Oct 21st, 2020 - Here, we randomized 53 patients hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to hydroxychloroquine therapy (at a dose of 400 mg twice daily for seven days) in addition to standard care or standard care alone (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier, NCT04316377). All severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) positive patients 18 years of age or older were eligible for study in...

Oct 21st, 2020 - The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) resulted in an unprecedented public health challenge worldwide. Despite urgent and extensive global efforts, the existing evidence is inconclusive regarding the medications used for the treatment of COVID-19. To generate an up-to-date evidence for the clinical safety and ef...

Oct 21st, 2020 - This paper presents a brief overview of the complex interaction between age, hypertension, the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS), inflammation, and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) infection. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is more frequent and more severe in comorbid elderly patients, especially those with hypertension, diabetes, obesity, or cardiovascu...

Oct 21st, 2020 - It is unknown if solid organ transplant recipients are at higher risk for severe COVID-19. The management of a lung transplantation (LTx) program and the therapeutic strategies to adapt the immunosuppressive regimen and antiviral measures is a major issue in the COVID-19 era, but little is known about worldwide practice. We sent out to 180 LTx centers worldwide in June 2020 a survey with 63 que...

Oct 21st, 2020 - Few anecdotal cases have been reported in the literature regarding heart transplant recipients and infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We report our experience with 6 patients hospitalized in Northern Italy during the outbreak. Of the 396 living heart transplant recipients from 1985 to 2020 included in the study, 6 patients developed the novel 2019 coron...

Oct 20th, 2020 - Psychiatric Disorders and Hydroxychloroquine for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): A VigiBase Study.|2020|Garcia P,Revet A,Yrondi A,Rousseau V,Degboe Y,|

Oct 19th, 2020 - Global healthcare is challenged following the COVID-19 pandemic, since late 2019. Multiple approaches have been performed to relieve the pressure and support existing healthcare. The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health (MOH) launched an initiative to support the National Healthcare System. Since the 5th of June 2020, 238 outpatient fever clinics were established nationwide. This study aimed to ass...

Oct 19th, 2020 - There is an increasing recognition that structural abnormalities and functional changes in the placenta can have deleterious effects on the development of the fetal heart. This article reviews the role of the placenta and the potential impact of placental insufficiency on fetuses with congenital heart disease. The fetal heart and the placenta are directly linked because they develop concurrentl...

Oct 19th, 2020 - In the context of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, hydroxychloroquine has been proposed as a potential agent to treat COVID-19 patients. Older adults are more susceptible to COVID-19 and some patients may require admission in intensive care units, where oral drug administration of solid forms may be compromised in many COVID-19 patients. However, liquid formulation of hydroxychloroquine is not commerci...

Oct 17th, 2020 - Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a rapidly emerging virus causing the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic with no known effective prophylaxis. We investigated whether hydroxychloroquine could prevent SARS-CoV-2 in healthcare workers at high risk of exposure. We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of healthcare workers with ongoing exposur...

Oct 16th, 2020 - Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), the virus causing Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has had a huge impact on health services with a high mortality associated with complications including pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Historical evidence suggests that Lupus patients have a higher incidence of several viral infections. This is likely due to a co...

Oct 16th, 2020 - The liberal administration of hydroxychloroquine-sulphate (HCQ) to COVID-19 patients has raised concern regarding the risk of QTc prolongation and cardiac arrhythmias, particularly when prescribed with azithromycin. We evaluated the incidence of QTc prolongation among moderately and severely ill COVID-19 patients treated with HCQ and of the existence of concomitant alternative causes. All COVID...

Oct 16th, 2020 - Chloroquine (CQ) and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) are derivatives of 4-aminoquinoline compounds with over 60 years of safe clinical usage. CQ and HCQ are able to inhibit the production of cytokines such as interleukin- (IL-) 1, IL-2, IL-6, IL-17, and IL-22. Also, CQ and HCQ inhibit the production of interferon- (IFN-) α and IFN-γ and/or tumor necrotizing factor- (TNF-) α. Furthermore, CQ blocks the...

Oct 16th, 2020 - Hydroxychloroquine has been used for rheumatological diseases for many decades and is considered a safe medication. With the COVID-19 outbreak, there has been an increase in reports associating cardiotoxicity with hydroxychloroquine. It is unclear if cardiotoxic profile of hydroxychloroquine is previously underreported in the literature, or a new manifestation of COVID-19 and therapeutic interv...

Oct 16th, 2020 - Ivermectin was shown to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication in-vitro, which has led to off-label use, but clinical efficacy has not been previously described. Does ivermectin benefit hospitalized COVID-19 patients? and Methods: Charts of consecutive patients hospitalized at four Broward Health hospitals in Florida with confirmed COVID-19 between March 15 through May 11, 2020 treated with or without ...

Oct 16th, 2020 - The COVID-19 pandemic is a global health problem. We, as the EMERGE (EMErging RheumatoloGists and rEsearchers) group of PReS (Pediatric Rheumatology European Society) analyzed how the pandemic has affected pediatric rheumatology practice. An online survey was developed to assess changes in pediatric rheumatology practice due to the pandemic. Results were analyzed using descriptive statistics. F...

Oct 15th, 2020 - Objectives The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (COVID-19) outbreak in Italy, especially in Lombardy and Bergamo city, represented probably nowadays one of the first major clusters of COVID-19 in the world. The aim of this report is to describe the activity of Bergamo Teratology Information Service (TIS) in supporting the public and health-care personnel in case of drug prescript...

Oct 15th, 2020 - The COVID-19 pandemic has posed major challenges to all aspects of healthcare. Malta's population density, large proportion of elderly and high prevalence of diabetes and obesity put the country at risk of uncontrolled viral transmission and high mortality. Despite this, Malta achieved low mortality rates compared to figures overseas. The aim of this paper is to identify key factors that contri...

Oct 14th, 2020 - The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is on the rampage claiming over 297000 lives globally. Disease severity and mortality rates are higher in patients with underlying diabetes mellitus. Till date, there exists no effective vaccine or therapy against COVID-19. However, with limited clinical data, hydroxychloroquine is being used for treatment and prophylaxis in patients with COVID-19. Hydro...

Oct 14th, 2020 - The COVID-19 pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has become a global crisis. There is no therapeutic treatment specific for COVID-19. It is highly desirable to identify potential antiviral agents against SARS-CoV-2 from existing drugs available for other diseases and thus repurpose them for treatment of COVID-19. In general, a drug repurposing effort ...