Research Roundup: Covid; Long Covid; Monkeypox; Antibiotics

CIDRAP: No Antibodies In 1 In 3 Unvaccinated COVID-19 Survivors In Spain At 1 Year
One in three unvaccinated COVID-19 survivors in a Spanish cohort had no detectable SARS-CoV-2 antibodies nearly 1 year after infection, according to a prospective study published today in BMC Medicine. (9/16)

CIDRAP: Efficacy Of Monovalent COVID-19 Booster Began Waning By 3 Or 4 Months
South African researchers report waning monovalent (single-strain) COVID-19 vaccine booster effectiveness against the Omicron subvariants, with estimated efficacy falling to 50% against the BA.1/BA.2 and 47% against BA.4/BA.5 as early as 3 or 4 months after vaccination. (9/15)

CIDRAP: Study: 20% Of COVID-19 Survivors Report Symptoms 2 Years Later 
Two years after hospital release, nearly 20% of COVID-19 survivors in Wuhan, China, reported persistent, new-onset, or worsening symptoms, finds a study published yesterday in JAMA Network Open. (Van Beusekom, 9/16)

CIDRAP: Helmet-Style Oxygenation Didn't Lower Death Rate In Severe COVID-19
Noninvasive ventilation delivered through an oxygen helmet didn't significantly lower 28-day death rates among adult COVID-19 pneumonia patients with respiratory failure beyond that of masks, high-flow nasal cannulas, or other standard methods, but interpretation of the results was limited by an imprecise effect estimate, finds a randomized, controlled trial in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. (9/20)

CIDRAP: High Rates Of Fatigue, Brain Fog 9 Months After Nonsevere COVID-19
About 9 months after COVID-19 infection, 19% of nonhospitalized adult patients in a German cohort had fatigue, 26% had mild cognitive impairment ("brain fog"), and 1% had moderate cognitive dysfunction, according to a multicenter study. The study, published late last week in EClinicalMedicine, also showed that the incidence and risk factors for fatigue and cognitive impairment differed by age-group. (9/19)

CIDRAP: Diabetics' Excess Weight, Not Blood Sugar, Tied To COVID-19, Long COVID
Adults with diabetes and a high body mass index (BMI), not high blood sugar levels, are at greater risks of COVID-19 infection and long COVID, according to a meta-analysis involving more than 30,000 UK adults from nine cohort studies presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Annual Meeting taking place this week in Stockholm, Sweden. "Our early findings support the idea that obesity-related mechanisms may be responsible for the excess risks of COVID-19 associated with diabetes, rather than high blood sugar per se," said Anika Knuppel, PhD, a lead researcher on the study from the University College London, in an EASD news release. (9/19)

Also —

Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal: Monkeypox In Patient Immunized With ACAM2000 Smallpox Vaccine During 2022 Outbreak 
We report a patient in Washington, USA, who contracted monkeypox despite being successfully immunized against smallpox with the ACAM2000 smallpox vaccine 8 years earlier. We pose major questions regarding the efficacy of ACAM2000 vaccine amidst ongoing shortages of the JYNNEOS 2-dose monkeypox vaccine. (Turner et al, November issue)

CIDRAP: Unneeded Broad-Spectrum Antibiotics May Harm Pneumonia Patients
An analysis of data on patients hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) found that extended-spectrum antibiotic therapy was associated with increased mortality compared with standard antibiotic therapy, Japanese researchers reported yesterday in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases. (9/16)

CIDRAP: Trial: Multi-Dose Antibiotic Preventive Not Needed For Breast Reconstruction
A randomized clinical trial conducted in Sweden found that multiple-dose intravenous antibiotic prophylaxis is not superior to a single-dose regimen for preventing postoperative infection following implant-based breast reconstruction and comes with a higher risk of adverse events, researchers reported today in JAMA Network Open. (9/16)