Viruswatch - Evidence-Based COVID Medicine and Nursing
15 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 4 years ago -Your source for short and sweet doses of defense against the dark arts of coronavirus. Viruswatch is brought to you by the BC Pandemic Network, a multidisciplinary collaboration dedicated to sifting through the COVID-19 literature.
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Episodes
14. Health Care Worker Infections
June 10, 2020 04:07 - 13 minutes - 15.7 MBToday we’re addressing a question that’s been at the forefront of many of our minds as we’ve been caring for COVID patients: we’re talking all about healthcare worker infections. Despite an extensive review of the literature, there are still many unanswered questions; but here is what we know so far. By the numbers What percentage of total cases are in HCW? The reported figures are highly variable, ranging from 2.5% (reported in California)1 to 20% (reported from Spain)2 Close to ...
13. Super Spreaders
June 01, 2020 13:00 - 15 minutes - 17.7 MBThey may sound like superheroes, but they’re more like the villains of these COVIDian times. We’re talking all about superspreaders today! What is a superspreader? Definition: an unusually contagious organism infected with a disease These are not new! Remember Typhoid Mary?1 Also described in recent pandemics and in other diseases: TB, measles, SARS, MERS, Ebola There is no numerical cutoff for what constitutes a superspreading event (SSE) Large enough to be considered epidem...
12. Remdesivir Returns: The ACTT-1 Trial
May 27, 2020 04:08 - 11 minutes - 13.4 MBThey teased us with a press release weeks ago, and Faucci has been promoting it ever since – and now, we finally have the data from the ACTT-1 trial on remdesivir. Here we take a closer look to see if this really is the “very promising result” it was sold as. Reminder: background on remdesivir Antiviral with in-vitro promise Recent trial from Wang et al1 was negative for a difference in time to clinical improvement Trial was underpowered as it was stopped early due to slow recrui...
11. POCUS for COVID
May 22, 2020 13:55 - 10 minutes - 10.2 MBToday we’re focused on POCUS! Here’s what you need to know about point-of-care ultrasound in COVID-19. Potential advantages to POCUS in COVID Lack of ionizing radiation Superiority to CXR for common diagnoses1 PPE conservation: performed by treating physician2 Potential to reduce transmission by minimizing transport and healthcare worker contacts3 Replace the use of the stethoscope?2 Safety and Infection Control Development of infection-control procedures (IPC) before ...
10. COVID-associated Kawasaki Disease
May 19, 2020 10:30 - 13 minutes - 13.7 MBWe’re talking about the little adults today! In particular, we’re diving into the reported Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome/Kawasaki Disease that has been reported in association with COVID-19 in kids. COVID in Peds: what we know Epidemiology Infection rates are generally low: children seem to account for 1-5% of confirmed cases1 Only about 1% of cases in Canada seem to be in those < 19 years2 (though testing was previously not available to those with mild illness) Seems to b...
9. Pregnancy and Breastfeeding
May 19, 2020 10:30 - 7 minutes - 7.99 MBToday we’re talking about something that has been on the mind of many mothers and mothers-to-be: the impact of COVID-19 on pregnancy and breastfeeding. COVID-19 and pregnancy The national obstetrical and gynecologic societies of Canada, the USA, and UK have all issued guidance on COVID-19 and pregnancy1-3 There is no strong evidence that pregnant women are at increased risk of contracting COVID-19 compared to the general population4 Symptoms in pregnant patients are typically simi...
8. Lopinavir/Ritonavir
May 15, 2020 20:37 - 10 minutes - 12.7 MBLike Voldemort at the end of The Goblet of Fire, lopinavir/ritonavir seems to have come back from the dead…maybe? The background SARS Open-label study showed improved clinical outcomes (combo of ARDS or death) with ribavirin plus lopinavir/ritonavir compared to ribavirin alone1 MERS Case reports suggest that triple-therapy with ribavirin, lopinavir/ritonavir, and interferon led to improved survival and viral clearance2 There is an ongoing clinical trial of combination therapy...
7. Hypercoagulability
May 15, 2020 20:30 - 8 minutes - 11 MBToday we’re exploring a COVID-complication that has caught a lot of attention on social media: hypercoagulability. Clinical features Part of the syndrome of immune hyperactivity seen in severe SARS-CoV-2 infection is activation of complement pathways involved in coagulation Termed COVID-associated coagulopathy (CAC) or thromboinflammation Appears distinct from DIC Hallmark is clotting, NOT bleeding! Clinical features include VTE1 Incidence of VTE appears very high in critic...
6. Vaccines
May 12, 2020 01:49 - 6 minutes - 8.32 MBWe’re looking optimistically to the future today and talking about the development of potential vaccines for COVID. All the information below has been amalgamated from the review pieces cited. Vaccine development landscape Researchers across the country are devoting huge amounts of time and energy to the development of a coronavirus vaccine Currently there are 115 vaccine candidates 78 are confirmed active trials Majority (73) are in exploratory or pre-clinical testing phase ...
5. Immunity and COVID-19
May 12, 2020 01:46 - 8 minutes - 8.67 MBToday we’re tackling a question with a lot of public health implications as we consider how to move forward in this pandemic (and potentially being to loosen restrictions). A huge part of that equation is the question of immunity: are people who have previously been infected immune to COVID; or could they become re-infected and continue to transmit the virus? And could antibody tests help us determine who has already been infected (perhaps asymptomatically)? Antibody tests for COVID-19...
4. Hydroxychloroquine
May 12, 2020 01:16 - 8 minutes - 10.1 MBToday we’re focusing on a hot topic – the use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine for treatment of COVID-19. This drug had a lot of buzz early on, but recent data has been lukewarm at best. Background: why chloroquine? Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine are old medications generally used for the treatment of malaria, amebiasis, and certain inflammatory conditions like rheumatoid arthritis. These medications have anti-viral activity in vitro, but there is no demonstrated clinical e...
3. Remdesivir
May 11, 2020 04:44 - 13 minutes - 15.9 MBHot topic alert! We’re unpacking the latest evidence around remdesivir – miracle drug, or overblown hype? What is remdesivir? Anti-viral that has been studied in vitro and in pre-clinical/animal models showing promising effects for COVID-19: Preventing symptoms occurrence if given early Improving symptoms during infection Decreasing viral load Acts as an adenosine nucleotide triphosphate analogue interfering with viral replication Many ongoing phase II and III trials are exp...
2. Self-Monitoring for COVID-19
May 11, 2020 04:41 - 9 minutes - 11.3 MBToday we’re going back to some critical public health basics: self-monitoring, self-isolation (and the key difference between them), and how to care for someone with COVID-19. Sources All the information in today’s podcast was taken from the attached BC CDC graphics: How to Self-Monitor How to Self-Isolate Guide for caregivers and household contacts of patients with COVID-19
1. Overview of COVID-19
May 11, 2020 04:37 - 11 minutes - 12.5 MBWelcome to Viruswatch! Your source for short and sweet updates about all things COVID-19. Today we’re starting off with the basics and covering a broad overview of what you NEED to know about this novel coronavirus; with a particular focus on virus transmission. Note that many topics will be explored in more depth in later episodes – stay tuned! What is COVID-19? COVID-19 is the name that has been given to the disease caused by the novel coronavirus (aka SARS-CoV-2) It is a 30kbp, +...
Viral Watch Episode 1
May 04, 2020 21:28 - 8 minutes - 8.13 MBEpisode 1 - We’re covering COVID basics: virology 101, transmission, clinical presentation, testing, and management. It’s what you need to know about coronavirus