Category: Clinical Considerations
Bacterial co-infections cause twofold increase in mortality in COVID patients: study
Fierce Healthcare Though the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be ebbing significantly in the U.S., endemic COVID-19 still poses a challenge, experts say. Last Friday saw 31,443 new cases of COVID-19, while 344 people died from the disease, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. Experts continue to measure the full effects of the pandemic. A study published last […]
Mar 7, 2023
What Scientists Know About Long COVID, 3 Years In
C-Net A puzzling disease left millions of patients trying to piece it together. Research is ongoing, but some causes and potential treatments are taking shape. For many people, what started out as a relatively mild case of COVID-19 persisted into a lingering condition that took weeks or months before their suffering subsided — some are […]
Mar 7, 2023
JAMA Question Do postacute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 increase risks of 1-year adverse outcomes? Findings In this case-control study of 13 435 US adults with post–COVID-19 condition (PCC) and 26 870 matched adults without COVID-19, the adults with PCC experienced increased risks for a number of cardiovascular outcomes, such as ischemic stroke. During the 12-month follow-up period, 2.8% of the […]
Mar 7, 2023
Long Covid Patients More Likely to Have Gastrointestinal Problems, Study Finds
New York Times The study, which examined patients infected early in the pandemic, found they were significantly more likely than people who didn’t get Covid to experience lingering reflux, constipation and other issues. Stomach pain, constipation, diarrhea, vomiting, bloating — these are symptoms frequently reported by people with long Covid. Now, a large new study reports that […]
Mar 7, 2023
After Severe COVID, Cognitive Trajectories Go One of Three Ways
MedPageToday Cognitive impairment persisted for 1 year in some patients age 50 and older. Hospital patients discharged after severe SARS-CoV-2 infection followed one of three cognitive trajectories, longitudinal data showed. Of 946 severe COVID patients age 50 and older with no previous dementia or memory complaints, 69.0% had no cognitive impairment 1 month after discharge, […]
Mar 7, 2023
Three in five long COVID patients have organ damage a year after infection
(The Conversation) The latest data from the Office for National Statistics suggests that more than 1.2 million people in the UK report living with long COVID for 12 months or more. Several studies have confirmed that symptoms can persist in people with long COVID for more than a year after infection. And long COVID can occur regardless of whether or not […]
Feb 21, 2023
Chest CTs Reveal Abnormalities 2 Years After Severe COVID
(MedPageToday) 39% of hospitalized Wuhan patients had persistent interstitial lung abnormalities, study finds Two years after hospitalization for severe COVID-19 illness, more than a third of patients from the pandemic’s early days had lingering pulmonary abnormalities on chest CT scans, according to a prospective study from Wuhan, China. (link to paper) The incidence of persistent […]
Feb 21, 2023
Brain Structure, Widespread Connectivity Changes Seen With Long COVID
(MedPageToday) Gray matter atrophy and severe disruption of brain functional connectivity were seen in long COVID patients with anxiety and depression about 3 months after acute mild SARS-CoV-2 infection. Compared with people who were asymptomatic after SARS-CoV-2 infection, long COVID patients with both anxiety and depression showed limbic atrophy and a widespread pattern of hyperconnectivity, […]
Feb 21, 2023
Covid can cause heart problems. Here’s how the virus may do its damage.
(NBC News) Scientists who studied human hearts found that infection appeared to make it harder for them to beat properly. Covid can cause damage to the heart on a cellular level that can lead to lasting problems, including irregular heartbeats and heart failure, preliminary research suggests. Covid’s effects on the heart have been well documented, but a new study zooms […]
Feb 21, 2023
COVID Rebound Can Happen Even without Paxlovid
(Scientific American) Concerns about Paxlovid rebound are preventing some doctors from prescribing the lifesaving drug and some high-risk patients from taking it. Paxlovid gets a bad rap over concerns about COVID “rebound.” That’s the primary takeaway from a series of papers showing that whether or not people take the antiviral medication, many have symptoms that […]
Feb 14, 2023