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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

Octapharma extends support for COVID-19 study following promising preliminary data

Following positive preliminary data, Octapharma USA is extending funding for an investigator-initiated study (IIS) focused on treating the most critical patients at the heart of the coronavirus pandemic, those experiencing hypoxia and who are at the highest risk of requiring mechanical ventilation.

3 Jun 2020

Blood group type may affect susceptibility to COVID-19 respiratory failure

A group of over 120 researchers from various institutions across Europe has performed the first genome-wide association study to reveal host genetic factors that may contribute to respiratory failure in cases of coronavirus disease 209 (COVID-19).

3 Jun 2020

COVID-19 patients exhale millions of viral particles per hour

An international team of researchers reports that patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) release thousands of viral particles directly into the air simply though breathing.

3 Jun 2020

Open (your wallet) wide: Dentists charge extra for infection control

After nearly two months at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Erica Schoenradt was making plans in May to see her dentist for a checkup.

3 Jun 2020

Hype collides with science as FDA tries to rein in ‘Wild West’ of COVID blood tests

"Save your business while saving lives," reads the website of Because Health, a Seattle tech startup selling two types of tests to employers willing to pay $350 a pop to learn whether their workers have been infected with COVID-19.

3 Jun 2020

Spine surgeons across the world are experiencing the effects of COVID-19

Spine surgeons across the world are experiencing effects of COVID-19, including canceled procedures, changes in clinical roles, anxiety and risk of exposure to the disease themselves due to insufficient protective equipment. An international team of researchers reported these findings recently in the Global Spine Journal.

3 Jun 2020

New drug can prevent life-threatening anaphylaxis, shows study

For someone with a food or drug allergy, the risk of life-threatening anaphylactic shock lurks around every corner. A new Northwestern Medicine study shows there might be a pill that can be taken proactively to prevent mild to life-threatening anaphylaxis, no matter the cause.

3 Jun 2020

Number of heart attack patients has dropped over 50% during COVID-19 outbreak

The number of heart attack patients seeking urgent hospital care has dropped by more than 50% during the COVID-19 outbreak, according to an extensive worldwide survey by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).

3 Jun 2020