Current medical research and opinion
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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has now brought major challenges to public health and the economy globally since December 2019, which requires effective treatment and prevention strategies to adapt to the impact of the pandemic. We, therefore, explored the prognostic factors for patients with COVID-19 and the contribution of immunomodulatory therapy on COVID-19 outcome. ⋯ For in-hospital patients with COVID-19 of all severity levels, a high risk for fatal outcome was observed in those treated with glucocorticoids, immunoglobulin, thymosin, and ammonium glycyrrhizinate. The results of this study do not support immunomodulatory therapy in patients admitted to the hospital with COVID-19. Further prospective studies are essential to clarify our findings, especially for non-critically ill patients.
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Comparative Study
Cost-utility analysis of second-line therapy with rituximab compared to tumour necrosis factor inhibitors in rheumatoid arthritis.
To compare direct costs and treatment utility associated with the second-line therapy with rituximab and tumour necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFis) (adalimumab, etanercept, and infliximab) in patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) using data from a prospective registry. ⋯ Real-world data revealed differences between alternative biologic agents used as the second-line therapy in terms of both treatment costs for the healthcare system and utility of treatment for patients. Therefore, new guidelines on the order of selecting and switching biologic agents should be explored.
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The worsening of renal function after the start of valsartan therapy is relatively common in clinical practice. However, few data are available on the incidence of worsening renal function after the beginning of therapy with sacubitril/valsartan. ⋯ WRF occurs in nearly 30% of HFrEF patients without impacting clinical outcomes; HF specialists should be aware of these changes to avoid unnecessary discontinuation of sacubitril/valsartan therapy.