Author: Frank Domino, MD in collaboration with Aylin Madore, MD
I stay up-to-date on the latest COVID-19 news and am regularly compiling a list of articles published that are relevant to your primary care practice. Read the insights below from recently published articles in less than two minutes.
CDC Contract Tracing
The CDC redefined “close contact” as being within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes over a 24-hour period beginning 2 days before symptom onset (or 2 days before testing in asymptomatic patients). Previously, the 15-minute exposure window was continuous.
FDA Approved First Treatment for COVID-19
Despite the SOLIDARITY data, the US FDA voted to approve remdesivir for use in COVID-19 patients who require hospitalization and are at least 40 kg in weight.
Famotidine Use Is Not Associated with 30-day Mortality: A Coarsened Exact Match Study in 7158 Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients from a Large Healthcare System
A post hoc analysis of in-hospital use of famotidine did not find a mortality benefit compared to non-use. It was unclear if pre-hospital famotidine use had any influence of COVID-19 mortality.
Aspirin Use is Associated with Decreased Mechanical Ventilation, ICU Admission, and In-Hospital Mortality in Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19
A retrospective, observational cohort study of patients receiving aspirin within 24 hours of admission or those taking aspirin 7 days prior to admission (believed to be for ASCVD prophylaxis) found, after adjusting for confounding variables, aspirin use was associated with decreased risk of mechanical ventilation, ICU admission, and in-hospital mortality. There were no differences in major bleeding or overt thrombosis between aspirin users and non-aspirin users. Aspirin was started at time of admission, median dose was 81mg, and median treatment duration was 6 days. Despite the improved outcomes, patients who received aspirin had significantly higher pre-COVID rates of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, coronary artery disease, and renal disease.
Convalescent Plasma in the Management of Moderate COVID-19 in Adults in India: Open Label Phase II Multicentre Randomized Controlled Trial (PLACID Trial)
A randomized, controlled study of almost 500 patients in India evaluated convalescent plasma vs not in addition to the standard of care found progression to severe disease or all-cause mortality within 28 days was ~18% in all patients, regardless of receiving plasma. Those in the intervention arm did have a higher conversion to a negative SARS-CoV-2 RNA test result on day 7, demonstrating efficacy of clearing the virus, but no impact on clinical outcomes.
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