Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Even Mild Covid Can Cause Lasting Damage To Airways: Study
CIDRAP: COVID Of Any Severity May Lead To Long-Term Small Airways Disease
COVID may lead to lasting disease of the small airways, regardless of infection severity, according to a single-center study published yesterday in Radiology. Based on observations that many COVID-19 survivors later showed signs of chronic lung disease, University of Iowa researchers led the study of 100 adults who still had COVID-19 symptoms more than 30 days after diagnosis, or post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC). Participants, who were prospectively enrolled from June to December 2020, were compared with 106 matched healthy controls enrolled from March to August 2018. (3/16)
Healthline: How Long COVID May Bring On Lung, Heart, And Brain Complications
In a study published March 15 in the journal Radiology, researchers used CT imaging to examine the lungs of 100 adults who had COVID-19 and continued to have symptoms for at least 30 days after their diagnosis Researchers compared the CT findings of these participants with those from a group of 106 healthy participants. Participants who had COVID-19 — even if not hospitalized for it — were more likely to have signs of damage in the small airways of the lungs compared with healthy participants. (Radcliffe, 3/16)
In other covid research —
MassDevice: Roche Says Its Research-Only COVID-19 Tests Can Detect A Range Of Variants, Subvariants
Roche announced today that its TIB Molbiol subsidiary has made available testing solutions that can identify a number of COVID-19 variants. Basel, Switzerland-based Roche’s testing offerings can identify the SARS-CoV-2 (the virus causing COVID-19) B.1.1.529 variant and differentiate between the omicron subvariants BA.1, BA.1.1, BA.2, BA.2.2, BA.3 and delta, according to a news release. (Whooley, 3/16)
CIDRAP: Twice As Many Black COVID Patients Deemed Lowest Priority In ICU Triage System
A crisis-standards-of-care (CSOC) scoring system used to triage COVID-19 intensive care unit (ICU) patients assigned twice the proportion of Black patients as other patients to the lowest-priority group, finds a modeling study published yesterday in JAMA Network Open. During the pandemic, health systems developed CSOC scoring systems to prioritize the allocation of scarce resources such as ventilators. While the Massachusetts Department of Health published and then revised guidelines for COVID-related resource rationing, and Beth Israel preemptively scored patients to prepare for shortages, resources remained adequate, and allocation didn't occur. This study is an analysis of that data. (Van Beusekom, 3/16)
AP: Diabetes & COVID-19: Scientists Explore Potential Connection
When their 11-year-old son started losing weight and drinking lots of water, Tabitha and Bryan Balcitis chalked it up to a growth spurt and advice from his health class. But unusual crankiness and lethargy raised their concern, and tests showed his blood sugar levels were off the charts. Just six months after a mild case of COVID-19, the Crown Point, Indiana, boy was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. His parents were floored — it didn’t run in the family, but autoimmune illness did and doctors said that could be a factor. (Tanner, 3/16)
Inside Higher Ed: Report: U of Florida Did Not Suppress COVID-19 Research
Reports that the University of Florida or state officials destroyed or suppressed COVID-19 research data are baseless, says a faculty panel assembled to investigate. The anonymous allegations first came to light in a December ad hoc faculty report detailing broader faculty concerns about the climate for academic freedom at the university, and UF promptly asked three distinguished professors to investigate. (Flaherty, 3/17)
