In the News

FDA Launches Public Adverse Event Monitoring Dashboard for COVID-19 EUA Products

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has launched an adverse event reporting system dashboard, available to the public, for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) products that have been issued emergency use authorisation (EUA) by the FDA.

The interactive web-based tool will allow for...

Machine Learning Algorithm Uses EHR Data to Calculate Suicide Attempt Risk

Using information found in electronic health records (EHRs), researchers have created a real-time predictive model of suicide attempt risk which can be used to screen in non-psychiatric specialty settings.

“We cannot screen every patient for suicide risk in every encounter -- nor should...

Study Finds Lower Dose of Ketamine Equally Effective in Reducing Pain

Reducing the standard dose of IV-administered ketamine in half is as effective as the larger, standard dose in reducing pain in adults with acute pain, according to a study published in the journal Academic Emergency Medicine.

Ketamine is known to provide pain relief comparable to...

SARS-CoV-2 Variant B.1.1.7 Associated With a Significantly Higher Mortality Rate

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variant of concern 202012/01 (VOC 202012/01), from lineage B.1.1.7, is between 30% and 100% more deadly than previous strains, according to a study published the British Medical Journal.

Leon Danon, MD, University of...

AHA: Central Retinal Artery Occlusion Requires Immediate Treatment, Can Signal Future Vascular Events

A new scientific statement from the American Heart Association, published in the journal Stroke, states that central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) is a medical emergency and systems of care should evolve to prioritise early recognition and triage of CRAO to emergency medical attention...

FDA Issues Emergency Use Authorisation for Third COVID-19 Vaccine

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an emergency use authorisation (EUA) for the third vaccine for the prevention of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

The EUA allows the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine to be...

New Tool Helps Clinicians Assess Persons Under Investigation for COVID-19 More Quickly

A new real-time tool is an efficient and effective clinical decision support system to guide frontline clinicians through the diagnostic evaluation of persons under investigation (PUI) for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and when it’s safe to discontinue precautions.

The COVID Risk...

Novel Computerised Screening Tool Reliably Predicts Youth Suicide Attempt Within 3 Months

The Computerized Adaptive Screen for Suicidal Youth (CASSY) tool, designed to be used in emergency rooms, can reliably predict a youth suicide attempt within 3 months, according to a study published in JAMA Psychiatry.

In an independent validation cohort that included 2,754...

Pregnant Women With COVID-19 Have Higher Mortality Rates Than Similarly Aged Adults

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) hospitalisation and case fatality rates in pregnant patients were significantly higher compared with similarly aged adults in Washington State with COVID-19, according to a study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

...

Study Shows a Dose-Response Association Between Cigarette Pack-Years, Adverse COVID-19 Outcomes

By Denise Baez

Cumulative exposure to cigarette smoke is an independent risk factor for hospital admission and death from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

In a study of 7,102 patients who tested positive for...