Articles related to COVID-19

In a recent single-center prospective cohort study, the effect of unsuccessful treatment of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) on mortality rates in patients with severe pneumonia was evaluated. The study involved 585 mechanically ventilated patients with severe pneumonia and respiratory failure, including 190 with severe COVID-19, all of whom underwent at least one bronchoalveolar lavage. A novel machine learning approach, CarpeDiem, was employed to group similar ICU patient-days into clinical states based on electronic health record data. Findings indicated that the lengthy ICU stays experienced by COVID-19 patients were largely due to prolonged periods of respiratory failure. The study discovered that although VAP wasn’t a contributing factor to mortality rates overall, patients with a single episode of unsuccessfully treated VAP demonstrated a significantly higher mortality rate (76.4%) compared to those with successfully treated VAP (17.6%). Furthermore, the CarpeDiem model highlighted that unresolved VAP was linked with transitions to clinical states associated with increased mortality. The study underscores that unsuccessful treatment of VAP is correlated with higher mortality and that patients with COVID-19 are at an elevated risk of VAP due to prolonged respiratory failure.

Community oncologists in the United States are at risk of violating the Stark Law if they continue to mail or use delivery services to ensure their patients have access to essential oral medications, after the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) ends on May 11th. The Stark Law is a federal law that prohibits healthcare providers from referring patients to entities with which they have a financial relationship, unless certain exceptions apply. The FAQ document published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in September 2021 suggests that mailing oral drugs could violate the Stark Law, even if the practice does not receive any financial benefit from the delivery. This interpretation is so broad that it could also bar relatives or caregivers from picking up patients’ medications. As a result, practices are facing a difficult choice: require patients to pick up medications in person or refer them to third-party mail-order pharmacies. The latter could lead to delays, denials, or sometimes errors because of a lack of direct communication between the pharmacy and physician.

Older adults using digital communications technology like email and video calls had higher levels of depression and anxiety about COVID-19. One explanation is that those who experiencing feelings of depression and anxiety were more likely to use digital tools. But another plausible explanation is that the digital technologies used were not well suited to older adults, possibly fueling their depression and anxiety.

The FDA has authorized the use of the mRNA bivalent COVID-19 vaccine (Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech) for all doses administered to individuals 6 months of age and older. The monovalent vaccines are no longer authorized for use in the US. This simplifies the vaccination schedule and encourages future vaccination. For child vaccination, unvaccinated children may receive a 2-dose series of the Moderna bivalent vaccine (6 months through 5 years) or a 3-dose series of the Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent vaccine (6 months through 4 years). Children who are 5 years old may receive 2 doses of Moderna bivalent vaccine or a single dose of Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent vaccine. For immunocompromised children 6 months through 4 years, eligibility depends on the vaccine previously received. For individuals 5 years of age and older with certain kinds of immunocompromise, a single additional dose of bivalent vaccine may be administered at least 2 months following the initial dose of a bivalent vaccine. Additional doses may be administered at the discretion of the health care provider, taking into consideration the individual’s clinical circumstances.

In a study of 256,288 individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 and had at least one risk factor for developing severe COVID, regardless of immunization, booster, or prior infection history, treatment with nirmatrelvir reduced rates of hospital admission or death at 30 days.

In the first half of 2020, only 36% of the three million submissions to top health and medical journals came from women. The gender difference was most prominent among younger cohorts of female authors who were just starting their careers and applied to both research and non-research papers across all authorship positions in both top-tier and lower-impact journals. The damage to women’s research productivity, particularly for those in their early careers, was immediate amid the enormous, quick publication of covid papers. According to research, women’s publication production fell by 15% in 2020 compared to 2019, and by comparison to men, it was 24% lower. A growing gender disparity was substantiated by an analysis of nearly 500,000 authors in the fields of basic medicine, biology, chemistry, and clinical medicine, demonstrating that the early disadvantage women faced in terms of recognition and career advancement was both real and lasting.