Editor's Note: Epic’s deterioration index, an artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning-based system that can predict which patients with COVID-19 could become seriously ill, has been put into use at hospitals nationwide, the April 24 STAT reports. Though normally hospitals would take weeks or months to test a new tool on…

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Editor's Note COVID-19 may predispose patients to venous and arterial thrombotic disease because of excessive inflammation, platelet activation, endothelial dysfunction, and stasis, this study finds. Though a recent document from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates an increased risk of severe COVID-19 in patients receiving antiplatelet agents and…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on April 23 announced that it supports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s new recommendations that healthcare facilities “. . . implement source control for everyone entering a healthcare facility (eg, healthcare personnel, patients, visitors), regardless of symptoms . . .” Source control involves…

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Editor's Note Alterations in smell or taste were frequently reported in mildly symptomatic patients with COVID-19 infection and often were the first apparent symptom, this study finds. In this telephone survey of 202 COVID-19 outpatients, 130 (64.4%) reported an altered sense of smell or taste. Of these, 45 (34.6%) also…

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Editor's Note Israel-based Scentech Medical and Meir Medical Center will start a trial of Scentech’s breath technology, which is designed to detect COVID-19 before it becomes symptomatic, the April 22 Times of Israel reports. The breath test technology—similar to breathalyzers used on suspected drunk drivers—is a mix of software and…

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Editor's Note In this study from the Houston Methodist Research Institute, immediate-use steam sterilization (IUSS) using a Steris Amsco Evolution HC1500 PreVac Steam Sterilizer autoclave was performed on N95 masks. Masks were wrapped in paper-plastic sterilization peel pouches (Medical Action Industries 8” role, Ref 422R). A chemical indicator and biological…

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Editor's Note The American College of Surgeons (ACS) on April 17 announced that the ACS, AORN, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), and American Hospital Association (AHA) together developed a roadmap to guide readiness, prioritization, and scheduling for safely resuming elective surgery. Highlights of the roadmap include: Implementing a policy for…

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Editor's Note In a cohort of SARS-CoV-2 positive healthcare workers (HCW) residing in King County, Washington, this study found that symptom screening only for fever, cough, shortness of breath, or sore throat might have missed 17% of symptomatic HCW at the time of illness onset, and expanding criteria to include…

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Editor' Note The American College of Surgeons (ACS) on April 17 released a new document, “Local Resumption of Elective Surgery Guidance,” to help healthcare facilities prepare to resume elective surgery once COVID-19 has peaked in their area. The document includes four categories: COVID Awareness—addresses the community’s COVID-19 numbers, including prevalence,…

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Editor's Note In this study, unprotected, prolonged patient contact and certain exposures, including aerosol-generating procedures, were linked to SARS-CoV-2 infection in healthcare workers (HCW) exposed to a hospitalized patient with unrecognized COVID-19 in Solano County, California. Of 121 HCW exposed to a patient with unrecognized COVID-19, 43 became symptomatic and…

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