According to a JAMA article published on March 3, 2021, “there is growing optimism and hope that by virtue of ongoing immunization efforts, seasonality (declining infections through August), and naturally acquired immunity, by spring and early summer 2021 in the U.S. there will be a substantial decline in the number of deaths and hospitalizations related to COVID-19. That said, herd …
“Telemedicine can have a significant impact on acute stroke care by enabling timely intervention in an ambulance before a patient reaches the hospital. However, limited research has been conducted on understanding and supporting team communication during the care delivery process for telemedicine-enabled stroke care in an ambulance,” according to the National Library of Medicine. That said, a study was conducted …
According to an article published in Health Medicine Network: Monoclonal antibodies, a COVID-19 treatment given early after coronavirus infection, cut the risk of hospitalization and death by 60% in those most likely to suffer complications of the disease, according to an analysis of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center patients who received the medication compared to similar patients who did not. …
Many vaccine-related adverse events are associated with otolaryngologic manifestations… The incidence of sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) was examined after influenza vaccination in a large-scale study that demonstrated no association between vaccination and the rate of SSNHL. The CDC VAERS is a national repository of incident reports associated with adverse reactions that occur after any vaccination. This database was queried …
The following was published by the CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) from June 4, 2021: End-stage renal disease (ESRD) is a condition in which kidney function has permanently declined such that renal replacement therapy is required to sustain life. The mortality rate for patients with ESRD in the United States has been declining since 2001, however, during the …
“Can observational clinical data from commercial laboratories be used to evaluate the comparative risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection for individuals who are antibody positive vs those who are antibody negative? [The purpose of a study published in JAMA] was to evaluate evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection based on diagnostic nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) among patients …
The B.1.617.2 COVID-19 variant has contributed to the surge in cases in India and has now been detected across the globe, including a notable increase in cases in the UK. A preprint study published by medrxiv noted the following: Overall, we found high levels of vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic disease after two doses. These estimates were only modestly lower than …
One little-discussed, long-term toll of the pandemic: Large numbers of older adults have become physically and cognitively debilitated and less able to care for themselves during 15 months of sheltering in place. No large-scale studies have documented the extent of this phenomenon however, physicians, physical therapists, and health plan leaders said the prospect of increased impairment and frailty in the …
Key Updates for Week 20, ending May 22, 2021 Seasonal influenza activity in the United States remains lower than usual for this time of year. Viruses Clinical Labs – The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for influenza at clinical laboratories is 0.1% this week. Public Health Labs – The number of influenza positive specimens reported by public health labs …
Since December 2019, the world has been influenced by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) which is caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). As of February 18, 2021, approximately 110 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and 2.4 million deaths have been reported around the world. The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the first half of 2020 …
