Pharmacology/Pharmaceutical Industry
[Preprint] RCT: In patients with COVID-19 and severe hypoxia, dexamethasone 12 mg did NOT result in statistically significant improved outcomes compared to dexamethasone 6 mg – “Mortality at 28 days was 27.1% and 32.3% in patients assigned to 12 mg and 6 mg, respectively (adjusted relative risk 0.86, 99% CI, 0.68-1.08)”.
26 Jul, 2021 | 03:01h | UTC
Study: Among kidney transplant recipients who did not respond after 2 doses, a third dose of an mRNA-1273 vaccine induced a serologic response in 49% of patients.
26 Jul, 2021 | 02:54h | UTCCommentary: Case Mounts for COVID Vaccine Boosters in Kidney Transplant Recipients – MedPage Today (free registration required)
Related:
[Preprint] 3rd AstraZeneca shot gives strong immunity.
Commentary on Twitter
JUST PUBLISHED @JAMANetwork
✔️N=159 kidney #transplant recipients
✔️3rd dose of #mRNA #Moderna #vaccine induced a #serologic response in 49% of kidney transplant recipients who did not respond after 2 doseshttps://t.co/NCDyraI98x#RealTimeCOVID19 @IDSAInfo @HIV_TID @AST_info— COVID-19 Real-Time Learning Network (RTLN) (@RealTimeCOVID19) July 24, 2021
Editorial | Antibiotic overuse: managing uncertainty and mitigating against overtreatment.
26 Jul, 2021 | 02:16h | UTCAntibiotic overuse: managing uncertainty and mitigating against overtreatment – BMJ Quality & Safety
Commentary on Twitter
Our editorial in @BMJ_Qual_Saf discusses uncertainty and antibiotic overuse, and identifies 4 strategies to address the tendency to prescribe 'just in case'. @EM_Krockow https://t.co/kvIG5uxxOL pic.twitter.com/eTIuqGOj1o
— Prof Carolyn Tarrant (@carolynctarrant) July 21, 2021
WHO: Vaccine inequity undermining global economic recovery.
23 Jul, 2021 | 10:53h | UTCNews release: Vaccine inequity undermining global economic recovery – World Health Organization
Dashboard: Global Dashboard for Vaccine Equity
Commentaries: Urgent need for COVID-19 vaccine equity – University of Oxford AND COVID-19 Vaccine Inequity Undermines Global Economic Recovery – Health Policy Watch
Commentary on Twitter (thread – click for more)
COVID-19 vaccine inequity is undermining ? economic recovery. ?WHO, @UNDP and @BlavatnikSchool Dashboard on #VaccinEquity finds that low-income countries would add $38B to their GDP forecast if they had the same vaccination rate as high-income countrieshttps://t.co/BsYF2eYL1G
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) July 22, 2021
Opinion | Tocilizumab in COVID-19 therapy: who benefits, and how? – the researchers suggest that maybe IL-6 inhibitors should be given only to patients with high IL-6.
23 Jul, 2021 | 10:51h | UTCTocilizumab in COVID-19 therapy: who benefits, and how? – The Lancet
Related: A living WHO guideline on drugs for covid-19 – interleukin-6 receptor blockers are now recommended for patients with severe or critical covid-19. AND M-A: Association Between Administration of IL-6 Antagonists and Mortality Among Patients Hospitalized for COVID-19 – “The 4% absolute risk reduction in mortality from 25% to 21% with IL-6 inhibition added to glucocorticoids may not translate to patients with a lower baseline mortality risk and likely do not justify the additional expense and risk for toxicities for patients hospitalized with modest oxygen requirements and a stable clinical course (from editorial)”. AND RECOVERY trial: In hospitalized COVID-19 patients with hypoxia and systemic inflammation (C-reactive protein ≥75 mg/L), tocilizumab improved survival and other clinical outcomes AND Secondary analysis of RCT finds Tocilizumab was beneficial to patients hospitalized with Covid-19 if CRP levels were greater than 15.0 mg/dL, but not if CRP levels were 15.0 mg/dL or less. AND M-A: Tocilizumab in COVID-19 – “For hospitalized COVID-19 patients, there is some evidence that tocilizumab use may be associated with a short-term mortality benefit, but further high-quality data are required”.
Perspective | SARS-CoV-2 human challenge studies — establishing the model during an evolving pandemic.
23 Jul, 2021 | 10:49h | UTCRelated: World’s first coronavirus “Human Challenge” study receives ethics approval in the UK (several texts on the subject) AND Are SARS-CoV-2 Human Challenge Trials Ethical? – “A clinical trial is underway in the UK in which young, healthy participants are exposed deliberately to SARS-CoV-2 to assess the viral inoculum needed to produce an infection and to test vaccine efficacy”.
CDC releases new guidelines for the treatment of sexually transmitted infections.
23 Jul, 2021 | 10:41h | UTCTable of Contents: Sexually Transmitted Infections Treatment Guidelines, 2021
Related (just released): WHO Guidelines for the management of symptomatic sexually transmitted infections.
Commentary on Twitter (thread – click for more)
Here's my greatest hits from today’s new @CDCSTD #STI Treatment Guidelines: a ?
1)#STI guidelines instead of #STD!
2)Expedited Partner Therapy: not just for “heterosexuals” ?
3)#HepatitisC: screen all pregnant people
4)Rectal/throat GC/CT: consider for non-MSM like teens ? pic.twitter.com/gfEhrWpMKA— Ina Park (@InaParkMD) July 22, 2021
RCT: Dolutegravir or Darunavir in combination with Zidovudine or Tenofovir to treat HIV.
23 Jul, 2021 | 10:25h | UTCDolutegravir or Darunavir in Combination with Zidovudine or Tenofovir to Treat HIV – New England Journal of Medicine (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Commentary: Dolutegravir Confirmed as Effective Second-Line HIV Therapy; Recycling Tenofovir Noninferior to Zidovudine – Medscape (free registration required)
Study shows AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines are effective against Delta variant, but both doses are needed.
22 Jul, 2021 | 11:16h | UTCCommentaries: Study Finds Pfizer And AstraZeneca Vaccines Effective Against The Delta Variant — As Long As You Get Both Doses – Forbes AND Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine works very well against the Delta variant — but only after 2 doses – Insider
Related: [Preprint] 2 doses of Covid vaccines (Pfizer-BioNTech or Oxford-AstraZeneca) highly effective against hospitalization from Delta variant. AND Reduced sensitivity of SARS-CoV-2 variant Delta to antibody neutralization. AND Should I get my second AstraZeneca dose? Yes, it almost doubles your protection against Delta.
Commentary on Twitter
Public Health England's test-negative case-control study for Delta variant now in NEJM: over 14,000 people with Alpha, over 4,000 with Delta https://t.co/3l1QhKeXBT
Vax effectiveness against testing positive for Delta after 2 doses:
– BNT-Pfizer 88.0% (85-90)
– AZ 67.0% (61-72) pic.twitter.com/9UFy6CLSWw— Hilda Bastian, PhD (@hildabast) July 21, 2021
RCT: Dapagliflozin in patients with cardiometabolic risk factors hospitalized with COVID-19 – safe, but no statistically significant risk reduction in organ dysfunction or death.
22 Jul, 2021 | 11:08h | UTCCommentary: Dapagliflozin in patients with COVID-19: truth or dare – The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology
Should children get COVID vaccines? What the science says.
22 Jul, 2021 | 11:06h | UTCShould children get COVID vaccines? What the science says – Nature
Opinion | The benefits of a COVID vaccine far outweigh the small risk of treatable heart inflammation.
22 Jul, 2021 | 10:57h | UTC
Analysis finds benefits of COVID-19 vaccination outweigh risks of rare cases of myocarditis.
22 Jul, 2021 | 11:05h | UTCNews release: Study finds benefits of COVID-19 vaccination outweigh risks of rare cases of myocarditis – American Heart Association
Original study: Myocarditis with COVID-19 mRNA Vaccines – Circulation
Commentary: Myocarditis and COVID-19 Vaccines: New Review Tackles Knowns, Unknowns – TCTMD
Commentary on Twitter
Just published ahead of print- Myocarditis with Covid mRNA Vaccines https://t.co/mc2yrr5pDV Mechanisms, benefit of COVID-19 mRNA vaccination over low risk, management strategies – review of all myocarditis cases published to date, CDC&other reports @PeterHotez @ishannovation
— BiykemBozkurt (@BiykemB) July 20, 2021
Opinion | Kids aren’t just littler adults – here’s why they need their own clinical trials for a COVID-19 vaccine.
22 Jul, 2021 | 10:55h | UTC
Review: The routes of administration for acute postoperative pain medication.
22 Jul, 2021 | 10:46h | UTCThe Routes of Administration for Acute Postoperative Pain Medication – Pain and Therapy
WHO Guidance for clinical case management of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) following vaccination to prevent coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
20 Jul, 2021 | 10:29h | UTCRelated Guidance: AHA/ASA Guidance: Diagnosis and Management of Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis with Vaccine-Induced Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia – “No heparin products in any dose should be given.” AND ISTH Interim Guidance for the Diagnosis and Treatment on Vaccine Induced Immune Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia
WHO and UNICEF warn of a decline in vaccinations during COVID-19.
20 Jul, 2021 | 10:27h | UTCWHO and UNICEF warn of a decline in vaccinations during COVID-19 – World Health Organization
Related: Millions of children worldwide missed routine vaccinations during the pandemic, study suggests.
Experts recommend Covid jabs for some under-18s in UK – “advice is that 16 to 18-year-olds can be offered a Pfizer jab if they are in a priority group or live with someone who has a weakened immune system”.
20 Jul, 2021 | 10:15h | UTCCommentaries: Experts recommend Covid jabs for some under-18s in UK – BBC
ALA/ATS Response to Philip Morris International’s (PMI) Purchase of British Producer of Respiratory Treatments – “The announcement that PMI wants to acquire an inhaled medicine company is the latest reprehensible choice from a company that has profited from addicting users to its deadly products”.
20 Jul, 2021 | 10:12h | UTC
RCT: Once weekly semaglutide 2.0 mg vs. 1.0 mg in patients with type 2 diabetes – Mean change in HbA1c from baseline was −2.2 percentage points with 2.0 mg vs. −1.9 percentage points with 1.0 mg; mean change in bodyweight from baseline was −6.9 kg with 2.0 mg vs. −6.0 kg with 1.0 mg.
20 Jul, 2021 | 10:09h | UTCEfficacy and safety of once-weekly semaglutide 2·0 mg versus 1·0 mg in patients with type 2 diabetes (SUSTAIN FORTE): a double-blind, randomised, phase 3B trial – The Lancet Endocrinology & Diabetes (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Expert opinion | Bioprosthetic valves and atrial fibrillation: Direct anticoagulants or warfarin – Until conclusive data are available for patients with rheumatic heart disease and those with mechanical valves, DOAC use is not indicated in these patients.
20 Jul, 2021 | 10:06h | UTC
RCT: more data showing Azithromycin is not better than placebo in patients with Covid-19.
18 Jul, 2021 | 23:54h | UTCRelated: RCT: Another study shows Azithromycin does not improve outcomes in patients with Covid-19. (several articles on the subject)
Commentary on Twitter
Among outpatients with #SARSCoV2 infection, treatment with a single dose of oral #azithromycin compared with placebo did not result in a greater likelihood of being free of symptoms at day 14 https://t.co/dYDcSyGtwd #COVID19
— JAMA (@JAMA_current) July 16, 2021
Position Paper: Recommendations for the use of topical inhalant budesonide in COVID-19.
18 Jul, 2021 | 23:53h | UTCRecommendations for use of topical inhalant budesonide in COVID-19 – HNO
Related: RCT: Inhaled budesonide shortens recovery time in non-hospitalized patients with COVID-19 AND Phase 2 RCT: Inhaled budesonide shows promise for the treatment of early COVID-19
CDC warns Covid-19 vaccines might not protect people who are immunocompromised – “CDC is looking into ongoing research exploring the possibility that immunocompromised could benefit from an additional dose”.
18 Jul, 2021 | 23:38h | UTCCDC warns Covid-19 vaccines might not protect people who are immunocompromised – CNN
M-A: benefit-to-harm balance of statins in primary prevention of cardiovascular disease generally favorable.
18 Jul, 2021 | 23:16h | UTCNews release: New study suggests benefit-to-harm balance of statins for healthy adults ‘generally favorable’ – BMJ
Commentary on Twitter
Statins are associated with a small increased risk of side effects in patients without a history of heart disease, but these effects are mild compared with the potential benefits of treatment in preventing major cardiovascular events, say researchers https://t.co/Yvn7Ojtx2F
— The BMJ (@bmj_latest) July 17, 2021