Post-COVID-19: A New and Improved Normal?
July 14, 2020The pandemic has accelerated the pace of positive change, exposed longstanding racial inequalities that resulted in a disproportionate burden of COVID-19 infection and mortality, and demonstrated new learning needs for health care professionals.
Dexamethasone in the Treatment of COVID-19
June 16, 2020THE RECOVERY TRIAL News emerged from the UK on June 16 around very promising results with dexamethasone in the treatment of COVID-19 infected patients in the Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy (RECOVERY) trial. RECOVERY is a randomized trial investigating whether treatment with either (1)Lopinavir-Ritonavir, (2)Hydroxychloroquine, (3)Corticosteroids, (4)Azithromycin,(5) Convalescent plasma or (6)Tocilizumab prevents death in patients with COVID-19.
The Endothelium: A Common Denominator Underlying “Atypical” Manifestations of COVID-19?
June 15, 2020A group of Italian researchers recently hypothesized that it is actually the endothelium that is being targeted by the COVID-19 virus.
The Ubiquitous Problem of Misdiagnosis in Medicine
June 8, 2020What defines a misdiagnosis, or a “diagnostic error” in medicine? In 2015, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s “Improving Diagnosis in Health Care” defined a diagnostic error as “the failure to establish an accurate and timely explanation of the patient’s health problem(s) or (b) communicate that explanation to the patient.” This comprehensive report
Multi-System Inflammatory (Kawasaki-Like) Syndrome Associated with COVID-19
May 27, 2020It was initially thought that perhaps children, when infected with COVID-19, developed milder cases which appear clinically like a minor upper respiratory infection. In late April, however, the first published case of a Kawasaki-like disease associated with COVID-19 was described in Hospital Pediatrics.
Remdesivir for COVID-19: A Promising Early Report
May 27, 2020To date, several pharmaceutical agents have been evaluated in the treatment of COVID-19. On May 23, the first report of a positive response to a therapeutic agent, remdesivir, was reported in the New England Journal of Medicine. The positive top line results of this trial were shared via a press release a few weeks ago.
How to Thrive in a Remote Education World
May 27, 2020Students and teachers across all levels of schooling – elementary through high school to post-secondary education and professional education have changed in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The physical classroom model has disappeared and may not return in its prior format. To thrive in a remote education world, students and teachers must adapt their learning
The Relationship Between COVID-19 and Stroke
May 15, 2020COVID-19 does not always fit into the pattern of respiratory illness. While initially unexpected, clinicians and researchers are learning more each day that COVID-19 infection wears many disguises. In some victims, it clearly does not make its initial appearance as a respiratory virus.
Legacies of COVID-19: Teamwork Across the Miles
May 8, 2020Although we will not be placing COVID-19 in our rearview mirror in the foreseeable future, it is already apparent that there will almost certainly be legacies that are actually more positive than negative for the healthcare system at large.
Curated Resources for Management of COVID-19
April 24, 2020What we are learning about management of COVID-19 infected patients is growing daily. Many clinicians have expressed never having seen anything quite like this; obviously the sheer number of critically ill patients is unprecedented, as is the unique pathophysiology of what occurs in the lungs of COVID patients. The lack of definitive therapies for the
Critical Care Staffing in the Time of the Pandemic
April 20, 2020Preparing for and responding to the surge of COVID-19 patients has required healthcare systems to develop and implement new strategies to deal with shortages. Resources that have been in scarce supply include personal protective equipment, ventilators, ICU beds, medications, and IV fluids. Sadly, the resource that is most challenging to recruit in adequate numbers is
COVID-19 Pandemic Sparks Medical Innovation
April 13, 2020From the use of anti-inflammatory and antiviral medications to the use of a “smart ring” to monitor body temperature, the crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic has provided the impetus for clinical and technological innovation. Clinical studies are being quickly initiated at health systems and research organizations around the world to explore a variety of