COVID-19

COVID-19 Roundup: Triple Therapy, FDA-Authorized Antigen Test, Inflammatory Illness in Children

Triple Therapy

The results of a phase 2 trial indicate that early antiviral therapy with combined interferon beta-1b, lopinavir–ritonavir, and ribavirin was safe and superior to lopinavir–ritonavir alone in terms of alleviating symptoms and reducing the duration of SARS-CoV-2 viral shedding and hospital stay among patients with mild to moderate COVID-19.

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FDA Authorizes First Antigen Test

The FDA has issued an emergency use authorization for the Sofia 2 SARS Antigen FIA for use in laboratories certified by the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA), as well as for point-of-care testing by facilities operating under a CLIA Certificate of Waiver.1

Community-Acquired Pneumonia Guidelines

The authors of the recently released American Thoracic Society and Infectious Diseases Society of America Guideline for Treatment of Adults with Community-Acquired Pneumonia have expanded their work to reflect management of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.2

Among the recommendations:

  • Procalcitonin could help to limit overuse of antibiotics in patients with COVID-19-related pneumonia.
  • Immunomodulating therapy is not currently recommended in patients with pneumonia.
  • While empirical coverage for bacterial pathogens is recommended for patients with pneumonia without confirmed COVID-19, it is not required in all patients with confirmed COVID-19-related pneumonia.

NY State Launches Study of COVID-19-Related Illnesses in Children

At the request of the CDC, NY state will help to develop national criteria for the identification of and response to COVID-related illness in children. The state has seen 73 cases of children experiencing Kawasaki disease- and toxic shock syndrome-like symptoms that are potentially related to COVID-19.3

Stroke Evaluations Drop by 40%

The number of patients seeking evaluation for signs of stroke in US hospitals has dropped by nearly 40% since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the results of a recent study.
The researchers examined data from over 800 hospitals in 49 states, finding that the number of patients evaluated for stroke, as measured by trends in the use of software that analyzes brain scans, decreased from 1.18 patients per day per hospital in February to 0.72 patients per day per hospital during the pandemic.4

“I suspect we are witnessing a combination of patients being reluctant to seek care out of fear that they might contract COVID-19, and the effects of social distancing,” said author Akash Kansagra, MD, assistant professor of radiology at Washington University’s Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology.

References:

  1. Coronavirus (COVID-19) update: FDA authorizes first antigen test to help in the rapid detection of the virus that causes COVID-19 in patients. News release. US Food and Drug Administration. May 9, 2020. https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/coronavirus-covid-19-update-fda-authorizes-first-antigen-test-help-rapid-detection-virus-causes
  2. Metlay JP, Waterer GW. Treatment of community-acquired pneumonia during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Published online May 7, 2020. Ann Intern Med. doi: 10.7326/M20-2189
  3. Governor Cuomo announces state is helping to develop the national criteria for identifying and responding to COVID-related illness in children. News release. New York State. May 9, 2020. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-announces-state-helping-develop-national-criteria-identifying-and-responding
  4. Stroke evaluations drop by nearly 40% during COVID-19 pandemic. News release. Washington University School of Medicine. May 8, 2020. https://medicine.wustl.edu/news/stroke-evaluations-drop-by-nearly-40-during-covid-19-pandemic/