Conference Reports

Risk of COVID-19 Infection Not Higher in Patients With Cancer Receiving Immunotherapy

By Eric Ramos

CHICAGO -- November 10, 2020 -- Treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors does not appear to be a risk factor for contracting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), according to a study presented at the Virtual 35th Annual Meeting of the Society of Immunotherapy of Cancer (...

Adding Dantrolene Sodium Suspension to Body Cooling Improves Outcomes in Patients With Exertional Heat Stroke

By Louise Gagnon

OTTAWA, Ontario -- November 3, 2020 -- The adjunctive use of dantrolene sodium suspension to treat exertional heat stroke, in addition to body cooling, improved recovery of loss of consciousness, according to research presented at the 2020 Virtual Meeting of the American...

NSAID Use Not Linked to Increased Risk of Severe COVID-19

By Louise Gagnon

OTTAWA, Ontario -- November 3, 2020 -- Use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) does not appear to significantly increase the risk of critical coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) illness, according to a study presented at the 2020 Virtual Meeting of the...

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome Is Rare But Severe in Paediatric Patients With COVID-19

By Shazia Qureshi

AMSTERDAM, the Netherlands -- November 2, 2020 -- Among paediatric patients diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a rare but clinically severe spectrum and comes with a high mortality rate, according...

MuLBSTA Score Accurately Predicts Mortality, Outcomes in Hospitalised Patients With COVID-19

By Nancy Melville

YORK, Me -- October 21, 2020 -- The MuLBSTA score successfully stratified hospitalised patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia based on severity, and accurately predicted overall outcome, according to a study presented at the 2020 Virtual Meeting of...

Revascularisation Superior to Medical Therapy in Very Elderly Patients With Acute MI, Renal Dysfunction

By Eric Ramos

CHICAGO -- October 20, 2020 -- Revascularisation with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is superior to medical therapy alone in very elderly patients with baseline renal dysfunction presenting with acute myocardial infarction...

Crushed Prasugrel Tablets Before Primary PCI Does Not Improve Outcomes in Patients With STEMI

By Eric Ramos

CHICAGO -- October 19, 2020 -- Prehospital administration of crushed tablets of prasugrel, compared with integral prasugrel tablets, in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing planned primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) did not...

Patients With Upper GI Bleeding on Antithrombotic Drugs Have Less Need for Endoscopic Therapy

By Shazia Qureshi

AMSTERDAM, the Netherlands -- October 15, 2020 -- Patients who present with upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding and who are already taking antithrombotic agents may not need endoscopic therapy, according to a study presented at the 2020 United European Gastroenterology...

High Prevalence of Ischaemic-Like Gastrointestinal Injury in Patients With SARS-CoV-2

By Shazia Qureshi

AMSTERDAM, the Netherlands -- October 15, 2020 -- In a study of patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection who underwent gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy, significant acute mucosal injuries in the GI tract were observed in almost...

Decreasing Midazolam Dose in Patients With Epilepsy Linked to Greater Need for Rescue Therapy

By Louise Gagnon

OTTAWA, Ontario -- October 13, 2020 -- Despite guidelines for elevated midazolam doses to decrease the use of rescue therapy in patients with status epilepticus, patients with the condition are typically administered lower doses of the benzodiazepine in urgent care,...