Editor's Note This study led by researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine finds that immunological deviations and lapses determine whether individuals get mild or severe cases of COVID-19. The researchers analyzed the immune response in 76 patients with COVID-19 and in 69 healthy individuals. Most patients with severe…

Read More

Editor's Note The Joint Commission on August 12 released its sentinel event statistics for the first half of 2020. From January 1 through June 30, the Joint Commission reviewed 437 sentinel events. The most frequently reported events were in the following categories: Care management, 165 Surgical or invasive procedures, 131…

Read More

Editor's Note This study of healthcare workers (HCWs) in a tertiary New York State hospital finds that the rate of COVID-19 infection in HCWs is lower than what has been reported for the general public in the region. Of 3,046 HCWs, 1,699 had antibody testing, 617 had RT-PCR testing, and…

Read More

Editor's Note A Gallup poll of US adults conducted from July 20 to August 2 finds that 35% of those surveyed would not be interested in receiving a COVID-19 vaccine when one is approved by the Food & Drug Administration. The survey also finds that 41% of non-white Americans would…

Read More

Editor's Note This study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill evaluated 29 face masks for use by clinicians interacting with patients during the COVID-19 pandemic and  found that expired N95 respirators and sterilized, reused N95 respirators were acceptable alternatives when N95 respirators were not available. All other…

Read More

Editor's Note The US reported more than 376,000 COVID-19 cases and 7,200 deaths for the week ending August 9, marking the first decline in deaths after 4 weeks of increases, according to an August 10 Reuters analysis of Johns Hopkins data. COVID-19 cases in the US have now fallen for…

Read More

Editor's Note A longer time from diagnosis to surgical treatment because of the COVID-19 pandemic did not lower overall survival of women with early-stage breast cancer, this study finds. In this analysis of 379,000 patients, surgical delays of more than 120 days were associated with change to a higher cancer…

Read More

Editor's Note The National Institutes of Health (NIH) on August 5 announced the launch of the Medical Imaging and Data Resource Center, which will create new tools using artificial intelligence (AI) and medical imaging to diagnose and personalize therapies for COVID-19 patients. The Center will build a large repository of…

Read More

Editor's Note Researchers at George Washington University, Washington DC, have found five biomarkers in blood of COVID-19 patients that are associated with higher odds of clinical deterioration and death. The research team analyzed 299 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 who were admitted to George Washington University Hospital. Of these, 200 had…

Read More

Editor's Note From January through April 2020, emergency department (ED) visits decreased and hospital admissions increased in this study of five healthcare systems in five states. In the 24 EDs studied, the annual volume before the COVID-19 pandemic ranged from 13,000 to 115,000 visits per year. The largest decrease in…

Read More