Hospitals redeploy surgical specialists to front lines to fight COVID-19
Editor's Note Specialists like cardiac and orthopedic surgical teams as well as anesthesiologists and cardiologists are being redeployed in hospitals to help treat the rising number of COVID-19 patients, the March 30 Modern Healthcare reports. What used to be the heart team at Manhattan’s Mount Sinai Morningside is now a…
Sputum, feces remain SARS-CoV-2-positive in patients after conversion of pharyngeal samples to negative
Editor's Note In 22 patients in China with confirmed COVID-19 infection, sputum and feces remained positive for SARS-CoV-2 after pharyngeal samples were negative, this study finds. A total of 545 specimens were collected from the 22 COVID-19 patients, including 209 pharyngeal swabs, 262 sputum samples, and 74 feces samples. In…
Retired physicians, nurses, students being called back to work
Editor's Note California Gov Gavin Newsom is calling for retired physicians, nurses, and medical and nursing students to help staff emergency hospital sites, the March 30 Modern Healthcare reports. These sites could include the Los Angeles Coliseum and other sports arenas that will be converted to field hospitals to handle…
Treatment of critically ill COVID-19 patients with convalescent plasma
Editor's Note In this preliminary uncontrolled case series of five critically ill COVID-19 and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) patients, administration of convalescent plasma containing neutralizing antibody was followed by improvement in their clinical status. All five patients (age 36-65 years, 2 women and 3 men) were on mechanical ventilation,…
HHS: FDA issues emergency authorization of anti-malaria drugs for COVID-19 treatment
Editor's Note The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on March 29 that the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) had issued an emergency use authorization for hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine in the treatment of COVID-19. The FDA allowed for the drugs to be “donated to the Strategic National Stockpile…
Characteristics, outcomes of critically ill COVID-19 patients in Washington state
Editor's Note This study represents the first description of critically ill patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 in the US. These patients had a high rate of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and a high risk of death, similar to patients in China. A total of 21 patients with a mean age…
FDA acts to increase COVID-19 supplies with instructions for manufacturers importing PPE, devices
Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on March 24 took action to increase US supplies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic by providing instructions to manufacturers importing personal protective equipment (PPE) and other devices. The instructions to manufacturers clarify the types of PPE and devices they can import…
Viral load in posterior oropharyngeal saliva, serum antibody responses with COVID-19
Editor's Note Nasopharyngeal and throat swabs are typically used for viral load monitoring of respiratory infections, but they cause discomfort for patients and put healthcare workers at risk. This study found that posterior oropharyngeal saliva specimens, which are obtained by patients themselves, are an acceptable alternative for initial diagnosis and…
FDA announces actions taken in response to COVID-19 pandemic
Editor's Note: The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on March 25 announced several actions it has taken in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These include: In response to the demand for hand sanitizers and their active ingredient, alcohol, the FDA issued guidance to alcohol manufacturers on how to incorporate…
COVID-19 case-fatality rate, patient characteristics in Italy
Editor's Note In the first half of February only three cases of COVID-19 were identified in Italy, and all had recently traveled to China. On February 20, a case of pneumonia due to SARS-CoV-2 was diagnosed in northern Italy’s Lombardy region. Within 14 days, many other cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed in…
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