Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Research Roundup: Azithromycin; Covid; Inflammatory Disease; Mpox
CIDRAP: Azithromycin During Labor Doesn't Reduce Sepsis, Mortality In Newborns
A randomized clinical trial in West Africa found that receipt of the antibiotic azithromycin during labor did not reduce the incidence of neonatal sepsis or mortality, researchers reported today in JAMA. The trial, which involved nearly 12,000 pregnant women in The Gambia and Burkina Faso, found that the incidence of neonatal mortality or sepsis was similar whether mothers received an oral dose of azithromycin or placebo, though the intervention did significantly reduce other, noninvasive infections in newborns and their mothers. (Dall, 3/8)
CIDRAP: Even Mildly Ill COVID-19 Patients Report Chest Pain At 6 Months, 1 Year
An unpublished study involving nearly 150,000 COVID-19 survivors who had mild infections in Salt Lake City suggests that many still had chest pain 6 months and 1 year later. The research was presented yesterday at the American College of Cardiology's Scientific Conference in New Orleans. (Van Beusekom, 3/6)
ScienceDaily: First Nasal Monoclonal Antibody Treatment For COVID-19 Shows Promise For Treating Virus, Other Diseases
A pilot trial tested the nasal administration of the drug Foralumab, an anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody. Investigators found evidence that the drug dampened the inflammatory T cell response and decreased lung inflammation in patients with COVID-19. (Brigham and Women's Hospital, 3/8)
CIDRAP: Bacterial Co-Infections Linked To Higher Risk Of Death In US COVID Patients
Although bacterial co-infections were identified infrequently in hospitalized US COVID-19 patients, they were associated with a more than two-fold higher risk of death, US researchers reported yesterday in Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses. (Dall, 3/3)
ScienceDaily: Potential New Therapeutic Target For Inflammatory Diseases Such As Lupus And Sepsis
Scientists have made an important breakthrough in understanding what goes wrong in our bodies during the progression of inflammatory diseases and -- in doing so -- unearthed a potential new therapeutic target. (Trinity College Dublin, 3/8)
CIDRAP: 8.5 Days Elapse Between Successive Mpox Cases, Study Estimates
The average time for symptom onset between successive mpox cases (serial interval) is 8.5 days, and the average time between infection and symptom onset (incubation period) is 5.6 days, estimates a study published yesterday in Emerging Infectious Diseases. (Van Beusekom, 3/3)
