COVID-19 Evidence Bulletin 42
UK Guidance
Public Health England
PHE Literature Digest
4th Dec 2020 7th Dec 2020 9th Dec 2020
COVID-19: vaccination programme guidance for healthcare practitioners. Public Health England (PHE); 2020. Guidance for healthcare practitioners about the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination programme. 4 December 2020: Update report: details on page 3.
COVID-19 vaccination: women of childbearing age, currently pregnant, planning a pregnancy or breastfeeding. Information for all women of childbearing age, those currently pregnant, planning a pregnancy or breastfeeding on coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination.
COVID-19 vaccination: guide for older adults Information for eligible adults on COVID-19 vaccination. First published 7 December 2020
COVID-19 vaccination: guide for healthcare workers Information for frontline healthcare workers on COVID-19 vaccination. First published 7 December 2020
COVID-19 vaccination: a guide for social care staff Information for frontline health and social care workers on COVID-19 vaccination. First published.7 December 2020
COVID-19 vaccination: why you are being asked to wait Information about COVID-19 eligibility and vaccine supplies. First published.7 December 2020
COVID-19 vaccination: what to expect after vaccination First published.7 December 2020
COVID-19 vaccination: consent form and letter for healthcare workers Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination consent form and letter templates for healthcare workers. First published.7 December 2020
COVID-19 vaccination programme Documents relating to the new coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination programme. Added information leaflets, consent forms and link to updated COVID-19 vaccination training slide set. Time updated 7 December 2020
COVID-19: the green book, chapter 14a Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination information for public health professionals. Updated: 5 December 2020
COVID-19: vaccinator competency assessment tool Knowledge and skills competence assessment tool. From: Public Health England Updated: 8 December 2020
COVID-19: vaccinator training recommendations Guidance on coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination training to support healthcare workers involved in delivering the programme. From: Public Health England Updated: 8 December 2020
Department of Health and Social Care
Coronavirus Act report: November 2020. The fourth two-monthly report on which powers in the Coronavirus Act 2020 are currently active.
Priority groups for coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination: advice from the JCVI, 2 December 2020 . Advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on the groups that should be prioritised for vaccination. 3 December.
Coronavirus COVID-19 serology and viral detection tests: technical validation reports. Findings from technical validations and in-service valuations reviewed by the Technical Validation Group. Published 7 December.
SAGE
NERVTAG: Certifying COVID-19 immunity, 19 November 2020 Paper prepared by the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG).4th December
NICE
Supporting and developing community end of life care during the COVID-19 pandemic: an example of collaborative working. NICE Shared Learning Database; 2020. Shared learning from Kent Community NHS Foundation Trust. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, as community providers of end of life care services, we anticipated considerable challenges in the delivery of effective care to patients receiving end of life care in their own homes. The work outlined in this summary describes how we used NICE rapid Covid-19 guideline NG163 to support provision of end of life care in the community.
BMJ Best Practice
Guidelines recommend measures to manage acute and chronic conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic: updated. Further guidelines have been published to inform the management of patients with coexisting conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic. New this update: Chronic obstructive lung disease (updated), Diabetes (type 1) (updated), Haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (updated), Substance use disorders (updated). 8 December.
NHS England & NHS Improvement
Standard operating procedure: Management of COVID-19 vaccination clinical incidents and enquiries Published on: 9 December 2020 Last modified on: 9 December 2020
The Supply Inventory List (SIL) and COVID-19 Vaccination Channel (CVC) Updates Published on: 9 December 2020 Last modified on: 9 December 2020
Appendix 1 – Supply Inventory List (SIL) Published on: 1 December 2020 Last modified on: 9 December 2020
Appendix 1a – Supply item list Published on: 1 December 2020 Last modified on: 9 December 2020
Supporting allied health professionals and allied health professional support workers during the COVID-19 epidemic in the UK Published on: 19 March 2020 Last modified on: 9 December 2020
Standard operating procedure: Children and young people with palliative and end-of-life care needs who are cared for in a community setting (home and hospice) during the COVID-19 pandemic Published on: 25 June 2020 Last modified on: 8 December 2020
Asymptomatic staff testing for COVID-19 Published on: 16 November 2020 Last modified on: 7 December 2020
Guidance and updates: Highest clinical risk patients Published on: 22 March 2020 Last modified on: 7 December 2020
Advice to Trusts on maintaining cancer treatment during the COVID-19 response Published on: 30 March 2020 Last modified on: 7 December 2020
Standard operating procedure: Ordering inventory for COVID-19 vaccinations in NHS hospital hubs Published on: 6 December 2020 Last modified on: 7 December 2020
Standard operating procedure: COVID-19 vaccine deployment programme hospital hub: care home staff Published on: 7 December 2020 Last modified on: 7 December 2020
Legal mechanisms for administration of the COVID-19 Vaccine(s) Published on: 5 December 2020 Last modified on: 5 December 2020
Enhanced Service Specification: COVID-19 vaccination programme 2020/21 Published on: 1 December 2020 Last modified on: 4 December 2020
COVID-19 vaccination: Governance, handling and preparation of vaccines in Hospital Hubs and Vaccination Centres Published on: 4 December 2020 Last modified on: 4 December 2020
COVID-19 patient transport services: requirements and funding Published on: 28 March 2020 Last modified on: 4 December 2020
NHS Confederation
Watch, Read, Participate: supporting the LGBTQ+ population through COVID-19 and beyond LGBTQ Network 08 / 12 / 2020 8.29am A consultation on recommendations for recovery of the LGBTQ+ population and workforce from Covid-19
Health on the High Street 03 / 12 / 2020 8.56am Read our new report outlining how integrating health services into local high streets can generate economic, social and health benefits for local communities.
Getting it Right First Time
GIRFT best practice library. The Best Practice Library brings together, in one place, the knowledge of best practice gained through our GIRFT deep-dive visits to hospitals and clinically-led national reports. The Best Practice Library will cover 40 specialties and cross-cutting themes, and will signpost healthcare providers and healthcare professionals to established best practice, support for implementation and an evidence base to support the case for change. Includes documents to support services in the COVID-19 era.
Covid Symptom Study
There’s more to COVID-19 than the three ‘classic’ symptoms. Here’s what else to look out for 7th December
International Guidance
WHO
A prospective cohort study investigating maternal, pregnancy and neonatal outcomes for women and neonates infected with SARS-CoV-2 Generic protocol 2 December 2020 | Meeting report
Health workforce policy and management in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic response 3 December 2020 | COVID-19: Essential health services
Corrigenda – Maintaining surveillance of influenza and monitoring SARS-CoV-2 3 December 2020 | COVID-19: Surveilllance, case investigation and epidemiological protocols
European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention
Rapid Risk Assessment: Risk of COVID-19 transmission related to the end-of-year festive season Risk assessment 4 Dec 2020
Pharmacy
FDA Briefing Document Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee Meeting December 10, 2020
Specialist Pharmacy Service
8th December 2020 Facilitating Pharmaceutical support to PCN Designated Sites for COVID-19 vaccinations Receiving and storing the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine at PCN designated sites Preparing the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine at PCN designated sites Disposing of damaged, unused or expired Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at PCN designated sites Stocktaking and reconciliation of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine at PCN designated sites Ordering Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine by PCN Designated Sites Example policy for Maintaining the Vaccine Cold Chain in Primary Care Dealing with spillages and breakages of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at PCN Designated Sites Critical control points in the pathway for handling Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine
7th December 2020 Summary of COVID-19 medicines guidance: Allergy and immunology Summary of COVID-19 medicines guidance: Stroke Summary of COVID-19 medicines guidance: Cardiovascular system disorders Summary of COVID-19 medicines guidance: Mental health and illness
4th December 2020 Pharmacy Institutional Readiness for Management of Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine - Guidance for Chief Pharmacists Summary of COVID-19 medicines guidance: Policy, Commissioning and Managerial
Evidence Based Summaries
Centre for Evidence Based Medicine
PROTOCOL Rapid reviews of evidence for WHO scientific briefs on COVID-19 and selected Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) 8th December
The Cochrane Library
3 December 2020 Special Collection Coronavirus (COVID-19): remote care through telehealth updated to include new Cochrane Clinical Answer:
What are the effects of telephone interventions for providing education and support to informal caregivers of ill adults?
Special collection Coronavirus (COVID-19): support for wellbeing in the healthcare workforce updated with links to translation into Simplified Chinese and Polish.
Royal Colleges / Associations: Latest & Updated Guidance
Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland (AAGBI).Royal College of Anaesthetists/Intensive Care Society/Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine
Advice for the use of atracurium in anaesthesia and intensive care The second surge in cases of COVID-19 has created increased demand for the non-depolarising neuromuscular blocking drug atracurium, and this drug is now subject to a supply disruption alert.
BMA
COVID-19: doctors isolating and those in vulnerable groups updated 7th December Read our frequently asked questions for doctors who are isolating, have underlying health conditions or live with someone who is in a high risk group.
COVID-19: medical students requested to work in the NHS updated 3rd December Guidance for medical students on medical schools and trusts/boards offering the opportunity to take on contracts of employment in the NHS due to COVID-19.
Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine/Intensive Care Society
Clarification on the use of Tociluzimab for critically ill patients with COVID-19 2nd December A joint statement from the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine and the Intensive Care Society.
Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
COVID-19 - guidance for paediatric services Updated 2nd December
Society and College of Radiographers (SCoR)
Guidelines for Professional Ultrasound Practice: update. Published 4th December The Society and College of Radiographers (SCoR) have worked with the British Medical Ultrasound Society (BMUS) to update the SCoR and BMUS 'Guidelines for Professional Ultrasound Practice'. Originally we had planned to undertake a major revision of the document, but the pandemic impacted on the time all our volunteers could input into authoring sections. We hope to start this work in the early new year and welcome any feedback you might have.
Reports
All hands on deck: public-private partnerships during Covid-19. Reform; 2020. This report examines how the government has worked with the private sector to respond to Covid-19. It suggests that there are lessons from the pandemic that, if acted on, would allow the government to more effectively leverage the private sector to respond to future crises.
Driving the UK's leadership in vaccine research and innovation. Reform; 2020. This series of articles brings together experts from the government, the scientific research community, and the life sciences sector to discuss the future of vaccination and how the UK can retain its leading position in vaccine research.
Improving flow along care pathways: Learning from the Flow Coaching Academy programme. The Health Foundation; 2020. The Health Foundation has been supporting efforts to improve the flow of patients along care pathways for more than 10 years. This has culminated in a UK-wide programme, the Flow Coaching Academy (FCA), led by the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. This learning report is based on the formative FCA evaluation completed in 2019 by RAND Europe and interviews with FCA programme leads during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Review of Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic - Interim report November 2020. Care Quality Commission (CQC); 2020. The CQC was commissioned by the Department for Health and Social Care to conduct a special review of Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) decisions taken during the COVID-19 pandemic. This interim report sets out the progress of the review so far and the CQC's expectations around DNACPR.
Monitoring the Mental Health Act in 2019/20: the Mental Health Act in the Covid-19 pandemic. Care Quality Commission (CQC); 2020. Monitoring the Mental Health Act is the CQC's annual report on the use of the Mental Health Act (MHA). It looks at how providers are caring for patients, and whether patients' rights are being protected. This year's annual report puts a specific focus on the impact that the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic has had on patients detained under the MHA, and on the services that care for and treat them.
Vertical Integration of GP Practices with Acute Hospitals in England and Wales: Rapid Evaluation. RAND Europe; 2020. This report, commissioned by the National Institute for Health Research and undertaken together with the Health Services Management Centre at the University of Birmingham and the Health Services Research Group at the University of Cambridge, evaluates what has led to this kind of vertical integration in England and Wales, how it has been implemented, and with what consequences.
Digital health and Covid-19: a PRSB consultation. Professional Records Standards Body For Health And Social Care; 2020. This report examines the digital transformation of health and care services during the pandemic and recommends how the system can use the lessons from Covid-19 to advance digital change, while maintaining safety and prioritising citizens' needs. The report is based on consultation with more than 100 PRSB members and partners including the Royal Colleges, social care system leaders, health care providers, patient groups, regulators and others.
Selected Papers:
BAME
Racial and Ethnic Disparities in COVID-19–Related Infections, Hospitalizations, and Deaths: A Systematic Review. Mackey K. Annals of Internal Medicine 2020;:doi.org/10.7326/M20-6306. African American/Black and Hispanic populations experience disproportionately higher rates of SARS-CoV- 2 infection and COVID-19–related mortality but similar rates of case fatality. Differences in health care access and exposure risk may be driving higher infection and mortality rates.
Critical Care
Ventilation management and clinical outcomes in invasively ventilated patients with COVID-19 (PRoVENT-COVID): a national, multicentre, observational cohort study. Botta M. The Lancet Respiratory Medicine 2020;:https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30459-8. The findings of this national study provide a basis for new hypotheses and sample size calculations for future trials of invasive ventilation for COVID-19. These data could also help in the interpretation of findings from other studies of ventilation practice and outcomes in invasively ventilated patients with COVID-19.
Metabolomics of exhaled breath in critically ill COVID-19 patients: A pilot study Stanislas Grassin-Delyle, Camille Roquencourt, Pierre Moine, Gabriel Saffroy, Stanislas Carn, Nicholas Heming, and others EBioMedicine, Vol. 63 Published: December 4, 2020
Selectively caring for the most severe COVID-19 patients delays ICU bed shortages more than increasing hospital capacity Roberts, M. D., Seymour, H. D., Dimitrov, A. MedRxiv — Posted: 2020-12-07 This article is a preprint and has not been certified by peer review. It reports new medical research that has yet to be evaluated and so should not be used to guide clinical practice.
Assembly Line ICU: what the Long Shops taught us about managing surge capacity for COVID-19. Oakley C. BMJ Open Quality 2020;9(4):DOI: 10.1136/bmjoq-2020-001117. Conclusions: We report how the challenge of managing a huge influx of patients and redeployed staff was met by deconstructing ICU care into its constituent parts. Although reported from the largest colocated ICU in the UK, we believe that this offers solutions to ICUs of all sizes and may provide a generalisable model for critical care pandemic surge planning.
Diagnosis
What is the probability that this patient, who presents to a UK hospital, will be diagnosed with Covid-19? Prospective validation of the open-source CovidCalculatorUK resource. Chapman, G. A., Mundell, L., Harrison, C. H., Cargill, T., Keating, O., Johnson, M., Smith, A. MedRxiv Posted: 2020-12-08 This article is a preprint and has not been certified by peer review. It reports new medical research that has yet to be evaluated and so should not be used to guide clinical practice.
Education
Role of immersive technologies in healthcare education during the COVID-19 epidemic. Pears M. Scottish Medical Journal 2020;:doi.org/10.1177/0036933020956317. With introduction of measures to control the pandemic, trainees will see a dramatic decline in their in- person exposure to all aspects of their education, with no clear endpoint. This presents an extreme challenge for educators and, given the rapidly evolving situation, there have not yet been training authorities recommendations. We propose several innovative solutions to deliver medical education while maintaining the safety of residents and educators.
General
Audio Interview: Caring for Hospitalized Patients with Covid-19 Rubin E. New England Journal of Medicine 2020;:DOI: 10.1056/NEJMe2034472. In this audio interview conducted on December 2, 2020, the editors discuss the WHO’s Solidarity study and the changing recommendations for the care of hospitalized patients.
Hospital-Acquired SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Lessons for Public Health. Richterman A. JAMA 2020;324(21):2155-2156. Viewpoint reviews the rare incidence of nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infection and discusses ways it can be minimised, including use of surgical masks, proper ventilation, physical distancing, eye protection, regular testing, and the availability of sick leave for health care workers.
Residential context and COVID-19 mortality among adults aged 70 years and older in Stockholm: a population-based, observational study using individual-level data. Branden M. The Lancet Healthy Longevity 2020;1(2):e80-e88. Close exposure to working-age household members and neighbours is associated with increased COVID- 19 mortality among older adults. Similarly, living in a care home is associated with increased mortality, potentially through exposure to visitors and care workers, but also due to poor underlying health among care-home residents. These factors should be considered when developing strategies to protect this group.
Evaluating the effect of demographic factors, socioeconomic factors, and risk aversion on mobility during the COVID-19 epidemic in France under lockdown: a population-based study. Pullano G. The Lancet Digital Health 2020;:https://doi.org/10.1016/S2589-7500(20)30243-0. We aimed to use mobile phone data to study how mobility in France changed before and during lockdown, breaking down our findings by trip distance, user age and residency, and time of day, and analysing regional data and spatial heterogeneities. The unveiled links between geography, demography, and timing of the response to mobility restrictions might help to design interventions that minimise invasiveness while contributing to the current epidemic response.
Caring for people who care: supporting health workers during the COVID 19 pandemic
EClinicalMedicine, Vol. 28 Published: November, 2020
Detecting COVID-19 infection hotspots in England using large-scale self-reported data from a mobile application: a prospective, observational study Thomas Varsavsky, Mark S Graham, Liane S Canas, Sajaysurya Ganesh, Joan Capdevila Pujol, Carole H Sudre, and others The Lancet Public Health Published: December 3, 2020
Does higher BMI increase COVID-19 severity?: a systematic review and meta-analysis Chowdhury, A. I., Rabbi, M. F., Rahman, T., Reza, S., Alam, M. R. MedRxiv — Posted: 2020-12-07 This article is a preprint and has not been certified by peer review. It reports new medical research that has yet to be evaluated and so should not be used to guide clinical practice.
Prevalence and predictors of death and severe disease in patients hospitalized due to COVID-19: A comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis of 77 studies and 38,000 patients Kunchok Dorjee PLOS One 7th December
Long Covid
Characterising long-term covid-19: a rapid living systematic review Michelen, M., Manoharan, L., Elkheir, N., Cheng, V., Dagens, D., Hastie, C., O'Hara, M., Suett, J., Burls, A., Foote, C., Carson, G., Olliaro, P. L., Sigfrid, L., Stavropoulou, C. MedRxiv Posted: 2020-12-09 This article is a preprint and has not been certified by peer review. It reports new medical research that has yet to be evaluated and so should not be used to guide clinical practice.
Mental Health
Pre-pandemic psychiatric disorders and risk of COVID-19: a UK Biobank cohort analysis. Yang H. The Lancet Healthy Longevity 2020;1(2):e69-e79. Psychiatric morbidities have been associated with a risk of severe infections through compromised immunity, health behaviours, or both. However, data are scarce on the association between multiple types of pre-pandemic psychiatric disorders and COVID-19. We aimed to assess the association between pre- pandemic psychiatric disorders and the subsequent risk of COVID-19 using UK Biobank.
The mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people with and without depressive, anxiety, or obsessive-compulsive disorders: a longitudinal study of three Dutch case-control cohorts Kuan-Yu Pan, Almar A L Kok, Merijn Eikelenboom, Melany Horsfall, Frederike Jörg, Rob A Luteijn, and others The Lancet Psychiatry Published: December 8, 2020
Trajectories of anxiety and depressive symptoms during enforced isolation due to COVID-19 in England: a longitudinal observational study Daisy Fancourt, Andrew Steptoe, Feifei Bu The Lancet Psychiatry Published: December 9, 2020
Oncology
The effect of clinical decision making for initiation of systemic anticancer treatments in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in England: a retrospective analysis. Clark JJ. The Lancet Oncology 2020;:https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(20)30619-7. After the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a reduction in systemic anticancer treatment initiation in England. However, following introduction of treatment options to reduce patient risk, registrations began to increase in May, 2020, and reached higher numbers than the pre-pandemic mean in June, 2020, when other clinical and societal risk mitigation factors (such as telephone consultations, facemasks and physical distancing) are likely to have contributed.
Paediatrics
A meta-analysis on the role of children in SARS-CoV-2 in household transmission clusters Yanshan Zhu, Clinical Infectious Diseases, Published:06 December 2020
Testing
Clinical impact of molecular point-of-care testing for suspected COVID-19 in hospital (COV-19POC): a prospective, interventional, non-randomised, controlled study. Brendish NJ. The Lancet Respiratory Medicine 2020;:https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30454-9. Point-of-care testing is associated with large reductions in time to results and could lead to improvements in infection control measures and patient flow compared with centralised laboratory PCR testing.
Real-life validation of the Panbio™ COVID-19 antigen rapid test (Abbott) in community-dwelling subjects with symptoms of potential SARS-CoV-2 infection Hendrik Gremmels, Beatrice M.F. Winkel, Rob Schuurman, Andert Rosingh, Nicolette A.M. Rigter, Olga Rodriguez, and others EClinicalMedicine Published: December 5, 2020
Transplants
Successful double-lung transplantation from a donor previously infected with SARS-CoV-2. Ceulemans LJ. The Lancet Respiratory Medicine 2020;:https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30524-5. We describe a successful double-lung transplantation from a donor who recovered from SARS-CoV-2 infection with screening of different specimens for SARS-CoV-2 during procurement and transplantation
Transmission
SARS-CoV-2 infection and transmission in educational settings: a prospective, cross-sectional analysis of infection clusters and outbreaks in England Sharif A Ismail, Vanessa Saliba, Jamie Lopez Bernal, Mary E Ramsay, Shamez N Ladhani The Lancet Infectious Diseases Published: December 8, 2020
Development and dissemination of infectious disease dynamic transmission models during the COVID-19 pandemic: what can we learn from other pathogens and how can we move forward? Alexander D Becker, Kyra H Grantz, Sonia T Hegde, Sophie Bérubé, Derek A T Cummings, Amy Wesolowski The Lancet Digital Health Published: December 7, 2020
Towards an accurate and systematic characterisation of persistently asymptomatic infection with SARS-CoV-2 Eric A Meyerowitz, Aaron Richterman, Isaac I Bogoch, Nicola Low, Muge Cevik The Lancet Infectious Diseases Published: December 7, 2020
Effect of internationally imported cases on internal spread of COVID-19: a mathematical modelling study Timothy W Russell•Joseph T Wu•Sam Clifford•W John Edmunds•Adam J Kucharski•Mark Jit on behalf of the Centre for the Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases COVID-19 working group The Lancet Public Health Published: December 7, 2020
Treatment
Repurposed Antiviral Drugs for Covid-19 — Interim WHO Solidarity Trial Results WHO Solidarity Trial Consortium. New England Journal of Medicine 2020;:DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2023184. At 405 hospitals in 30 countries, 11,330 adults underwent randomization to one of 5 drug regimens or control. The interim results of the trial found that no drug definitely reduced mortality, overall or in any subgroup, or reduced initiation of ventilation or hospitalization duration. These remdesivir, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir, and interferon regimens had little or no effect on hospitalized patients with Covid-19.
Metformin and risk of mortality in patients hospitalised with COVID-19: a retrospective cohort analysis. Bramante CT. The Lancet Healthy Longevity 2020;:https://doi.org/10.1016/S2666-7568(20)30033-7. Metformin was significantly associated with reduced mortality in women with obesity or type 2 diabetes who were admitted to hospital for COVID-19. Prospective studies are needed to understand mechanism and causality. If findings are reproducible, metformin could be widely distributed for prevention of COVID-19 mortality, because it is safe and inexpensive.
Repurposed Antiviral Drugs for Covid-19 — Interim WHO Solidarity Trial Results WHO Solidarity Trial Consortium New England Journal of Medicine 2nd December
Credible learning of hydroxychloroquine and dexamethasone effects on COVID-19 mortality outside of randomized trials Hazlett, C., Wulf, D. A., Pasaniuc, B., Arah, O., Erlandson, K. M., Montague, B. T. MedRxiv — Posted: 2020-12-08 This article is a preprint and has not been certified by peer review. It reports new medical research that has yet to be evaluated and so should not be used to guide clinical practice.
Hydroxychloroquine as Postexposure Prophylaxis to Prevent Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection Ruanne V. Barnabas, et al Annals of Internal Medicine 8th December
Triage
Deep learning-based triage and analysis of lesion burden for COVID-19: a retrospective study with external validation. Wang M. The Lancet Digital Health 2020;:https://doi.org/10.1016/S2589-7500(20)30199-0. A deep learning algorithm for triaging patients with suspected COVID-19 at fever clinics was developed and externally validated. Given its high accuracy across populations with varied COVID-19 prevalence, integration of this system into the standard clinical workflow could expedite identification of chest CT scans with imaging indications of COVID-19.
Vaccinations
Safety and efficacy of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine (AZD1222) against SARS-CoV-2: an interim analysis of four randomised controlled trials in Brazil, South Africa, and the UK Voysey, M et al The Lancet, 8th December Phase 3 interim results of Oxford vaccine
Racing to immunity: Journey to a COVID‐19 vaccine and lessons for the future. Calvo Fernández E. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 2020;:doi: 10.1111/bcp.14686. This review compiles a list of all COVID‐19 vaccines undergoing pre‐clinical and clinical testing. The most advanced vaccines are discussed in more detail, with a focus on their technology, advantages and disadvantages, as well as any available recent clinical findings. It aims to facilitate a more thorough understanding of the extensive COVID‐19 clinical testing vaccine landscape as it unfolds.
EvidenceAid (Systematic Reviews)
The COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic is leading to a rapidly expanding and evolving literature. This evidence collection contains plain-language summaries of high-quality research which are available in English, and translated into French, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and Chinese (simplified and traditional).
The collection includes summaries of systematic reviews that might be relevant to the direct impact of COVID-19 (including reviews of emerging research, as well as existing reviews of relevant interventions) on health and other outcomes, the impact of the COVID-19 response on other conditions, and issues to consider for the recovery period after COVID-19
Thoracic imaging for diagnosing COVID‐19 (search done on 22 June 2020) Added December 4, 2020
Cancer and COVID-19 (multiple reviews) Added December 3, 2020
Online
Build back fairer: Inequalities and COVID-19 in England The Health Foundation / Institute of Health Equity Webinar | Date: Tuesday 15 December 2020, 09.00 - 10.30 Venue: Online via Zoom Webinar
Learning from others
Academy of Fab stuff: https://fabnhsstuff.net/campaigns/cv-19
If you require an evidence search on a particular aspect of Covid-19 or with regards to a particular patient group please get in touch:
Colchester Hospital Library [email protected] Tel: 01206 742146
Ipswich Hospital Library [email protected] Tel: 01473 702544
Published: 10th December 2020