Editor's Note Abbott’s new COVID-19 antibody test that has 99% sensitivity and specificity has been given CE Mark approval for use across Europe, the April 29 Mass Device reports. The test is 99% accurate in identifying the IgG protein in patients infected by COVID-19, 14 days after symptoms develop. Abbott…
Editor's Note In this proof-of-concept study, a new lateral flow immunoassay developed by researchers from China can quickly detect antibodies against SARS-COV-2, which appear as a bright orange line when placed on a fluorescence reader. The test, which is based on a technique similar to what is used in home…
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…
Editor's Note In this study from Seoul, South Korea, both surgical and cotton masks were ineffective in preventing the dissemination of SARS-CoV-2, from coughs of patients with COVID-19 to the environment and external mask surface. For the study, four patients with COVID-19 were admitted to negative pressure isolation rooms and…
Editor's Note This survey given via social media by researchers from Stanford University School of Medicine and others found that respondents’ top concerns were getting sick because of COVID-19 (70.1%) and not being able to get medical care (46.3%). Of 8,982 respondents, 95.7% reported making changes to their lifestyle, with…
Editor's Note In this study, researchers from NYU Grossman School of Medicine and the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University, in partnership with Wenzhou Central Hospital and Cangnan People’s Hospital in Wenzhou, China, developed an artificial intelligence (AI) framework that accurately predicted which patients newly infected with…
Editor's Note A new novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), which causes the disease COVID-19, is the third highly pathogenic human coronavirus that has emerged in the last two decades. The other two are the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respirtory Syndrome (MERS) coronaviruses. This analysis of 22 studies finds…
Editor's Note Combining a mathematical model of COVID-19 transmission with four datasets from within and outside Wuhan, China, researchers with the Centre for Mathematical Modeling of Infectious Diseases COVID-19 working group, estimated how transmission in Wuhan varied between December 2019 (before travel restrictions) and February 2020 (after travel restrictions) and…
Editor's Note The effectiveness of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in managing pain, healing, and recovery after bone fracture depends on when you take them, this study from McGill University finds. The researchers found that NSAIDs are most effective in promoting postoperative healing when taken during the active phase of the…
Editor's Note Antibiotic delivery is significantly faster for sepsis patients treated in an emergency department (ED) if they are assigned a higher score on an acuity scale used for patient triage, finds this study presented May 22 at ATS 2019, the annual international conference of the American Thoracic Society in…