Note: This is not an exhaustive list of findings. It’s a compilation of key findings covered by Becker’s reporters since September.
Oct. 27
1. Some COVID-19 survivors may carry antibodies that attack the body instead of the virus, similar to antibodies seen in lupus and rheumatoid arthritis patients.
2. The number of people with COVID-19 antibodies decreased by 26.5 percent between June 20 and Sept. 28, suggesting that contracting the virus might not mean long-lasting immunity.
Oct. 26
3. Patients experiencing gastrointestinal symptoms from COVID-19 have an increased risk of hospitalization, intensive care and intubation compared to patients without GI symptoms.
4. A low daily dose of aspirin is linked to lower complications and a 47 percent decrease in death risk in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
Oct. 23
5. Adults with Down syndrome are 10 times more likely to die from COVID-19 and about five times more likely to be hospitalized from the virus.
Oct. 21
6. Tocilizumab, a drug used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, may help reduce mortality in critically ill COVID-19 patients if given within the first two days of admission to an intensive care unit.
7. There are five main risk factors that may increase the chance people experience long-term COVID-19 symptoms.
8. Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 are at a higher risk for death and health complications than those hospitalized with influenza.
9. There are 13 deaths among men with confirmed COVID-19 cases for every 10 deaths among women.
10. Some COVID-19 vaccines contain a certain adenovirus strain that could make people more susceptible to HIV.
Oct. 19
11. Those experiencing COVID-19 symptoms months after becoming infected may not all be experiencing a single syndrome, but up to four different ones.
Oct. 13
12. COVID-19 patients may produce antibodies for at least five months after initial infection.
Oct. 12
13. The novel coronavirus can survive on common surfaces for up to 28 days.
Oct. 7
14. COVID-19 patients who are hospitalized tend to be younger with fewer underlying conditions than hospitalized influenza patients.
15. Filipino and Filipino American nurses are dying from COVID-19 at disproportionately high rates, accounting for more than 30 percent of the 205 U.S. nurses who have died, though the group makes up just 4 percent of the total nurse workforce.
Oct. 6
16. More than 80 percent of COVID-19 patients hospitalized at Chicago-based Northwestern Medicine this spring had neurological symptoms.
Oct. 5
17. Since June, there have been several case reports of a multisystem inflammatory syndrome in adults similar to one seen in children during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Oct. 1
18. About 58 percent of nurses who died of COVID-19 and related complications are nurses of color.
Sept. 28
19. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, a machine used to pump and oxygenate a patient’s blood outside the body, allowing the heart and lungs to rest, helped a majority of critically ill COVID-19 patients avoid death.
Sept. 23
20. An analysis of global research shows that patient bathrooms and staff and public areas of hospitals contain high amounts of SARS-CoV-2 in the air, although the infectivity of these samples is still unclear.
Sept. 21
21. About 40 percent of adult COVID-19 patients hospitalized at New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based Northwell Health experienced acute kidney injury this spring.
Sept. 17
22. More than half of pregnant women with COVID-19 were not showing symptoms when they were admitted to the hospital.
Sept. 16
23. People with substance use disorders are far more likely to develop COVID-19 than those in the general population.
Sept. 15
24. Research shows a link between vitamin D deficiency and the risk of becoming infected with new coronavirus.
Sept. 10
25. The virus that causes COVID-19 can enter brain cells, which may explain the neurological symptoms some patients experience.
Sept. 8
26. The new coronavirus and virus antibodies can exist simultaneously in pediatric patients’ bodies.
27. Seventy-one percent of children with the multisystem inflammatory syndrome linked to COVID-19 were admitted to the intensive care unit.
Sept. 4
28. COVID-19 patients may have antibodies up to four months after contracting the virus.
Sept. 2
29. The National Institutes of Health said convalescent plasma shouldn’t be considered standard of care for COVID-19 treatment, citing the lack of available data on its benefits.
More articles on patient safety:
Insurance type may affect quality of surgical care, study finds
Boston Children’s Hospital to end 2 intersex surgeries
Down syndrome linked to 10 times higher COVID-19 death risk, UK study finds
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