Chest CTs Reveal Abnormalities 2 Years After Severe COVID
Two years after hospitalization for severe COVID-19 illness, more than a third of patients from the pandemic’s early days had lingering pulmonary abnormalities on chest CT scans, according to a prospective study from Wuhan, China. The incidence of persistent interstitial lung abnormalities (ILAs) fell over follow-up after hospital discharge from Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital, dropping from […]
What Is COVID Variant XBB?
The latest strain of coronavirus might be less severe, but it’s more contagious than ever.
Severe Chest Pain in Newly Diagnosed Colorectal Cancer
What was causing ongoing severe acute chest pain in this 65-year-old patient with no cardiovascular risk factors or prior heart problems? That was the conundrum for Stefano Savonitto, MD, and colleagues at Manzoni Hospital in Lecco, Italy, when the patient arrived at their emergency department early one morning. They reported in JAMA Internal Medicine that […]
Flu/COVID Co-Infections Potentially More Severe in Kids, CDC Says
The CDC warned that co-infections with COVID-19 and influenza can potentially cause more severe illness in children, and need to be tracked. Surveillance data from the 2021-2022 influenza season revealed that 6% of flu-related hospitalizations and 16% of flu-related deaths involved children co-infected with COVID-19, Katherine Adams, MPH, of the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues […]
How One Children’s Hospital Is Confronting a ‘Sick Season’ Surge
Children have been presenting in large numbers and with more severe viral illnesses than typically seen, physicians at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) said. The CHOP healthcare system, which includes two hospitals and more than 600 beds, is still grappling with a high volume of pediatric patients with viral infections, including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), […]
Higher Risk of Severe Breakthrough COVID for Certain HIV Patients
People with HIV and moderate or severe immune suppression contended with a higher risk for severe COVID-19 after breakthrough infections, researchers reported. When compared to people without HIV, the risk of severe breakthrough illness on multivariable analysis was 59% higher in HIV patients with CD4 counts below 350 cells/μL (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 1.59, 95% […]
CDC Warns of Severe Monkeypox in People With HIV, the Immunocompromised
Be alert for potentially severe manifestations of monkeypox in patients who are immunocompromised or co-infected with HIV, the CDC told healthcare workers on Thursday. “People who are immunocompromised due to HIV or other conditions are at higher risk for severe manifestations of monkeypox than people who are immunocompetent,” the agency said in a health advisory […]
Low Testosterone Linked to Hospitalization for COVID
Normal testosterone levels in men might be protective against severe COVID-19, a retrospective cohort study suggested. Among 723 men with a mean age of 55, those who had hypogonadism had a higher risk of hospitalization for COVID-19 versus men with eugonadism (OR 2.4, 95% CI 1.4-4.4, P<0.003), reported Sandeep Dhindsa, MD, of St. Louis University […]
COVID-19: New energy for flagging immune cells: Immune cells do not receive sufficient suitable energy carriers in infected individuals, a study reveals
In severe Covid-19 patients, the metabolism produces insufficient amounts of certain energy-rich compounds called ketone bodies. However, these energy carriers are needed by two important cell types in the immune system in order to fight the virus effectively. Perhaps this finding explains why some people fall ill so much more severely than others. A study […]
COVID Vax Protects People of All Body Weights From Severe Outcomes
COVID-19 vaccines protected against severe disease and death in people with overweight or obesity, a large English study found. Compared with the unvaccinated, vaccinated individuals in each BMI group experienced significantly lower likelihood of COVID-related hospitalization starting at 2 weeks from their second dose, reported Carmen Piernas, PhD, of the University of Oxford, and colleagues: […]