Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
COVID's Long-Term Impact Includes Heart Damage, Lingering Symptoms
Stat: Covid-19 Leaves Its Impact On The Heart, Raising Fears Of Lasting Damage
Two new studies from Germany paint a sobering picture of the toll that Covid-19 takes on the heart, raising the specter of long-term damage after people recover, even if their illness was not severe enough to require hospitalization. One study examined the cardiac MRIs of 100 people who had recovered from Covid-19 and compared them to heart images from 100 people who were similar but not infected with the virus... More than two months later, infected patients were more likely to have troubling cardiac signs than people in the control group: 78 patients showed structural changes to their hearts, 76 had evidence of a biomarker signaling cardiac injury typically found after a heart attack, and 60 had signs of inflammation. (Cooney, 7/27)
CIDRAP: Research Reveals Heart Complications In COVID-19 Patients
Two German studies published today in JAMA Cardiology show abnormal heart imaging findings in recently recovered COVID-19 patients, and cardiac infections in those who have died from their infections. The first, an observational cohort study, involved 100 unselected coronavirus patients identified from the University Hospital Frankfurt COVID-19 Registry from April to June, 57 risk factor-matched patients, and 50 healthy volunteers. (Van Beusekom, 7/27)
CIDRAP: Study Finds COVID-19 Symptoms Linger In 35% Of Outpatients
Interviews of COVID-19 patients with mild illness found that more than a third had symptoms that lasted for 2 to 3 weeks after testing positive, including 1 in 5 previously healthy adults, researchers reported late last week in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). Of 582 patients in 13 states who were contacted by the CDC COVID-19 Response Team, 292 patients responded. The interviews were conducted 14 to 21 days after the first positive test for SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) and included questions about baseline demographics, baseline chronic medical conditions, symptoms present at time of testing, and whether those symptoms had resolved and patients had returned to their usual state of health by the time of the interview. The median age of the 292 respondents was 42.5 years, and 53% reported one or more chronic medical conditions. The median interval from test to interview date was 16 days. (7/27)
CIDRAP: Analysis Of Remdesivir COVID-19 Trials Posts Encouraging Results
In a comparative analysis published late last week in Clinical Infectious Diseases, the antiviral drug remdesivir was linked to significantly greater recovery and a 62% lower death rate by day 14 versus standard treatment in hospitalized adults with severe COVID-19. Researchers used data from 298 participants in an ongoing phase 3 trial of remdesivir at 45 international sites, as well as retrospective data from an ongoing real-world longitudinal study of 816 patients given standard treatment at 16 international sites. (7/27)
CIDRAP: Most COVID-19 Clinical Studies Produce Poor-Quality Evidence, Analysis Finds
Less than one-third of clinical COVID-19 studies yielded evidence strong enough to potentially change clinical practice, an analysis of 1,551 studies published today in JAMA Internal Medicine found.Researchers at Stanford University and Yale School of Medicine searched coronavirus studies registered on ClinicalTrials.gov from Mar 1, 2011 to May 19, 2020. Of the 1,551 studies, only 451 (29.1%) could potentially yield Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (OCEBM) 2011 level 2 results, the highest level of individual study evidence. And only 75 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) (11.3%) were placebo-controlled and blinded and had two or more study centers (60 had more than 100 participants, while 24 had more than 500). (7/27)
The New York Times: The Doctor Behind The Disputed Covid Data
A college degree at 19. A medical school graduate with a Ph.D. at 27. By the time he completed training in vascular surgery in 2014, Dr. Sapan Desai had cast himself as an ambitious physician, an entrepreneur with an M.B.A. and a prolific researcher published in medical journals. Then the novel coronavirus hit and Dr. Desai seized the moment. With a Harvard professor, he produced two studies in May that almost instantly disrupted multiple clinical trials amid the pandemic. (Gabler and Caryn Rabin, 7/27)
