COVID-19 news from Annals of Internal Medicine

All coronavirus-related content published in Annals is free

27 May 2020, 04:00 by American College of Physicians

Below please find a summary and link(s) of new coronavirus-related content published today in Annals of Internal Medicine. The summary below is not intended to substitute for the full article as a source of information. A collection of coronavirus-related content is free to the public at http://go.annals.org/coronavirus.

1. Risk for COVID-19 Resurgence Related to Duration and Effectiveness of Physical Distancing in Ontario, Canada

Researchers from Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, developed an epidemiologic model to explore the effect of physical distancing measures on COVID-19 transmission in the population of Ontario, Canada. Their findings suggest that without intervention, Ontario, which is currently below ICU capacity, would have rapidly exceeded ICU capacity and observed substantially higher mortality. The model also shows the challenges associated with relaxation of physical distancing measures without a concomitant increase in other public health measures. Specifically, when the number of contacts between persons returns to more than 50 percent of normal, disease activity could resurge rapidly and ICUs could quickly reach capacity. Read the full text: https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-2945.

Media contacts: A PDF for this article is not yet available. Please click the link to read full text. The lead author, David Fisman, MD, MPH can be reached through Francoise Mbenoun Makanda at francoise.makanda@utoronto.ca or Anna Weigt-Bienzle at anna.weigtbienzle@utoronto.ca.

2. Use of Hydroxychloroquine or Chloroquine in COVID-19

Researchers for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) conducted a living systematic review of published research to summarize evidence about the benefits and harms of using hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine to treat coronavirus disease 2019. They found that evidence was conflicting and insufficient regarding the effect of hydroxychloroquine on such outcomes as all-cause mortality, progression to severe disease, clinical symptoms, and upper respiratory virologic clearance with antigen testing. The evidence for chloroquine was similarly weak. Read the full text: https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-2496.

Media contacts: A PDF for this article is not yet available. Please click the link to read full text. The lead authors, C. Michael White and Adrian V. Hernandez, MD, PhD, can be reached at through Karin Burgess at karin.burgess@uconn.edu.