Disease/Infection News

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27 protein biomarkers predict COVID-19 severity in patients

Some patients infected with the novel coronavirus may experience only mild symptoms, while others may need medical care due to severe illness. People who are at a high risk of developing severe coronavirus disease (COVID-19) include older adults and those with underlying health conditions. However, severe disease has also been seen in young people with no underlying disease.

4 Jun 2020

An approach for caring patients in COVID-19 units

Toronto and Spanish physicians describe in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) an approach to create dedicated COVID-19 patient units, infection control protocols and care teams to help other hospitals safely care for patients.

4 Jun 2020

COVID‐19 epidemics could be seasonal, peaking during the cold season

Now, a new study shows the link between lower humidity and an increase in locally acquired positive cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which means that outbreaks may happen during the winter season.

4 Jun 2020

Distancing, masks and eye gear protects against spread of SARS-CoV-2 finds large study

In a comprehensive systemic analysis of different studies, researchers have found that physical distancing, use of face masks, and eye protection were the most effective ways to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection from one person to another.

4 Jun 2020

Avoiding 'air hunger' and psychological trauma in COVID-19 ARDS survivors

A new paper published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society examines ventilation and medication strategies that can help avoid psychological trauma for severe COVID-19 survivors treated for acute respiratory distress syndrome with mechanical ventilation.

4 Jun 2020

Two strategic roadmaps include recommendations to advance value-based care in the U.S.

The Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy and West Health have issued two strategic roadmaps with recommendations for advancing value-based payment (VBP) reform in the U.S. healthcare system.

4 Jun 2020

GlobalData: India has relatively low COVID-19 average case fatality rate despite surge in cases

With a total of nearly 200,000 confirmed cases and over 5,500 deaths reported due to COVID-19 in the past three months, India stands in tenth position in terms of the number of confirmed cases.

4 Jun 2020

New mobile app can help the severity of COVID-19 cases

A new mobile app can help clinicians determine which patients with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) are likely to have severe cases.

4 Jun 2020

Health care providers urged to stop hydroxycholoroquine use for COVID-19

The sacred oath taken by physicians during graduation from medical school to "First do no harm," the first words of the Hippocratic Oath, provides a strong impetus for a commentary just published in The American Journal of Medicine.

4 Jun 2020

Study says vitamin-magnesium combo may reduce severity of COVID-19 in seniors

The COVID-19 pandemic that began in late December 2019 has spread to over 188 countries and territories, causing over 6.5 million cases and 385,000 deaths. With no effective therapeutic COVID-19 drug or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine in sight, researchers are exploring different strategies to limit its spread and mortality.

4 Jun 2020

Age and diabetes the biggest risk factors for death in pregnant COVID-19 patients

A recent research letter published on the preprint server medRxiv in June 2020 evaluates the risk factors that may lead to higher mortality in pregnant women with COVID-19 in middle-income countries.

4 Jun 2020

Drug Teixobactin shows promise against drug-resistant superbugs

Two well-known superbugs are the gram-positive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE). A new drug Teixobactin has shown promise against these microbes. The study titled, “The Killing Mechanism of Teixobactin against Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus: an Untargeted Metabolomics Study,” was published in the latest issue of the journal Therapeutics and Prevention.

4 Jun 2020

How COVID-19 affects people with Down Syndrome

A new study published in June 2020 on the preprint online server medRxiv reports on the increased risk of COVID-19 in Down Syndrome (DS) and certain characteristic features that are found in this population segment.

3 Jun 2020

Discharge-ready patients still breathing out SARS-CoV-2 particles, finds study

In just five months, the COVID-19 paralyzed huge cities, confined billions to their homes, and brought economic activity to a standstill in much of the world. Tens of thousands of patients became critically ill, overwhelming healthcare facilities. Even as many recovered and were ready to go home, a new study published in May 2020 on the preprint server medRxiv reports that a significant number of patients ready to go home still have virus particles in their exhaled breath.

3 Jun 2020

Chapman University survey highlights effects of COVID-19 on physical and mental health

The Chapman University National COVID-19 and Mental Health Survey provides an in-depth look at the experiences of 4,149 adults living in the United States.

3 Jun 2020

Genetic variations linked to COVID-19 severity

A new report by researchers from Thailand's Mahidol University and published on the preprint server medRxiv in May 2020 reports that the clinical severity of COVID-19 may be linked to the genetic makeup of the patient in addition to external factors.

3 Jun 2020

AI can be used to expand the role of chest X-ray imaging in COVID-19 diagnosis

According to a recent report by Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers, artificial intelligence (AI) should be used to expand the role of chest X-ray imaging -- using computed tomography, or CT -- in diagnosing and assessing coronavirus infection so that it can be more than just a means of screening for signs of COVID-19 in a patient's lungs.

3 Jun 2020

A tailored public health approach could guide the next phase of COVID-19 pandemic

A tailored public health approach that accounts for variation in risks across populations, places and time could guide the next phase of Canada's coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) response, argue authors in a commentary in CMAJ.

3 Jun 2020

Showers, toilets and washbasins may act as SARS-CoV-2 reservoirs despite low environmental transmission

In their new research paper currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server, scientists from the University of Bonn in Germany demonstrated that indirect environmental transmission most likely plays only a minor role in the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). However, certain potentially neglected viral reservoirs have to be taken into account when introducing epidemiological measures.

3 Jun 2020

Patients with ARDS, COVID-19 experience severe financial toxicity

It begins with shortness of breath. And for approximately one-third of patients, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or ARDS, ends in death. For those who survive, their lives are often turned upside-down.

3 Jun 2020