Week of February 15th, 2021 - a podcast by COVID19LST

In today's episode we discuss:

—Climate: Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) made 4 strong recommendations for preventing COVID-19 infection in health care personnel. A pulmonologist and interventional cardiologist from the Cleveland Clinic and Emory University critique recently published IDSA guidelines for preventing COVID-19 infection in healthcare workers. They argue the recommendation to use either respirators or surgical masks conflicts with Centers for Disease Control guidance to use respirators, and believe the guidelines are missing recommendations on proper gloving strategies, which are crucial to avoid self-contamination. The authors suggest the IDSA must clarify these points to alleviate confusion for healthcare workers who are inundated with recommendations from multiple organizations.

—Transmission & Prevention: A retrospective observational study conducted by physicians at the Military Instruction Hospital during April 2020 found that among 1,739 crew members aboard a French aircraft carrier in April 2020, 64% tested positive for COVID-19 via real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), with there being significant variations in symptomatic presentation and antibody development. This article suggests viral circulation in local outbreaks requires further testing and analysis.

—Management: Remdesivir for adults with COVID-19 may decrease time on mechanical ventilation. A multi-specialty team from Minnesota and Oregon conducted a systematic review of 5 randomized-controlled trials evaluating remdesivir as a treatment for adults with COVID-19. They found that a 10-day course of remdesivir may reduce the proportion of patients receiving mechanical ventilation (RR: 0.71 [CI, 0.56 to 0.90]; 3 RCTs), but was associated with a statistically insignificant decrease in mortality (RR: 0.93 [95% CI, 0.82 to 1.06]; 4 RCTs) compared to control groups. Authors suggest that remdesivir use probably confers little to no mortality benefit, but may improve recovery by reducing time on mechanical ventilation.

—Adjusting Practice During COVID-19: Methodological quality has been lower in some COVID-19 clinical research. As part of a systemic review of COVID-19 research quality, a team of molecular biologists, physicians, and statisticians from the University of Ottawa compared the quality of 686 research articles published during the COVID-19 pandemic to 593 historical controls matched for journal and study design published pre-pandemic. COVID-19 publications had a shorter time to acceptance (13.0 vs. 110 days, p<0.0001) and lower methodological quality scores compared to historical controls. Authors suggest the push for rapid research during the pandemic may result in lower quality research, and highlight the need for higher quality evidence.

—R&D: Diagnosis & Treatments: SARS-CoV-2 lethal infected with K18-hACE2 transgenic mice may offer post-exposure protection. Researchers from the Israel Institute for Biological Research in Ness-Ziona, Israel analyzed the efficacy of monoclonal MD65 antibodies in K18-hACE2 transgenic mice with SARS-CoV-2 infection, finding a greater survival rate compared to mice without MD65 antibodies, in the setting of both prophylactic and post-exposure administration, as well as decreased viral load in lung tissue. 

---

This episode is sponsored by
· Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/covid19lst/support

Further episodes of The COVID-19 LST Report

Further podcasts by COVID19LST

Website of COVID19LST