The following is a summary of some of the most recent scientific studies on the new coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.
Experts advise against antibody drugs in pediatric COVID-19
From now on, antibody therapies for COVID-19 should not be used to treat infections with the new coronavirus in children or adolescents, “including those … at high risk of progression to hospitalization or serious illness,” according to a panel of experts from 29 hospitals in North America who reviewed the available evidence.
Antibody drugs – bamlanivimab from Eli Lilly and Co and the combination of casirivimab plus imdevimab from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc – were authorized in November by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for emergency use in certain groups of teenagers and adults with mild to moderate COVID -19.
But in an article published on Sunday in the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, the panel of experts said: “The COVID-19 course in children and adolescents is usually light and there is no high-quality evidence to support any high-risk groups. There is no evidence of safety and efficacy of monoclonal antibody therapy for the treatment of COVID-19 in children or adolescents, limited evidence of modest benefit in adults and evidence of potential harm. “
Disinfection during a pandemic puts asthmatics at risk
Increased cleansing by people with asthma during the pandemic may be triggering outbreaks of their disease, a new report suggests. Researchers who interviewed 795 American adults with asthma between May and September found that the proportion of people who disinfected surfaces with bleach at least five times a week increased by 155% after the start of the pandemic.
The use of disinfectant wipes, sprays and other liquids has also increased, the researchers reported in the Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology: In Practice.
After taking other behaviors and risk factors into account, greater chances of having uncontrolled asthma were associated with greater domestic use of disinfectant wipes, disinfectant sprays, bleaches and solutions of water and other disinfectant liquids.
The study does not prove that the increased frequency of disinfection caused uncontrolled asthma. Still, say the authors, people with asthma need safer cleaning options.
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advise asthmatics to ask someone else to clean and disinfect surfaces and to stay in another room when cleaning products or disinfectants are used and soon after.
He also said that soap and water can be sufficient for surfaces and objects that are rarely touched.
News paint an overly optimistic picture of blood treatment
News about critically ill patients with COVID-19 treated with a last-minute procedure known as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO, may be painting an unrealistic picture of results, a study suggests.
During ECMO, blood is pumped out of the body using a machine that removes carbon dioxide and adds oxygen before returning the blood back to the body. In a review of media reports on the treatment of COVID-19 ECMO, doctors found that 92% of patients in the stories survived, while mean survival rates after ECMO in large studies ranged from 53% in children to 63% in young adults and elderly adults.
Patients receiving ECMO treatment “remain at substantial risk” of complications and death, but most news from ECVID-treated COVID-19 patients did not address these risks, the researchers said on Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine.
They say that recognition of the exaggerated benefit suggested by media reports can help intensive care unit doctors, patients and family members have more realistic discussions about the prognosis after ECMO.
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