Abraham Kim[email protected]Coronary Artery DiseaseStudy identifies risk factors for death from coronavirusIn the observational study, Dr. Bin Cao of Capital Medical University and colleagues from China examined the data of 191 patients with confirmed COVID-19 at two different hospitals. The median age of the patients was 56 and nearly 30% died in the hospitals. They also had various comorbidities, the most common being hypertension (30% of patients), diabetes (19%), and coronary artery disease (8%).March 10, 2020PCRCT again tops DNA tests for early coronavirus detectionNucleic acid testing with reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is considered the standard technique for diagnosing COVID-19. However, the long processing time and shaky outcomes of initial RT-PCR tests have made evident the need for a more efficient alternative for early diagnosis of the disease.February 27, 2020PCRCT imaging outperforms DNA testing for early diagnosis of COVID-19The standard technique to confirm COVID-19 is nucleic acid testing with reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Yet preliminary reports showed that initial DNA testing has occasionally failed to identify COVID-19 in individuals whose CT scans indicated otherwise, prompting Chinese officials to add CT to confirm the clinical diagnosis of the disease.February 19, 2020PCRCT imaging supplements lab tests for diagnosing coronavirus diseaseThe group, led by Xingzhi Xie from Central South University in Hunan Province, examined the data of 167 patients suspected of having COVID-19 who underwent a CT exam and DNA testing for the virus, which is known as SARS-CoV-2 or 2019-nCoV. Two thoracic radiologists independently reviewed the CT scans and identified typical imaging findings such as ground-glass opacities, lung consolidation, or both for all of the cases. Clinicians additionally performed DNA analysis of the patients' mouth swab samples using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).February 12, 2020PCRCoronavirus toll surges after sanction of CT diagnosisAt the start of the coronavirus outbreak, the standard method used to confirm a diagnosis of COVID-19 in individuals was nucleic acid testing with reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). This lab-based confirmation method, however, requires a relatively lengthy processing time that was proving to be less than ideal for managing the coronavirus epidemic.February 12, 2020PneumoniaExperts reemphasize value of imaging in EVALI diagnosisThe U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has amassed 2,506 EVALI reports, including 54 deaths, as of December 2019. The vaping epidemic has primarily affected younger individuals living in the U.S. -- the median age for all reported cases is 24 and nearly 80% of the patients are younger than 35. Reports of EVALI have yet to emerge in Europe.January 27, 2020Trends and FinanceSurvey: Doctors would take pay cut to reduce burnoutFor the report, Medscape collected responses from 15,181 physicians from 29 different specialties who practiced in the U.S. Factors that contributed to and mechanisms for coping with burnout were as follows:January 15, 2020Trends and FinanceSurvey: Doctors would take pay cut to reduce burnoutFor the report, Medscape collected responses from 15,181 physicians from 29 different specialties who practiced in the U.S. Factors that contributed to and mechanisms for coping with burnout were as follows:January 15, 2020Pathology, histologyVaping-related lung injury cases trending downwardResearchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention used a national surveillance program to determine the prevalence of EVALI reports from January 1, 2017 to December 7, 2019 among approximately 70% of all emergency departments in the U.S.December 19, 2019Brain DiseaseMRI, blood test uncover signs of mild TBI in athletesFor the pilot study, researchers from the U.S., Israel, and Ireland explored the effect that rugby and mixed martial arts had on the blood-brain barrier of the athletes, as well as the implications of damage to the barrier regarding future neurological diseases (J Neurotrauma, September 5, 2019).September 29, 2019Page 1 of 2Next PageTop StoriesBusiness InsightsFDA clears BD’s new fingerstick blood collection deviceBD (Beckton, Dickinson and Company) received 510(k) clearances from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its new sample collection device system that pulls blood from a fingerstick to enable common blood tests without need for a phlebotomist.KickbackTexas lab owner pleads guilty in $1.7M Medicare fraudHepatitisCDC awards contract to Quest Diagnostics to assess hepatitis C burdenHeart DiseaseHigh-sensitivity assay improves diagnosis for patients with heart muscle injury in U.K. studyBiosensorsSelf-assembling, multicellular biobots repair damaged tissue in injury model
