August 31, 2020

On today's episode we discuss: · Smoking Is Associated With COVID-19 Progression: A Meta-analysis: Authors affiliated with University of California, San Francisco and Mahidol University conducted a meta-analysis (n= 19 studies between January 1 and April 28, 2020 from China, U.S., and Korea) of 11,590 total patients with COVID-19 and found that 731 of these patients reported a history of smoking. · Household Composition May Explain COVID-19 Racial/Ethnic Disparities: A summary of a study by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (U.S.), written by JAMA scientific news writer Rita Rubin, MA, explains that the higher observed death rates from COVID-19 in Black and Hispanic patients compared to White patients may be due to differences in exposure to the virus from work. A simple analysis of risk factors (e.g. age and preexisting conditions) does not explain the ethnic/racial disparities in COVID-19 death rates, but it may be explained by the fact that Black and Hispanic individuals are more frequently employed in a job where in-person essential work is required compared to White individuals. — Management: Marked factor V activity elevation in severe COVID-19 is associated with venous thromboembolism: Pathologists from the Massachusetts General Hospital conducted a prospective cohort study of 102 patients with severe COVID-19 in March through April 2020, showing elevated Factor V activity at unprecedented levels in the hospital's history (median 150 IU/dL with 16% of values above 200 IU/dL), which was associated with thromboembolitic complications. The authors suggest Factor V levels may serve as an important diagnostic and prognostic marker for COVID-19, and recommend further investigation of increased anticoagulation doses for prophylaxis in patients with severe COVID-19 and markedly elevated Factor V activity. · Heart Failure In Covid-19 Patients: Prevalence, Incidence And Prognostic Implications: Researchers within the departments of cardiology, clinical analytics, and pharmacy at the Hospital Universitario La Paz, Spain performed a single-center, retrospective study on 3,080 COVID-19-positive patients (with a 30-day or more follow-up) and heart failure. Based on this study's findings (illustrated below), the authors suggest maintaining heart failure guideline directed medical therapy (GDMT) when possible or re-instituting these regimens at discharge. —Adjusting Practice During COVID-19: A Novel Non-contact Self-Injection-Locked Radar for Vital Sign Sensing and Body Movement Monitoring in COVID-19 Isolation Ward: A case series of two patients with COVID-19 in hospital isolation, conducted at Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital in Taiwan, investigated the accuracy of patient vitals collected by a novel contactless device, a non-contact self-injection-locked radar (Figure 1), compared to a nurse's vital sign testing. Over the course of patient isolation (13 days and 5 days), the patients' temperatures and heart rates were insignificantly different between the device's and nurse's measurements. —R&D: Diagnosis & Treatments: Hydroxychloroquine for treatment of non-severe COVID-19 patients; systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled clinical trials.