Editor's Note This study from France finds that persistent physical symptoms after COVID-19 infection should not be automatically ascribed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. In this analysis of 26,823 adults, persistent physical symptoms (eg, fatigue, breathlessness, impaired attention, hearing impairment, sleep problems, anosmia) were reported by adults who said they believed…

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Editor's Note This study from the University of California San Francisco-Stanford finds that COVID-19 patients taking SSRI antidepressants, particularly fluoxetine, were significantly less likely to die from the disease. The research team analyzed electronic health records (EHRs) from 87 healthcare centers across the US. Of 83,584 adult patients diagnosed with…

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Editor's Note In this study, Cleveland Clinic researchers find that patients with certain sleep disorders have more severe outcomes from COVID-19. The analysis included 5,402 patients. Although patients with sleep-disordered breathing and sleep-related hypoxia did not have an increased risk of developing COVID-19, they had a worse clinical prognosis from…

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Editor's Note Cleveland Clinic, on November 12, announced that it is requiring all US employees and those who provide services with Cleveland Clinic to receive the COVID-19 vaccine by January 4, 2022. In accordance with federal mandates from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, employees who are not fully…

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Editor's Note This study by researchers from VA Boston and VA Bedford, Massachusetts, Healthcare Systems, found that frequent, mandatory surveillance of vaccinated healthcare workers (HCWs) was effective in detecting COVID-19 infections. The analysis included all 431 HCWs at VA Boston and 1,542 HCWs at VA Bedford facilities. Mandatory surveillance testing…

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Editor's Note In this study, researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, find that most readmissions and emergency department (ED) visits (ie, revisits) of COVID-19 patients following initial admission were not preventable. Of 576 COVID-19 hospitalizations, 76 resulted in a 30-day revisit (13.2%)—21 ED visits…

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Editor's Note Please participate in an important nationwide perioperative survey on surgical smoke evacuation. The purpose of the research led by Brenda Ulmer MN, RN, CNOR, is to determine evacuation behaviors in hospitals before COVID-19, and then note changes as the virus continued to spread in the US. Ulmer and…

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Editor's Note This study by researchers at Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, reveals the cellular mechanism behind why the elderly and patients with preexisting conditions are at higher risk of infection, severe side effects, and death from COVID-19. The researchers detail their discovery that circulating levels of a protein called…

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Editor's Note Two studies presented at the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Clinical Congress 2021 find that postponement of elective surgical procedures from March to May 2020 because of COVID-19 disrupted surgical care at US hospitals and took away a large portion of hospitals’ total income. Results of one study…

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Editor's Note This study, led by researchers at the University of Utah Health, Salt Lake City, and the VA Boston Healthcare System, finds no difference in COVID-19 rates between counties where school was held in-person and those that had virtual school, except in the South. Researchers analyzed data from 895…

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