JAMA network open
-
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the etiology of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is readily transmitted person to person. Optimal control of COVID-19 depends on directing resources and health messaging to mitigation efforts that are most likely to prevent transmission, but the relative importance of such measures has been disputed. ⋯ In this decision analytical model of multiple scenarios of proportions of asymptomatic individuals with COVID-19 and infectious periods, transmission from asymptomatic individuals was estimated to account for more than half of all transmissions. In addition to identification and isolation of persons with symptomatic COVID-19, effective control of spread will require reducing the risk of transmission from people with infection who do not have symptoms. These findings suggest that measures such as wearing masks, hand hygiene, social distancing, and strategic testing of people who are not ill will be foundational to slowing the spread of COVID-19 until safe and effective vaccines are available and widely used.
-
Estimates of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) disease burden are needed to help guide interventions. ⋯ The SARS-CoV-2 disease burden may be much larger than reported COVID-19 cases owing to underreporting. Even after adjusting for underreporting, a substantial gap remains between the estimated proportion of the population infected and the proportion infected required to reach herd immunity. Additional seroprevalence surveys are needed to monitor the pandemic, including after the introduction of safe and efficacious vaccines.
-
Electrocardiography (ECG) is an important tool to triage patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). An immediate coronary angiography after ROSC is recommended only in patients with an ECG that is diagnostic of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). To date, the benefit of this approach has not been demonstrated in patients with a post-ROSC ECG that is not diagnostic of STEMI. ⋯ This study suggests that early ECG acquisition after ROSC in patients with OHCA is associated with a higher percentage of false-positive ECG findings for STEMI. It may be reasonable to delay post-ROSC ECG by at least 8 minutes after ROSC or repeat the acquisition if the first ECG is diagnostic of STEMI and is acquired early after ROSC.
-
Programmed cell death 1/programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-1/PD-L1) inhibitors are immune checkpoint inhibitors widely used in the treatment of metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) and other cancers. There is a lack of understanding regarding which factors are associated with therapeutic response. ⋯ This analysis suggests that older age, low levels of PD-L1 expression, and the absence of sarcomatoid tumor differentiation are associated with a diminished response to anti-PD-1/PD-L1 immunotherapies with respect to survival outcomes among patients with metastatic ccRCC.
-
It is now established that across the United States, minoritized populations have borne a disproportionate burden from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, little is known about the interaction among a county's racial/ethnic composition, its level of income inequality, political factors, and COVID-19 outcomes in the population. ⋯ This county-level ecological analysis suggests that COVID-19 surveillance systems should account for county-level income inequality to better understand the social patterning of COVID-19 incidence and mortality. High levels of income inequality may harm population health irrespective of racial/ethnic composition.