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  • The conundrum of interleukin-6 blockade in COVID-19

    19 Aug, 2020
    Since the very first cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection were identified in China, patients with severe manifestations of COVID-19 have been shown to develop a hyperinflammatory syndrome resembling that seen in patients with either macrophage-activation syndrome or cytokine-release syndrome associated with chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy. As a result, in the absence of a specific antiviral treatment for SARS-CoV-2 infection, many therapeuti...
  • Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Issues Emergency Use Authorization to Yale School of Public Health for SalivaDirect, Which Uses a New Method of Saliva Sample Processing

    18 Aug, 2020

    Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) to Yale School of Public Health for its SalivaDirect COVID-19 diagnostic test, which uses a new method of processing saliva samples when testing for COVID-19 infection.

    “The SalivaDirect test for rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2 is yet another testing innovation game changer that will reduce the demand for scarce testing resources,” said Assistant Secretary for Health and COVID-19 Testing Coordina...
  • Anti‐SARS‐CoV‐2 Spike Antibodies are Stable in Convalescent Plasma when Stored at 4° Celsius for at Least 6 Weeks

    18 Aug, 2020
    As nations around the world continue to address the public health crisis of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID19), the global medical and scientific communities continue to search for and develop therapeutic strategies for patients. To date, remdesivir presents one such option and can shorten the duration of hospitalization in patients with severe disease. Convalescent plasma (CP) has presented another option, with its use and safety supported by numerous case series and retrospective studies. W...
  • Effect of COVID-19 on Surgical Training Across the United States: A National Survey of General Surgery Residents

    18 Aug, 2020
    Introduction
    COVID-19 emerged as a global pandemic in 2020 and has affected millions of lives. Surgical training has also been significantly affected by this pandemic, but the exact effect remains unknown. We sought to perform a national survey of general surgery residents in the United States to assess the effect of COVID-19 on surgical resident training, education, and burnout.
    Methods
    An anonymous online survey was created and distributed to general surgery residents across the Un...
  • Joint Statement: Roadmap for Maintaining Essential Surgery during COVID-19 Pandemic

    18 Aug, 2020
    Introduction
    In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Surgeon General and many medical specialties such as the American College of Surgeons and the American Society of Anesthesiologists recommended interim cancelation of elective surgical procedures. Physicians and health care organizations responded appropriately and canceled non-essential cases across the country. Many patients have had their needed surgeries postponed due to th...
  • Mutational spectra of SARS‐CoV‐2 orf1ab polyprotein and signature mutations in the United States of America

    16 Aug, 2020
    AbstractPandemic COVID‐19 outbreak has been caused due to SARS‐CoV‐2 pathogen, resulting millions of infection and death worldwide, USA being on top at the present moment. The long, complex orf1ab polyproteins of SARS‐CoV‐2 play an important role in viral RNA synthesis. To assess the impact of mutations in this important domain, we analyzed 1134 complete protein sequences of orf1ab polyprotein from NCBI Virus database from affected patients across various states of USA from December 2019 to 2...
  • Development and validation of a surgical prioritization and ranking tool and navigation aid for head and neck cancer (SPARTAN‐HN) in a scarce resource setting: Response to the COVID‐19 pandemic

    16 Aug, 2020
    Abstract
    Background

    In the wake of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic, access to surgical care for patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) is limited and unpredictable. Determining which patients should be prioritized is inherently subjective and difficult to assess. The authors have proposed an algorithm to fairly and consistently triage patients and mitigate the risk of adverse outcomes.

    Methods

    Two separate expert panels, a consensus panel (11 partici...
  • Outreach and influence of surgical societies` recommendations on minimally invasive surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic – an anonymized international urologic expert inquiry

    16 Aug, 2020
    Abstract
    Objective
    To assess the outreach and influence of the main recommendations of surgical governing bodies on adaptation of minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery (MIS) procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic in an anonymized multi-institutional survey.
    Materials and Methods
    International experts performing MIS were selected on the basis of the contact database of the speakers of the Friends of Israel Urology Symposium. A 24-item questionnaire was built using main recommend...
  • Worldwide Management of Inflammatory Bowel Disease During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An International Survey

    16 Aug, 2020
    AbstractBackground and Aims
    Persons with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) may be particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 either because of their underlying disease or its management. Guidance has been presented on the management of persons with IBD in the time of this pandemic by different groups. We aimed to determine how gastroenterologists around the world were approaching the management of IBD.
    Methods
    Members of the World Gastroenterology Organization (WGO) IBD Task Force contacted ...
  • What is the Preferred Screening Tool for COVID-19 in Asymptomatic Patients Undergoing a Surgical or Diagnostic Procedure?

    16 Aug, 2020
    INTRODUCTION: Since the outbreak of COVID-19, measures were taken to protect healthcare staff from infection, to prevent infection of patients admitted to the hospital and to distribute PPE according to need. To assure the proper protection without overuse of limited supply of these equipments, screening of patients before surgical or diagnostic procedure was implemented. This study evaluates the results of this screening. METHOD: All patients screened for COVID-19 before procedure warranting...
  • Coronavirus vaccine from Oxford and AstraZeneca shows positive response in early trial

    13 Aug, 2020

    A potential coronavirus vaccine developed by Oxford University with pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has produced a promising immune response in a large, early-stage human trial, according to newly released data published Monday in the medical journal The Lancet.

    The researchers are calling their experimental vaccine ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (AZD1222). It combines genetic material from the coronavirus with a modified adenovirus that is known to cause infections in chimpanzees. The phase one...
  • Systems biological assessment of immunity to mild versus severe COVID-19 infection in humans

    11 Aug, 2020
    Abstract
    COVID-19 represents a global crisis, yet major knowledge gaps remain about human immunity to SARS-CoV-2. We analyzed immune responses in 76 COVID-19 patients and 69 healthy individuals from Hong Kong and Atlanta. In PBMCs of COVID-19 patients, there was reduced expression of HLA-DR and pro-inflammatory cytokines by myeloid cells, and impaired mTOR-signaling and IFN-α production by plasmacytoid DCs. In contrast, there were enhanced plasma levels of inflammatory mediators, including...