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  • Mediastinal lymphadenopathy in patients with severe COVID-19

    22 Apr, 2020


    CT has a leading place in the management of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Mediastinal lymph node enlargement is not considered a typical CT feature of COVID-19, and only 6% of patients admitted to hospital for COVID-19 had lymphadenopathy. This observation is concordant with previous studies in Chinese populations. However, the experience in critically ill patients with COVID-19 in France seems to be different.

    Lymphadenopathy was more common in French...
  • Medicine in the time of corona: Fundamental molecular research is “essential”

    22 Apr, 2020
    A pandemic—especially one caused by a mysterious or newly discovered infectious agent—engenders a stark reminder that supporting fundamental research has been a prudent investment of public funds. Fundamental molecular research plays an essential role in the clinic to decipher infectious processes, develop therapeutic strategies, and guide physicians, nurses, and other hospital employees in implementing the most effective application of new knowledge. As the world begins the process of healin...
  • Connecting clusters of COVID-19: an epidemiological and serological investigation

    22 Apr, 2020
    Elucidation of the chain of disease transmission and identification of the source of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections are crucial for effective disease containment. In this article, the physicians describe an epidemiological investigation that, with use of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) serological assays, establishes links between three clusters of COVID-19.
    In Singapore, active case-finding and contact tracing were undertaken for all COVID-19 c...
  • Lessons after the COVID-19 outbreak in a pediatric transplant and hemato-oncology center embedded within a COVID-19 hospital in Italy

    22 Apr, 2020

    Italy is the second exposed country worldwide, after China, and Lombardia is the most affected region in Italy, with more than half of the national cases, with 13% of whom being healthcare professionals. The Clinica Pediatrica Università degli Studi di Milano Bicocca is a general pediatric and hematology oncology and transplant center embedded within the designated COVID-19 general Hospital San Gerardo in Monza, located in Lombardia, Italy. Preventive and control measures specifically und...
  • Cytokine release syndrome in severe COVID-19

    21 Apr, 2020

    SARS-CoV-2 is a betacoronavirus that is most closely related to SARS-CoV. Both viruses use the angiotensin-converting enzyme–related carboxypeptidase (ACE2) receptor to gain entry to cells. This receptor is widely expressed in cardiopulmonary tissues but also in some hematopoietic cells, including monocytes and macrophages. A key feature of COVID-19 infection is lymphopenia (low blood lymphocyte count), which correlates with clinical severity. SARS-CoV efficiently infects primary human mo...
  • Quantifying SARS-CoV-2 transmission suggests epidemic control with digital contact tracing

    21 Apr, 2020
    The newly emergent human virus SARS-CoV-2 is resulting in high fatality rates and incapacitated health systems. Preventing further transmission is a priority. We analyzed key parameters of epidemic spread to estimate the contribution of different transmission routes and determine requirements for case isolation and contact-tracing needed to stop the epidemic. We conclude that viral spread is too fast to be contained by manual contact tracing, but could be controlled if this process was faster...
  • Techniques in Coloproctology

    21 Apr, 2020
    The Italian Society of Colorectal Surgery (SICCR) published last week an article with some recommendations for good clinical practice in colorectal surgery during the novel coronavirus pandemic. 
    As a summary, they believe that the COVID-19 epidemic should not lead to approaches that impair oncologic results or expose patients to excessive morbidity. In COVID-19-negative patients, elective surgery should be performed following the current guidelines, using the least aggressive tr...
  • ACS Guidelines for Triage and Management of Elective Cancer Surgery Cases

    20 Apr, 2020
    The American College of Surgeons together with their Cancer programs published a list of statements for Elective surgery during the Acute and Recovery phases of the Covid-19 disease pandemic. There, they define the phases of the disease and how to manage all the oncologic surgery that must go forward depending on the infection stage. 

    It has been developed by the leaders within the ACS Cancer Programs (American Joint Committee on Cancer, AJCC, Clinical Research Program (CRP), Comm...
  • SARS-CoV-2 and viral sepsis: observations and hypotheses

    20 Apr, 2020
    Since the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), clinicians have tried every effort to understand the disease, and a brief portrait of its clinical features have been identified. In clinical practice, the clinicians noticed that many severe or critically ill COVID-19 patients developed typical clinical manifestations of shock, including cold extremities and weak peripheral pulses, even in the absence of overt hypotension. Understanding the mechanism of viral sepsis in COVID-19 is wa...
  • Diagnostic Performance of CT and Reverse Transcriptase-Polymerase Chain Reaction for Coronavirus Disease 2019: A Meta-Analysis

    20 Apr, 2020
    Recent studies have suggested that chest computed tomography (CT) scans could be used as a primary screening or diagnostic tool for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in epidemic areas. To study that, some scientifics have created a project to perform a meta-analysis to evaluate diagnostic performance measures, including predictive values, of chest CT and initial reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). 
    For the meta-analysis, MEDLINE and Embase articles were se...
  • Endoscopy in inflammatory bowel diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic and post-pandemic period

    20 Apr, 2020
    The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is changing the management of many chronic diseases, including that of patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). In particular, the performance of routine endoscopy is temporarily suspended, and only emergency endoscopy is allowed in many countries where severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread. We highlight different scenarios in which endoscopy should still be performed urgently in patients with IBD, as w...
  • Impact assessment of non-pharmaceutical interventions against coronavirus disease 2019 and influenza in Hong Kong: an observational study

    20 Apr, 2020


    Background
    A range of public health measures have been implemented to suppress local transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Hong Kong. We examined the effect of these interventions and behavioural changes of the public on the incidence of COVID-19, as well as on influenza virus infections, which might share some aspects of transmission dynamics with COVID-19.
    Methods
    We analysed data on laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases, influenza surveillance data in outpat...