Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America
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The human and social toll of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has already spurred several major public health "lessons learned," and the theme of effective and responsible scientific communication is among them. We propose that Twitter has played a fundamental-but often precarious-role in permitting real-time global communication between scientists during the COVID-19 epidemic, on a scale not seen before. Here, we discuss 3 key facets to Twitter-enabled scientific exchange during public health emergencies, including some major drawbacks. This discussion also serves as a succinct primer on some of the pivotal epidemiological analyses (and their communication) during the early phases of the COVID-19 outbreak, as seen through the lens of a Twitter feed.
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We aimed to further clarify the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of asymptomatic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections. ⋯ A portion of asymptomatic individuals were capable of transmitting the virus to others. Given the frequency and potential infectiousness of asymptomatic infections, testing of traced contacts is essential. Studies of the impact of treatment of asymptomatic RT-PCR+ individuals on disease progression and transmission should be undertaken.
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This study aimed to develop mortality-prediction models for patients with coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). ⋯ We developed 2 predictive models for the in-hospital mortality of patients with COVID-19 in Wuhan that were validated in patients from another center.
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Although the detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) viral load in respiratory specimens has been widely used to diagnose coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), it is undeniable that serum SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid (RNAemia) could be detected in a fraction of COVID-19 patients. However, it is not clear whether testing for RNAemia is correlated with the occurrence of cytokine storms or with the specific class of patients. ⋯ Detectable serum SARS-CoV-2 RNA (RNAemia) in patients with COVID-19 was associated with elevated IL-6 concentration and poor prognosis. Because elevated IL-6 may be part of a larger cytokine storm that could worsen outcome, IL-6 could be a potential therapeutic target for critically ill patients with an excessive inflammatory response.