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  • Physical distancing, face masks, and eye protection to prevent person-to-person transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis

    2 Jun, 2020
    Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes COVID-19 and is spread person-to-person through close contact. We aimed to investigate the effects of physical distance, face masks, and eye protection on virus transmission in health-care and non-health-care (eg, community) settings.Click here for reference



  • Reducing transmission of SARS-CoV-2

    28 May, 2020

    Respiratory infections occur through the transmission of virus-containing droplets (>5 to 10 μm) and aerosols (≤5 μm) exhaled from infected individuals during breathing, speaking, coughing, and sneezing. Traditional respiratory disease control measures are designed to reduce transmission by droplets produced in the sneezes and coughs of infected individuals. However, a large proportion of the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) appears to be occurring through airborne transmi...
  • A human neutralizing antibody targets the receptor binding site of SARS-CoV-2

    27 May, 2020

    An outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)1–3, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)4 spread globally. Countermeasures are needed to treat and prevent further dissemination of the virus. In this study, we report the isolation of 2 specific human monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) from a convalescent COVID-19 patient. CA1 and CB6 demonstrated potent SARS-CoV-2-specific neutralization activity in vitro against SARS-CoV-2. In addition...
  • Safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of a recombinant adenovirus type-5 vectored COVID-19 vaccine: a dose-escalation, open-label, non-randomised, first-in-human trial

    26 May, 2020
    Between March 16 and March 27, 2020, we screened 195 individuals for eligibility. Of them, 108 participants (51% male, 49% female; mean age 36·3 years) were recruited and received the low dose (n=36), middle dose (n=36), or high dose (n=36) of the vaccine. All enrolled participants were included in the analysis. At least one adverse reaction within the first 7 days after the vaccination was reported in 30 (83%) participants in the low dose group, 30 (83%) participants in the middle dose group...
  • Hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine with or without a macrolide for treatment of COVID-19: a multinational registry analysis

    25 May, 2020
    Background
    Hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine, often in combination with a second-generation macrolide, are being widely used for treatment of COVID-19, despite no conclusive evidence of their benefit. Although generally safe when used for approved indications such as autoimmune disease or malaria, the safety and benefit of these treatment regimens are poorly evaluated in COVID-19.
    Methods
    We did a multinational registry analysis of the use of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine with or...
  • Remdesivir in adults with severe COVID-19: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre trial

    22 May, 2020
    Background
    No specific antiviral drug has been proven effective for treatment of patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Remdesivir (GS-5734), a nucleoside analogue prodrug, has inhibitory effects on pathogenic animal and human coronaviruses, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in vitro, and inhibits Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, SARS-CoV-1, and SARS-CoV-2 replication in animal models.
    Methods
    We did a randomised, d...
  • Cross-neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 by a human monoclonal SARS-CoV antibody

    21 May, 2020

    SARS-CoV-2 is a newly emerged coronavirus responsible for the current COVID-19 pandemic that has resulted in more than 3.7 million infections and 260,000 deaths as of 6 May 20201,2. Vaccine and therapeutic discovery efforts are paramount to curb the pandemic spread of this zoonotic virus. The SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) glycoprotein promotes entry into host cells and is the main target of neutralizing antibodies. Here we describe multiple monoclonal antibodies targeting SARS-CoV-2 S identif...
  • Artificial intelligence–enabled rapid diagnosis of patients with COVID-19

    21 May, 2020

    For diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a SARS-CoV-2 virus-specific reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT–PCR) test is routinely used. However, this test can take up to 2 d to complete, serial testing may be required to rule out the possibility of false negative results and there is currently a shortage of RT–PCR test kits, underscoring the urgent need for alternative methods for rapid and accurate diagnosis of patients with COVID-19. Chest computed tomography ...
  • Serology for SARS-CoV-2: Apprehensions, opportunities, and the path forward

    20 May, 2020

    Serological testing for SARS-CoV-2 has enormous potential to contribute to COVID-19 pandemic response efforts. However, the required performance characteristics of antibody tests will critically depend on the use case (individual-level vs. population-level).


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  • Prevalence of obesity among adult inpatients with COVID-19 in France

    19 May, 2020

    Most people who develop COVID-19 after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection present with paucisymptomatic and non-severe disease. However, approximately 20% of patients develop severe COVID-19 requiring hospitalisation, including 5% who are admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). The ongoing COVID-19 outbreak has led to an unprecedented health crisis. Hence, it is crucial to identify individuals who are susceptible to developing severe COVID-19 and cou...
  • Tracheostomy in the COVID-19 era: global and multidisciplinary guidance

    17 May, 2020
    Global health care is experiencing an unprecedented surge in the number of critically ill patients who require mechanical ventilation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The requirement for relatively long periods of ventilation in those who survive means that many are considered for tracheostomy to free patients from ventilatory support and maximise scarce resources. COVID-19 provides unique challenges for tracheostomy care: health-care workers need to safely undertake tracheostomy procedures and ...
  • Elective surgery cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic: global predictive modelling to inform surgical recovery plans

    17 May, 2020
    The COVID‐19 pandemic has disrupted routine hospital services globally. This study estimated the total number of adult elective operations that would be cancelled worldwide during the 12 weeks of peak disruption due to COVID‐19.

    A global expert‐response study was conducted to elicit projections for the proportion of elective surgery that would be cancelled or postponed during the 12 weeks of peak disruption. A Bayesian beta‐regression model was used to estimate 12‐week cancellation rat...