Daily curated COVID-19 literature
WP11 - The objective of this work package is to respond to requests concerning the current scientific knowledge on SARS-CoV-2. Based on the latest scientific literature the team will compile findings and give advice when needed
150 publications
2020-04-23
No SARS-CoV-2 detected in amniotic fluid in mid-pregnancy
Expert Summary: The amniotic fluid of 2 pregnant women who were previously diagnosed to be infected with SARS-Cov2 in the 1st trimester were tested for vertical transmission in the mid pregnancy. No signs of vertical SARS-Cov2 transmission were detected.
A call for action for COVID-19 surveillance and research during pregnancy
Expert Summary: Pregnant women are currently not recognised as a population at increased risk; however, they might still be vulnerable. Multiple strategies need to be deployed to study the effect of COVID-19 in pregnancy: sentinel surveillance, seroprevalence surveys, sociobehavioural and psychological research.
Can cell therapies halt cytokine storm in severe COVID-19 patients?
Expert Summary: The article highlights a recent paper, published by Leng, Z. et al in Agin Dis, about a pilot study on mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) transplantation on hospitalized patients infected with COVID-19. MSC therapeutical use could reduce levels of sytemic inflammation and halt the cytokine storm.
2020-04-22
SARS-CoV-2: First Do No Harm
Expert Summary: In this article, authors criticize the rush approach of some clinicians to use experimental therapies that could be dangerous and unjustified and could cause an increase in mortality rates. Authors encourage clinicians to stick to evidence-based therapies and enroll their patients into adaptive clinical trials.
Connecting clusters of COVID-19: an epidemiological and serological investigation
Expert Summary: Three clusters of Covid-19 were identified in Singapore. Serological testing of a primary patient who recovered from the illness at the time of RT-PCR diagnosis in one of the clusters, identified this patient to be past infection. Serological profile identifies convalescent cases or people with milder disease who might have been undetected by other methods.
Development of a reverse transcription-loop-mediated isothermal amplification as a rapid early-detection method for novel SARS-CoV-2
Expert Summary: The article describes a novel assay with a reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) for the specific detection of SARS-CoV-2. The primer sets were designed to target the nucleocapsid gene of the viral RNA. The detection can be performed in 30 minutes and it has colorimetric visualization, which makes it simple to perform, less expensive, time-efficient, and can be used in clinical laboratories for preliminary detection of SARS-CoV-2 in suspected patients.
Antimalarials widely used against COVID-19 heighten risk of cardiac arrest. How can doctors minimize the danger?
Expert Summary: Evidence starts arising that chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine have potentially fatal side effects, causing a type of irregular heart rhythm that can lead to cardiac arrest. More research is needed to evaluate the safety profile of this drug in the context of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
2020-04-21
Endothelial cell infection and endotheliitis in COVID-19
Expert Summary: The authors demonstrate the involvement of endothelial cells across vascular beds of different organs in a series of patients with COVID-19. These findings suggest that SARS-CoV-2 infection facilitates the induction of endotheliitis in several organs.
