Respiratory Infections News

Hydroxychloroquine did not prevent illness similar to, or confirmed to be, COVID-19 when used as postexposure prophylaxis within 4 days of moderate- to high-risk exposure, according to findings in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Visits to the ED decreased by 42% during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, from a mean of 2.1 million visits per week from March 31-April 27, 2019 to 1.2 million visits from March 29 to April 25, 2020, according to findings in the MMWR report.

Less than 3% of asymptomatic pregnant women who presented for childbirth at one of three hospitals in southern Connecticut tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, according to a research letter published in JAMA.

U.S. President Donald J. Trump announced last week that the U.S. would withdraw from WHO, citing criticism of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its relationship with China.

Among patients with COVID-19 who underwent surgery, 30-day mortality was high and approximately half of patients experienced postoperative pulmonary complications, according to an international study.

The FDA today granted priority review to cefiderocol for the treatment of adults with hospital-acquired and ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia.

In its recent guidance on serology and antibody testing for SARS-CoV-2, the American Association for Clinical Chemistry said that only specific tests should be used and only in certain instances.

Despite comprising only 31% of the study population, blacks accounted for nearly 77% of COVID-19 hospitalizations and more than 70% of COVID-19 deaths in a large cohort of patients from Louisiana, according to a retrospective cohort study.

An autopsy study of African Americans who died from COVID-19 in New Orleans has revealed that certain pulmonary and cardiac pathology likely contributed to severe disease and death in this patient population.

Last month, Anthony S. Fauci, MD, announced unpublished data from a phase 3 trial that showed remdesivir shortened the time to recovery for patients with COVID-19 from 15 days to 11 days.