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. ACP: Evidence does not support the use of hydroxychloroquine alone or in combination with azithromycin for prophylaxis or treatment of COVID-19
The American College of Physicians (ACP) has issued new Practice Points saying evidence does not support the use of chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine alone or in combination with azithromycin as prophylaxis for COVID-19 or for treatment of patients with COVID19. The ACP Practice Points also state that physicians, in light of known harms and very uncertain evidence of benefit, may choose to treat hospitalized COVID-19 positive patients with chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine alone or in combination with azithromycin in the context of a clinical trial using shared and informed decision-making with patients and their families. ACP's Practice Points are based on a rapid systematic review conducted by the University of Connecticut Health Outcomes, Policy, and Evidence Synthesis Group. Read the full text: https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-1998.
Media contacts: To speak with someone from the American College of Physicians, please contact Andrew Hachadorian at AHachadorian@acponline.org or 215-351-2514.
2. False-Negative Rate of RT-PCR-Based SARS-CoV-2 Tests by Time Since Exposure
Tests for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 based on reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) are being used to "rule out" infection among high-risk persons, such as exposed inpatients and health care workers, but studies suggest that test sensitivity may be low. Researchers from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health estimated the false-negative rate by day since exposure to infection by pooling and modeling data from previously published studies on RT-PCR sensitivity of upper respiratory tract samples of persons who were ultimately confirmed to have COVID-19. Read the full text: https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-1495.
Media contacts: A PDF for this article is not yet available. Please click the link to read full text. The lead author, Lauren M. Kucirka, MD, PhD, can be reached at lauren@jhmi.edu or Barbara Benham at bbenham1@jhu.edu.
3. COVID-19 and Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy
Home infusion therapy can provide a safer alternative for exposure to SARS-CoV-2 infection for many vulnerable patients who receive parenteral therapies on an outpatient basis, such as parenteral antimicrobial therapy. Researchers from Washington University School of Medicine and Institute for Public Health, St. Louis, Missouri propose changes to Medicare payment policy, which currently does not adequately reimburse for these services for many patients. Read the full text: https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-1774.
Media contacts: A PDF for this article is not yet available. Please click the link to read full text. The lead author, Yasir Hamad, MD, can be reached at yhamad@wustl.edu.