Clinical Updates

By Dickson Despommier —
Since their establishment some 11,000 years ago, as of 2020, cities with populations greater than one hundred thousand have evolved and grown to accommodate some 60% of us (that’s 4.4 billion individuals). The trend is clear. In another 50 years it is estimated that over 80% of the human population will live in cities.

ACE inhibitors and ARBS not linked to COVID-19 infection or severity | Effective treatment of severe COVID-19 patients with tocilizumab | Insight into FDA’s Revised Policy on Antibody Tests: Prioritizing Access and Accuracy

Pulmonary Embolism and Increased Levels of d-Dimer in Patients with Coronavirus Disease | Adaptive COVID-19 Treatment Trial “ACTT” (NIAID) | SIMPLE I Trial results (Gilead) | Remdesivir in Chinese adults with severe COVID-19

Estimation of SARS-CoV-2 infection fatality rate by real-time antibody screening of blood donors | Clinical benefit of remdesivir in rhesus macaques infected with SARS-CoV-2 | Human leukocyte antigen susceptibility map for SARS-CoV-2

The Recovery Trial is a multi-arm multi-stage adaptive trial with mortality as the primary endpoint together with a 10 year follow up period linked to the electronic health records of ~6900 Covid-19 patients in the UK enrolled to date treated with either: placebo or ritonavir/lopinavir or steroids or azithromycin or hydroxy-chloroquine.

COVID-19 treatment guidelines – The COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel (the Panel) does not recommend the use of any agents for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outside of the setting of a clinical trial. | Human leukocyte antigen susceptibility map for SARS-CoV-2

COVID-19 Lung Injury is Not High Altitude Pulmonary Edema | Factors associated with hospitalization and critical illness among 4,103 patients with COVID-19 disease in New York City | Hydroxychloroquine in patients with COVID-19: an open-label, randomized, controlled trial

Pulmonary and Cardiac Pathology in Covid-19: The First Autopsy Series from New Orleans
Authors report on the relevant cardiopulmonary findings in the first series of autopsies in the United States, with the cause of death being due to SARS-CoV-2 infection. These cases identify key pathologic states potentially contributing to severe disease and decompensation in these patients.

Co-detection of respiratory pathogens in patients hospitalized with Coronavirus | Loss of smell and taste in combination with other symptoms is a strong predictor of COVID-19 infection

Tiger at New York’s Bronx Zoo Tests Positive for Coronavirus | Use of Hydroxychloroquine and Chloroquine During the COVID-19 Pandemic: What Every Clinician Should Know