Tag: coronavirus
CDC update calls for universal mask-wearing
The CDC calls for universal mask use at all times indoors, except when within one's own household, and outside when distances of 6 feet or more cannot be maintained. Additional strategies in the report are social distancing... read more
Experience Caring for a Severe COVID-19 Patient With ARDS in the ICU
The author's experience caring for a patient with COVID-19 whose condition deteriorated rapidly into a critical illness in the negative pressure room of the ICU is described in this article. The onset of severe acute... read more
Appendiceal Perforation at a Children’s Hospital During COVID-19 vs 2019
Although studies in the adult literature and case series in the pediatric literature have reported delays in medical care attributable to COVID-19, we report a statistically significant increased rate of appendiceal perforation... read more
Overlooked bias with thermometer evaluations using quickly retaken temperatures in EHR
Studies related to COVID-19 increasingly use electronic health records (EHR) to obtain large-scale evidence. However, EHR-based research must be performed with care because it can involve new study design problems that are... read more
14-Day Occurrence of Hypoxia, ICU Admission, and Death Among Patients with COVID-19
Uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 regarding rapid progression to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and unusual clinical characteristics make discharge from a monitored setting challenging. Model derivation and... read more
Caring for the Sickest COVID-19 Patients: An ICU Story
In an article for the latest issue of Stanford Medicine magazine, I provide a glimpse into the journey Free and his front-line Stanford Health Care colleagues took -- from Day 1 through the following weeks and months -- to... read more
COVID-19 and ARDS: The Baby Lung Size Matters
COVID-19 in its initial manifestations has strikingly peculiar characteristics (e.g., hypoxemia with vasocentric injury and high gas lung volume), is so evident that atypical ARDS should not be a matter of further discussion.... read more
Predictors of QT Interval Prolongation in Critically-ill Patients with SARS-CoV-2 Infection Treated with Hydroxychloroquine
Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) has been described as a potential treatment for SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, there are safety concerns regarding its QT interval and pro-arrhythmic effects. This trial aimed to determine the... read more
CDC cuts COVID-19 Quarantine Recommendation
The CDC released new COVID-19 guidelines Dec. 2, reducing the previous 14-day quarantine recommendation for people who were exposed to 10 days without symptoms, reports CBS. The recommendation is further reduced to seven... read more
Emerging pharmacological therapies for ARDS: COVID-19 and beyond
ARDS, first described in 1967, is the commonest form of acute severe hypoxemic respiratory failure. Despite considerable advances in our knowledge regarding the pathophysiology of ARDS, insights into the biologic mechanisms... read more
CDC to vote on who gets COVID-19 vaccine priority in emergency meeting
Ahead of a COVID-19 vaccine authorization, the CDC's Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices plans to vote during a Dec. 2 emergency meeting on who should be the first to receive a vaccine, reports CNN. The CDC... read more
Missouri physician starts petition calling for governor to implement mask mandate
Michah Luderer, MD, PhD, internal medicine resident at St. Louis based-Barnes Jewish Hospital recently started a petition urging Gov. Mike Parson to issue a statewide mask mandate, reports local CBS affiliate KMOV. "We're... read more
Antibody levels decline after 2 months, CDC finds
COVID-19 antibody levels declined within two months in 156 front-line healthcare workers involved in a CDC study published Nov. 27. Researchers collected blood samples from 3,248 front-line healthcare professionals between... read more
Surgery guidance updated for hospitals struggling with capacity constraints
Four healthcare groups again updated their guidance for hospitals to maintain essential surgeries during the COVID-19 pandemic. The American Hospital Association, American College of Surgeons, American Society of Anesthesiologists... read more
Epidemiology of Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis Among COVID-19 Intubated Patients
We found a high incidence of CAPA among critically ill COVID-19 patients and that its occurrence seems to change the natural history of disease. A total of 108 patients were enrolled. Prospective, multicentre study... read more
Prior Routine Use of NSAIDs and Important Outcomes in Hospitalised COVID-19 Patients
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection causes acute lung injury, resulting from aggressive inflammation initiated by viral replication. There has been much speculation about the potential role of non-steroidal inflammatory... read more
Increased Dead Space Ventilation and Refractory Hypercapnia in Patients with COVID-19
We speculate that thromboinflammation with pulmonary microvasculature occlusion leads to a sudden increase in dead space and shunt resulting in severe hypercapnia and hypoxemia in coronavirus disease 2019 patients. Early... read more
Utility of RV Remodeling Over Risk Stratification in COVID-19
This study contributes to the growing body of literature illustrating the adverse prognostic implications of RV dilation and dysfunction in the setting of severe COVID-19. Mechanistic explanations for RV failure in this population... read more
Will COVID-19 Vaccines Save Lives? Current Trials Aren’t Designed To Tell Us
The world has bet the farm on vaccines as the solution to the pandemic, but the trials are not focused on answering the questions many might assume they are. As phase III trials of covid-19 vaccines reach their target... read more