Disease/Infection News

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Screening blood samples for COVID-19 using artificial intelligence

A promising new study published in the preprint online journal medRxiv in April 2020 shows the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) for developing a patient classifier that can separate patients likely to be negative for COVID-19 from among a pool of suspected patients visiting an emergency room (ER).

15 Apr 2020

European Commission issues guidelines on coronavirus testing methodologies

Today, as part of the European Roadmap towards lifting coronavirus containment measures, the Commission is presenting guidelines on coronavirus testing methodologies.

15 Apr 2020

Depression, anxiety may be side effects of COVID-19 pandemic

Millions of Americans are being impacted by the psychological fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic aftermath, and large numbers may experience emotional distress and be at increased risk of developing psychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety, according to a new article published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine.

15 Apr 2020

Anosmia (loss of smell) confirmed as a clinical feature of COVID-19

Earlier last month, the association of ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialists in the UK issued a public statement advising patients with a sudden loss of smell or taste to get tested for COVID-19. They cited not only their own observations but those from numerous other ENT consultants the world around. A review of multiple papers on the sinus and nasal symptoms and signs related to the diagnosis of COVID-19, published in April 2020, in the journal Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology, reiterates this finding.

15 Apr 2020

Coronavirus able to survive near boiling point of water, study shows

A startling paper by a team of French scientists published in the preprint journal bioRxiv in April 2020 suggests that the novel coronavirus is capable of surviving at high temperatures. This could mean that laboratory technicians handling the virus are at danger of infection.

15 Apr 2020

Unexpected benefit of COVID-19 lockdowns on the environment and health

The pandemic spreading over the world has affected over 185 countries and territories so far, with over 2 million cases and 134,354 deaths. In response, many countries and regions have enforced lockdowns, in addition to the almost universal recommendations for social distancing. One of the most significant impacts has been the effect on economic activity the world over.

15 Apr 2020

Australian researchers split ventilators for COVID-19

Australian researchers have found that in cases of “extreme emergencies,” a single ventilator could be used between multiple patients of COVID-19 who require ventilator support. These ventilators could be split between the critically ill patients with not only COVID-19 but also other respiratory illnesses, the team of Australian researchers found. The study titled, “'Ventilator splitting with differential driving pressures using commodity hospital equipment,” was published in the latest issue of the journal Anaesthesia.

15 Apr 2020

COVID-19 modeling shows that social distancing is a must, must, must

A new study shows that using mathematical modeling and accounting for several factors such as age distribution and density of the population, a clearer picture of COVID-19 infection in a population could be gained. The study titled, "Level of under-reporting including under-diagnosis before the first peak of COVID-19 in various countries: Preliminary Retrospective Results Based on Wavelets and Deterministic Modeling," is published as an accepted manuscript in the journal Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology.

15 Apr 2020

New coronavirus possibly circulated within humans before COVID-19 pandemic

Genetic variation analysis and the evidence of recombination events point towards the conclusion that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) might have circulated cryptically among humans for years, as reported by a recent paper on a preprint server bioRxiv.

15 Apr 2020

ACE2 genetic variants may influence coronavirus disease progression

Researchers in British Columbia have identified a set of gene variants that are likely to influence disease progression from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection to COVID-19 disease.

15 Apr 2020

Researchers develop a faster, more accurate COVID-19 test

Millions of people have been tested for the novel coronavirus, most using a kit that relies on the polymerase chain reaction.

15 Apr 2020

COVID-19 and type 2 diabetes have shared disease pathways, study finds

Individuals with diabetes are at increased risk for bacterial, parasitic and viral infections. New research published in Endocrine Reviews, a journal of the Endocrine Society, illuminates how intersections of the coronavirus infection (COVID-19) and type 2 diabetes may require new approaches in treatment for hospitalized patients.

15 Apr 2020

ECMO physicians outline guidance to treat critically ill COVID-19 patients

Rapidly escalating numbers of COVID-19 patients suffering from respiratory failure threaten to overwhelm hospital capacity and force healthcare providers into making challenging decisions about the care they provide.

15 Apr 2020

Research project to develop new high-precision radiology system for COVID-19

Universidad Carlos III de Madrid is participating in a research project together with the Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, the Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria San Carlos and the company Sedecal Molecular Imaging, project coordinator, to develop a new high-precision radiology system for coronavirus pulmonary involvement.

15 Apr 2020

New clinical trial seeks to find alternative ventilator solutions for COVID-19 patients

A new clinical trial led by the University of Warwick and Queen's University Belfast seeks to find alternatives to ventilators to treat patients who are critically ill with COVID-19.

15 Apr 2020

China with the world: COVID-19 experts dialogues - the 4th talk transcript

Q (Prof. Singer): What do you think about the comorbidities and the age of the patients in the treatment of COVID-19? Is the mortality higher in elderly patients as it is reported from recent papers?

From Mindray 15 Apr 2020

China with the world: COVID-19 experts dialogues - the 2nd talk transcript

Q: Starting from the patient admission to the hospital, what is your rule for ventilation? Do you start from HFNC, CPAP, NIV or go directly to intubation and invasive ventilation when the conventional oxygen therapy fails?

From Mindray 15 Apr 2020

Contactless measurement method helps detect people infected with coronavirus

An innovative measurement method is helping to detect people infected with coronavirus from a safe distance.

15 Apr 2020

A desperate scramble as COVID-19 families vie for access to plasma therapy

Stephen Garcia's family is frantic. The auto body worker, just 32 years old, has been on a ventilator in a Los Angeles-area hospital for nearly two weeks, gravely ill with COVID-19, unresponsive — and unaware of the battle they're waging on his behalf.

15 Apr 2020

COVID-19 brings overhaul of military health care to a halt

The agencies that oversee the health of U.S. military personnel and veterans were pushing ahead this spring with the biggest overhaul of their health systems in three decades.

15 Apr 2020