Editorial
Coronavirus cases in the US topped 1 million in late April. Although total numbers of cases and deaths change daily and vary greatly among urban vs rural regions of the country, it’s safe to say we haven’t yet seen the last of the surges. Despite ongoing shortages of personal protective…
Pandemic has altered perceptions of healthcare industry
Although COVID-19 cases are still emerging in many parts of the country, some businesses have reopened and some elective procedures are once again being performed. Many events that did not take place in the spring will be held in the fall, including the annual OR Manager Conference, September 30 to…
ASCs following new rules for safety during pandemic
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global pandemic that led the United States to declare a national emergency and implement a ban on all elective diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, as well as elective surgery in inpatient and outpatient settings. On March 19, the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA) released guidance…
Anticoagulants may improve survival in hospitalized COVID-19 patients
Editor's Note Treating hospitalized COVID-19 patients with anticoagulants may improve their chances of survival, this study from Mount Sinai finds. Of 2,773 COVID-19 patients analyzed, 786 received a full-treatment dose of anticoagulants, which was a higher dose than that typically given for clot prevention; it is one usually given to…
CDC updates weekly COVID-19 stats
Editor's Note: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on May 8 updated it weekly surveillance summary of COVID-19 activity in the US for week 18. Among the updates: The percentage of specimens testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 decreased at public health, commercial, and clinical laboratories. Labs have confirmed 832,238 positive…
Massachusetts researchers advance a novel gene-based COVID-19 vaccine
Editor's Note Researchers at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Mass General Brigham, announced May 5 their progress towards the testing and development of an experimental vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 called AAVCOVID. The vaccine is currently in preclinical development with a plan to begin clinical testing in humans…
AI identifies COVID-19 in chest x-rays
Editor's Note A new study from researchers in Hong Kong finds that the MAIL2.0 nowcast artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm, which was developed with concepts used in economics and meteorology, yields a high level of accuracy for identifying COVID-19 in chest x-rays, the May 5 AuntMinny.com reports. The algorithm yielded 84.7%…
Heating could be best way to reprocess N95 respirators
Editor's Note This study from Stanford University tests five methods for disinfecting N95 masks and finds that heating them preserves their filtration efficiency for 50 cycles of disinfection. In the study, instead of analyzing N95 masks, which were needed by healthcare workers, the researchers examined pieces of the fabric used…
Use of AI to expedite search for COVID-19 treatments, vaccines
Editor's Note Researchers at Northwestern University in Chicago are using artificial intelligence (AI) to expedite the search for COVID-19 treatments and vaccines by shortening the expert review period. The AI tool prioritizes research that has the most potential to produce real solutions and ignores research that is unlikely to yield…
HHS begins distributing payments to rural facilities, hospitals with high COVID-admissions
Editor's Note The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on May 1 announced that it will begin the distribution of payments from the Provider Relief Fund to hospitals with large numbers of COVID-19 admissions and to rural providers. Payments of $12 billion will go to 395 hospitals with at…
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