Commentary on Twitter (thread – click for more)
1/ Our research letter on racial bias in pulse oximetry measurement, out today in NEJM https://t.co/6dLuNGosxp pic.twitter.com/XXsfWfc5dv
— Michael Sjoding (@msjoding) December 17, 2020
COVID 5 times deadlier than flu for hospital patients, study finds
18 Dec, 2020 | 09:53h | UTCCOVID 5 times deadlier than flu for hospital patients, study finds – CIDRAP
Commentary on Twitter
Among people admitted to hospital, #COVID19 was associated with increased risk of various extrapulmonary clinical manifestations, compared with seasonal influenza #BMJResearch https://t.co/R0J9HCvsH2
— The BMJ (@bmj_latest) December 16, 2020