Here are 18 findings from studies published since March 24:
1. Hospitalized COVID-19 patients treated with remdesivir at Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Medicine demonstrated faster clinical improvement than patients who did not receive the drug, according to a study published March 24 in JAMA Network Open.
2. Nearly one-third of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in the U.K. were readmitted, and they experienced multiorgan dysfunction at higher rates than those without COVID-19, according to research published March 31 in the British Medical Journal.
3. COVID-19 patients have a higher risk of postoperative death and hospital-acquired conditions compared to patients without the coronavirus who undergo surgery, according to a study published April 12 in JAMA Network Open.
4. An analysis of brain autopsies from 41 COVID-19 patients suggests that the SARS-CoV-2 virus does not infect the brain, but can still cause significant neurological damage, according to the findings published April 15 in the journal Brain.
5. COVID-19 survivors who were not hospitalized still had a higher risk of death and required more healthcare services within six months than people without the virus, according to a study accepted for publication in Nature.
6. Mother-to-newborn transmission of the virus that causes COVID-19 is rare, but infants may still face indirect health risks if their mothers develop severe cases, according to a study published April 23 in Jama Network Open.
7. The death rate for hospitalized COVID-19 patients in the U.S. fell 38 percent between March and May of 2020, but did not continue to significantly decrease through the fall, according to a study published May 3 in JAMA Network Open.
8. The B.1.526 variant first found in New York City does not appear to cause more severe COVID-19 cases nor an increased risk of reinfection, according to early research the CDC published May 5.
9. Some patients with severe COVID-19 cases may exhibit decreased lung function or lung changes for up to a year after recovering, according to a study published May 5 in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.
10. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, are not associated with higher COVID-19 mortality or case severity, according to a study published May 7 in The Lancet Rheumatology.
11. Pregnant women hospitalized with COVID-19 had lower death rates than women who were not pregnant, according to a study published May 11 in Annals of Internal Medicine.
12. COVID-19 patients who don’t require hospitalization have a low risk of long-term, severe complications, according to a study published May 10 in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
13. In a U.K. study involving 11,558 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, the use of convalescent plasma did not improve survival rates or other clinical outcomes, according to findings published May 14 in The Lancet.
14. Multisystem inflammatory syndrome — a rare and severe COVID-19 complication first characterized in children — presents differently among adults and may be underdiagnosed as a result, according to a study published May 19 in JAMA Network Open.
15. The most severe symptoms of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children — a rare but serious condition related to COVID-19 — resolved within six months for most patients, though less debilitating symptoms lingered for some, according to a small study published May 24 in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health.
16. Roche’s rheumatoid arthritis drug tocilizumab was linked to a lower risk of death 90 days after treatment in patients with moderate to severe COVID-19 or pneumonia, especially patients with high C-reactive protein levels, according to a May 24 JAMA Internal Medicine research letter.
17. Nearly 75 percent of children diagnosed with COVID-19 did not have any of the typical symptoms adults displayed, such as fever, cough, or shortness of breath, according to a study published in Scientific Reports.
18. Cells in the eye can be directly infected by SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, according to findings published May 17 by ScienceDirect.
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