ORIGINAL ARTICLE Cardiovascular Disease, Drug Therapy, and Mortality in Covid-19 Mandeep R. Mehra, Sapan S. Desai, SreyRam Kuy, et al N Engl J Med May 1, 2020DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2007621 Abstract BACKGROUND Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) may disproportionately affect people with cardiovascular disease. Concern has been aroused regarding a potential harmful effect of angiotensin-converting–enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin-receptor blockers (ARBs...

Original Investigation April 6, 2020 Baseline Characteristics and Outcomes of 1591 Patients Infected With SARS-CoV-2 Admitted to ICUs of the Lombardy Region, Italy Giacomo Grasselli, Alberto Zangrillo, Alberto Zanella, et al JAMA. Published online April 6, 2020. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.5394 Abstract Importance In December 2019, a novel coronavirus (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 [SARS-CoV-2]) emerged in China and has spread ...

Perspective Critical Supply Shortages — The Need for Ventilators and Personal Protective Equipment during the Covid-19 Pandemic Megan L. Ranney, Valerie Griffeth, Ashish K. Jha N Engl J Med 2020; 382:e41DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp2006141 On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization designated “coronavirus disease 2019” (Covid-19) a global pandemic. As the number of cases in the United States continues to grow, political leaders are encouraging physical (or “social”...

Research Prediction models for diagnosis and prognosis of covid-19 infection: systematic review and critical appraisal Laure Wynants, Ben Van Calster, Marc M J Bonten, et al BMJ 2020; 369:m1328 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m1328 Abstract Objective To review and critically appraise published and preprint reports of prediction models for diagnosing coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) in patients with suspected infection, for prognosis of patients with ...

ARTICLES|ONLINE FIRST Remdesivir in adults with severe COVID-19: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre trial Yeming Wang, Dingyu Zhang, Guanhua Du, et al Lancet Published:April 29, 2020 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31022-9 Summary 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, ...

Research Letter February 14, 2020 Novel Coronavirus Infection in Hospitalized Infants Under 1 Year of Age in China Min Wei, Jingping Yuan, Yu Liu, et al JAMA. 2020;323(13):1313-1314. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.2131 Since December 8, 2019, an epidemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread rapidly.1 As of February 6, 2020, China reported 31 211 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 637 fatalities. Previous studies suggest that COVID-19 is more like...

COVID-19: From Hydroxychloroquine to Plasma Administration A number of colleagues and friends from outside the hospital have asked me whether they should take hydroxychloroquine for their COVID-19. A friend asked me whether he should take lopinavir-ritonavir even though he is not HIV-positive. A hospitalised patient requested administration of remdesivir regardless of the cost involved, and another patient even requested transfer to another hospital to receive the toci...

ORIGINAL ARTICLE FREE PREVIEW Multidrug-Resistant Bacterial Infections in U.S. Hospitalized Patients, 2012–2017 John A. Jernigan, Kelly M. Hatfield, Hannah Wolford, et al N Engl J Med 2020; 382:1309-1319DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1914433 Abstract BACKGROUND Multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria that are commonly associated with health care cause a substantial health burden. Updated national estimates for this group of pathogens are needed to inform public health ac...

Infection Control Measures: Best COVID-19 Practices from Hong Kong Healthcare workers can be protected during the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak with the application of proper infection control measures, an example from Hong Kong shows.  You may also like: 3-step 15sec hand-rubs reduce infection & improve hygiene compliance A recent study (Cheng at al. n.d.) from a research team at Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong, described the infection contro...

ORIGINAL ARTICLE FREE PREVIEW Timing of Endoscopy for Acute Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding James Y.W. Lau, Yuanyuan Yu, Raymond S.Y. Tang, et al N Engl J Med 2020; 382:1299-1308DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1912484 Abstract BACKGROUND It is recommended that patients with acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding undergo endoscopy within 24 hours after gastroenterologic consultation. The role of endoscopy performed within time frames shorter than 24 hours has not been ...