Biomedica
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Introduction: Recently, researchers from China and France reported on the effectiveness of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine for the inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 viral replication in vitro. Timely dissemination of scientific information is key in times of pandemic. A systematic review of the effect and safety of these drugs on COVID-19 is urgently needed. Objective: To map published studies until March 25, 2020, on the use of chloroquine and its derivates in patients with COVID-19. Materials and methods: We searched on PubMed, Embase, Lilacs, and 15 registries from the World Health Organization’s International Clinical Trials Registry Platform for theoretical and empirical research in English, Spanish, Italian, French, or Portuguese until March 25, 2020, and made a narrative synthesis of the results. Results: We included 19 records and 24 trial registries (n=43) including 18,059 patients. ⋯ Nine trials evaluate chloroquine exclusively and eight hydroxychloroquine. The records are comments (n=9), in vitro studies (n=3), narrative reviews (n=2), clinical guidelines (n=2), as well as a systematic review, an expert consensus, and a clinical trial. Conclusions: One small (n=26), non-randomized, and flawed clinical trial supports hydroxychloroquine use in patients with COVID-19. There is an urgent need for more clinical trial results to determine the effect and safety of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine on COVID-19.
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Introduction: The 2019 coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has caused around 25 million cases worldwide. Asymptomatic patients have been described as potential sources of transmission. However, there are difficulties to detect them and to establish their role in the dynamics of virus transmission, which hinders the implementation of prevention strategies. Objective: To describe the behavior of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 virus infection in a cohort of workers at the El Dorado “Luis Carlos Galán Sarmiento” International Airport in Bogotá, Colombia. Materials and methods: A prospective cohort of 212 workers from the El Dorado airport was designed. ⋯ The proportion of positive contacts was 14.08%. The median threshold for cycle threshold was 33.53. Conclusion: We characterized the asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection in a cohort of workers. The identification of asymptomatic infected persons continues to be a challenge for epidemiological surveillance systems.
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Introduction: SARS-CoV-2 has been identified as the new coronavirus causing an outbreak of acute respiratory disease in China in December, 2019. This disease, currently named COVID-19, has been declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). The first case of COVID-19 in Colombia was reported on March 6, 2020. ⋯ Finally, a complete genome sequence obtained by next-generation sequencing allowed classifying the isolate as B.1.5 lineage. Conclusion: The evidence presented in this article confirms the first isolation of SARSCoV-2 in Colombia. In addition, it shows that this strain behaves in cell culture in a similar way to that reported in the literature for other isolates and that its genetic composition is consistent with the predominant variant in the world. Finally, points out the importance of viral isolation for the detection of neutralizing antibodies, for the genotypic and phenotypic characterization of the strain and for testing compounds with antiviral potential.
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Introduction: The COVID pandemic is a challenge for public health surveillance and an opportunity to assess its strengths and weaknesses to improve the response. Objective: To evaluate the performance of the Colombian public health surveillance system during the first 50 days of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. Materials and methods: We analyzed the data published between March 6 and April 24, 2020, by the Instituto Nacional de Salud and the World Health Organization (WHO). We evaluated: i) the quality of the data according to the fulfillment of Benford’s law, and ii) the timeliness of the information measured as the difference in dates between the data generated by the Instituto Nacional de Salud and WHO’s situational reports. We assessed the fulfillment of Benford’s law using the p values of the log-likelihood ratio, the chi square or Moreno’s exact tests. Results: Until April 24 there were 4,881 cases of COVID-19 in Colombia. ⋯ The difference between Instituto Nacional de Salud and WHO reports largely depends on the different reporting times. Conclusion: In general, the Colombian public health surveillance system fulfilled Benford’s law suggesting that there was quality in the data. Future studies comparing the performance of the departments and districts will improve the diagnosis of the Colombian surveillance system.