By Nancy Lapid
(Reuters) -The following is a summary of the latest 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 antibodies in COVID-19 for children
By this time, antibody therapies for COVID-19 should not be used to treat new coronavirus infections in children or teens, including those at high risk of progressing to hospitalization or serious illness, according to a panel of experts. of 29 hospitals across North America that reviewed the available evidence. The antibody drugs – bamlanivimab from Eli Lilly and Co and the combination of casirivimab plus imdevimab from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc – were approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in November for emergencies in certain groups of adolescents and adults with mild to moderate COVID. -19. But in an article published in the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society on Sunday, the panel of experts said: ‘The course of COVID-19 in children and adolescents is usually mild and there is no high-quality evidence to support any high-risk groups. not. . There is no evidence for the safety and efficacy of monoclonal antibody therapy for the treatment of COVID-19 in children or adolescents, limited evidence of moderate benefit in adults and evidence of potential harm. “(https://bit.ly/3b2kVyG)
Video: Pfizer and Moderna start COVID-19 vaccine trials for children
Disinfection during pandemic endangers asthma
An increasing clearing by people with asthma during the pandemic could cause their disease to flare up, reads a new report. Researchers who surveyed 795 U.S. adults with asthma between May and September found that the proportion who disinfected surfaces with bleach at least five times a week rose 155% after the pandemic began. The use of disinfectant wipes, sprays and other liquids has also increased, the researchers report in Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology: In Practice. After taking into account other behaviors and risk factors, greater chances of uncontrolled asthma have been linked to greater household use of disinfectant wipes, disinfectant sprays, bleach and water solutions and other disinfectants. The study does not prove that increased frequency of disinfection caused uncontrolled asthma. However, the authors say that people with asthma need safer cleaning options. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises asthma sufferers to ask someone else to clean and disinfect surfaces and stay in a different room when using detergents or disinfectants, and beyond. It is also said that soap and water can be sufficient for surfaces and objects that are rarely touched. (https://bit.ly/2XbiYb6; https://bit.ly/2XaWZRy)
News reports paint an overly rosy picture of blood treatment
News reports of critically ill COVID-19 patients being treated with a recent procedure known as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO, may paint an unrealistic picture of the results, a study indicates. During ECMO, blood is pumped outside the body by a machine that removes carbon dioxide and adds oxygen before returning the blood to the body. In a review of media reports on ECMO treatment of COVID-19, doctors found that 92% of patients survived in the stories, while the average survival rates after ECMO in large studies ranged from 53% in children to 63% in young and middle-aged adults. Patients receiving ECMO treatment “remain at significant risk” for complications and deaths, but most news reports about COVID-19 patients treated with ECMO did not address these risks, the researchers said Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine said. They say recognition of the exaggerated benefit suggested by media reports could help doctors, patients and families of the intensive care unit conduct more realistic discussions about prognosis to ECMO. (https://bit.ly/3rVEPkI)
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(Reported by Nancy Lapid; edited by Bill Berkrot)