COVID-19 Data Analysis/Review

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SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with self-reported post-acute neuropsychological symptoms within six months of follow-up . Andronescu LR, Richard SA, Scher AI, Lindholm DA, Mende K, Ganesan A, Huprikar N et al. Participants with a history of COVID-19 were up to twice as likely to report cognitive impairment and fatigue. PLoS One. 2024 Apr 16;19(4):e0297481.

Impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on long-term depression symptoms among Veterans . Chen JI, Bui D, Iwashyna TJ, Shahoumian TA, Hickok A, Shepherd-Banigan M et al. COVID-19 infection was associated with more depression symptoms among Veterans 18 months post-infection. J Gen Intern Med. 2024 Apr 16. Online ahead of print.

Risk of potential preventable hospitalization after SARS-CoV-2 infection . Govier DJ, Niederhausen M, Takata Y, Hickok A, Rowneki M, McCready H, Smith VA et al. An increased risk of preventable hospitalization in Veterans with COVID-19, which persisted for at least one year after initial infection, highlights the need for research on ways in which SARS-CoV-2 shapes post-infection care and engagement with the health system. JAMA Network Open. 2024 Apr 1;7(4):e245786.

Comparing frequency of booster vaccination to prevent severe COVID-19 by risk group in the United States . Park HJ, Gonsalves GS, Tan ST Kelly JD et al. More frequent COVID-19 booster vaccination in older age groups and the immunocompromised population would effectively reduce the burden of severe COVID-19. Nat Commun. 2024 Mar 6;15(1):1883.

County-level mandates were generally effective at slowing COVID-19 transmission . Baird CE, Lake D, Panagiotou OA, Gozalo P. Mandates such as bans on large gatherings, stay-at-home orders, and mask mandates were effective at slowing COVID-19 transmission during the first four waves of the pandemic. Health Aff (Millwood). 2024 Mar;43(3):433-442.

Risk of suicide-related outcomes after SARS-CoV-2 infection: Results from a nationwide observational matched cohort of US Veterans . Hynes DM, Niederhausen M, Chen JI, Shahoumian TA, Rowneki M, Hickok A, Sheperd-Banigan M et al. COVID-19 patients had higher risk of both suicide attempts and other forms of self-directed harm compared to uninfected Veterans, which persisted for at least one year after infection. Results support suicide risk screening of those infected with SARS-CoV-2 to identify opportunities to prevent self-harm. J Gen Intern Med. 2024 Mar;39(4):626-635.

Long-term outcomes following hospital admission for COVID-19 versus seasonal influenza: A cohort study . Xie Y, Choi T, Al-Aly Z. Although rates of death and adverse health outcomes following hospitalization for either seasonal flu or COVID-19 are both high, COVID-19 was associated with higher long-term risk of death and adverse health outcomes in nearly every organ system and significant disability. Lancet Infect Dis. 2024 Mar;24(3):239-255.

Risk of severe coronavirus disease 2019 despite vaccination in patients requiring treatment with immune-suppressive drugs: A nationwide cohort study of US Veterans . Anand ST, Vo AD, Brophy M, Do NV, Fillmore NR, Branch-Elliman W, Monarch PA. The risk of severe COVID-19 despite vaccination is substantial in patients taking immune-suppressive drugs, more so in patients with solid organ transplantation than in patients with inflammatory disease. Transpl Infect Dis. 2024 Feb;26(1):e14168.

COVID-19 and influenza vaccine co-administration among older U.S. adults . Harris DA, Chachlani P, Hayes KN, McCarthy EP, Wen KJ, Deng Y, Zullo AR et al. Among Medicare beneficiaries vaccinated against COVID-19, flu vaccination was high, but co-administration of the two vaccines was low. Am J Prev Med. 2024 Feb 22. Online ahead of print.

Unraveling COVID-19 relationship with anxiety disorders and symptoms using genome-wide data . Asgel Z, Kouakou MR, Koller D, Pathak GA, Cabrera-Mendoza B, Polimanti R. Genetic analysis revealed a strong genetic correlation of anxiety disorder with COVID-19 positive status and hospitalization. J Affect Disord. 2024 Feb 19. Online ahead of print.

Characteristics and outcomes of US Veterans with immunocompromised conditions at high risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection with or without receipt of oral antiviral agents . Gentry CA, Nguyen PN, Thind SK, Kurdgelashvili G, Williams RJ 2nd. Use of molnupiravir or nirmatrelvir-ritonavir was associated with lower incidence of hospitalization or death withing 30 days of COVID-19 diagnosis in Veterans with immunocompromised conditions, regardless of vaccination status. Clin Infect Dis. 2024 Feb 17;78(2):330-337.

Changes in outpatient health care use after COVID-19 infection among Veterans. Herbert PL, Kumbier KE, Smith VA, Hynes DM, Govier DJ, Wong E, Kaufman BG et al . Outpatient use increased significantly in the month after COVID-19 infection, then attenuated but remained greater than the uninfected group’s use through 12 months, suggesting substantial impacts of COVID-19 infection. JAMA Netw Open. 2024 Feb 5;7(2):e2355387.

Association of psychiatric disorders with clinical diagnosis of long COVID in US veterans . Nishimi K, Neylan TC, Bertenthal D, Seal KH, O’Donovan A. Psychiatric disorder diagnoses were associated with increase long COVID diagnosis risk in VA patients, with the strongest associations observed in younger individuals. Psychol Med. 2024 Feb 5:1-9.

Predictors of acute kidney injury (AKI) among COVID-19 patients at the US Department of Veterans Affairs: The important role of COVID-19 vaccinations . Lukowsky LR, Der-Martirosian C, Northcraft H, Kalantar-Zadeh K, Goldfarb DS, Dobalian A. Use of vasopressors, being unvaccinated, older age, male gender, and Black race were associated with post-COVID acute kidney injury. Vaccines. 2024 Jan 30;12(2):146.

Low-dose naltrexone improves post-COVID-19 condition symptoms . Tamariz L, Bast E, Klimas N, Palacio A. Post-COVID symptoms may improve in patients taking medications adapted from myalgeic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome. Clin Ther. 2024 Jan 23. Online ahead of print.

Nirmatrelvir/ritonavir use and hospitalizations or death in a previously uninfected nonhospitalized high-risk population with COVID-19: A matched cohort study . Butt AA, Yang P, Shaikh OS, Talisa VB, Omer SB, Mayr FB. Nirmatrelvir/ritonavir is associated with a significant reduction in 30-day hospitalization or death among individuals previously uninfected and non-hospitalized. J Infect Dis. 2024 Jan 12;229(1):147-154.

Clinical outcomes of US adults hospitalized for COVID-19 and influenza in the respiratory virus hospitalization surveillance network, October 2021 – September 2022 . Kojima N, Taylor CA, Tenforde MW, Ujamaa D, O’Halloran A, Patel K, Chai SJ et al. During the Omicron BA.5 period, intensive care unit admission frequency was similar for COVID-19 and influenza, although patients with COVID-19 had a higher frequency of in-hospital deaths. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2023 Dec 30;11(1).

Gender diversity, disability, and well-being: Impact of delayed and foregone care because of COVID-19 . McMaughan DJ, Mulcahy A, McGehee A, Streed CG Jr, Wallisch AM, Kurth NK, Hall JP. The COVID-19 pandemic affected the health care utilization of disabled people, resulting in high rates of delayed care, foregone care, and negative impacts on well-being. These effects were intensified at the intersection of disability and marginalized gender identity. LGBT Health. 2023 Dec 7. Online ahead of print.

Alcohol use patterns during and after the COVID-19 pandemic among Veterans in the United States . Wong RJ, Yang Z, Ostacher M, Zhang W, Satre D, Monto A, Khalili M et al. High-risk alcohol use among U.S. Veterans has increased since the COVID-19 pandemic onset, and in the third year following pandemic onset, 15% of Veterans overall and over 20% of young Veterans aged 18-39 reported high-risk alcohol use. Am J Med. 2023 Dec 3. Online ahead of print.

Functional decline during the COVID-19 pandemic among U.S. military Veterans: Results from the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study . Morse JL, Fischer IC, Na PJ, Afari N, Pietrzak. Although the majority of Veterans showed functional maintenance or improvement one year into the pandemic, nearly one-in-five experienced a decline in physical or mental functioning. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2023 Dec;38(12):e6040.

Prevalence and risk factors of post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 among United States Veterans . Stephens D, Gazmararian JA, Khakharia A. Black Veterans were more likely than White Veterans to develop post-acute sequelae of COVID-19. Other predictors include older age, diabetes, and severe acute infection. Annals of Epidemiology. 2023 Nov 15. Online ahead of print.

Association of obesity on the outcome of critically ill patients affected by COVID-19. Rodriguez A, Martin-Loeches I, Moreno G, Diaz E, Ferre C, Salgado M, Marin-Corral J et al . COVID-19 patients with a BMI greater than 40 are at high risk of poor outcomes in intensive care. An effective vaccination schedule and prolonged social distancing should be recommended. Med Intensiva. 2023 Nov 1. Online ahead of print.

Effectiveness of nirmatrelvir-ritonavir against the development of post-COVID-19 conditions among U.S. Veterans: A target trial emulation . Ioannu GN, Berry K, Rajeevan N, Li Y, Mutalik P, Yan L, Bui D et al. Out of 31 potential post-COVID conditions, only combined thromboembolic events seemed to be reduced by nirmatrelvir-ritonavir. 2023 Oct 31. Online ahead of print.

Low-dose naltrexone use for the management of post-acute sequelae of COVID-19. Bonilla H, Tian L, Marconi VC, Shafer R, McComsey GA, Miglis M, Yang P et al. The use of low-dose naltrexone was associated with a fewer number of symptoms, improved clinical symptoms, and better functional status in patients with COVID-19. Int Immunopharmacol. 2023 Oct 5;124({T B):110966.

Excess mortality in US Veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic: An individual-level cohort study. Weinberger DM, Bhaskaran K, Korves C, Lucas BP, Columbo JA, Vashi A, Davies L, Justice AC, Rentsch CT. Through February 2022, excess mortality in Veterans was 10 deaths per 1,000 person-years during the pandemic. Excess mortality rates were highest among the most frail and those with the highest comorbidity burden. Int J Epidemiol. 2023 Oct. Online ahead of print.

Frailty as a risk factor for post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 among US veterans during the Delta and Omicron waves . Hammel IS, Tosi DM, Tang F, Pott H, Ruiz JG. Frailty was associated with an increased risk of developing post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 infection. Vaccination was associated with a decreased risk of sequelae, further reduced by booster doses. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2023 Sep 19. Online ahead of print.

Vaccination status and trends in adult coronavirus disease 2019-associated hospitalizations by race and ethnicity: March 2020-August 2022 . Ko JY, Pham H, Anglin O, Chai SJ, Alden NB, Meek J, Anderson EJ et al. Race/ethnicity disparities in COVID-19-associated hospitalizations declined but persisted in the era of vaccination. Clin Infect Dis. 2023 Sep 18;77(6):827-838.

Nirmatrelvir/ritonavir use and hospitalizations or death in previously uninfected non-hospitalized high-risk population with COVID-19: A matched cohort study . Butt AA, Yan P, Shaikh OS, Talisa VB, Omer SB, Mayr FB. Nirmatrelvir/ritonavir is associated with a significant reduction in 30-day hospitalization or death among previously uninfected, non-hospitalized individuals. J Infect Dis. 2023 Sep 15. Online ahead of print.

Growing deficit in new cancer diagnoses 2 years into the COVID-19 pandemic: A national multicenter study . Englum BR, Sahoo S, Mayorga-Carlin M, Hayssen H, Siddiqui T, Turner DJ, Sorkin JD, Lal BK. Disruptions in new diagnoses of four common cancers (prostate, lung, bladder, and colorectal) seen early in the COVID-19 pandemic have persisted for two years. Ann Surg Oncol. 2023 Sep 11. Online ahead of print.

Disparities in COVID-19 related outcomes in the United States by race and ethnicity pre-vaccination era: An umbrella review of meta-analyses. Duong KNC, Le LM, Veettil SK, Saidoung P, Wannaadisai W, Nelson RE, Friedrichs M et al. Black and Hispanic groups had higher risk of COVID-19 infection and hospitalization compared to their White counterparts. These associations existed more obviously in the pre-hospitalization stage. Front Public Health. 2023 Sept 7.

Characteristics and outcomes of US Veterans with immunocompromised conditions at high risk of severe SARS-CoV-2 infection with or without receipt of oral antiviral agents. Gentry CA, Nguyen PN, Thind SK, Kurdgelashvili G, Williams RJ. Use of molnupiravir or nirmatrelvir-ritonavir was associated with lower incidence of hospitalization or death within 30 days of diagnosis in Veterans with immunocompromised conditions, regardless of vaccination status. Clin Infect Dis. 2023 Aug 24. Online ahead of print.

Racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19 booster vaccination among U.S. older adults differ by geographic region and Medicare enrollment . Hayes KN, Harris DA, Zullo AR, Chachlani P, Wen KJ, Smith-Ray RL, Bjibo DA et al. Racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19 vaccination have persisted for booster vaccines. Front Public Health. 2023 Aug 10;11.

Tixagevimab/cilgavimab for preventing COVID-19 during the Omicron surge: Retrospective analysis of National Veterans Health Administration electronic data . Young-Xu Y, Marconi VC, Davey V, Korves C, Zwain G, Smith J et al. The monoclonal antibody tixagevimab/cilgavimab was associated with lower rates of SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe COVID-19 during the Omicron surge. mBio. 2023 Aug 3. Online ahead of print.

Veteran influenza vaccination acceptance rates after completion of the COVID-19 vaccination series among historical influenza vaccine refusers. Patel UC, Schultz T, Schmidt J. Among previous influenza vaccine decliners, those who received COVID-19 vaccination had significantly higher odds of receiving subsequent influenza vaccination. Vaccine. 2023 Jul 3. Online ahead of print.

Psychological resilience to trauma and risk of COVID-19 infection and somatic symptoms across 2 years. Nishimi K, Tan J, Scoglio A, Choi KW, Kelley DP, Neylan TC, O’Donovan A. Psychological resilience to prior trauma is associated with lower risk of COVID-19 infection and lower somatic symptoms during the pandemic. Psychosom Med. 2023 Jul-Aug 01;85(6):488-497.

New onset or relapsing neuromyelitis optica temporally associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 vaccination: a systematic review. Harel T, Gorman EF, Wallin MT. This systematic review suggests that there is an association between neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder and SARS-COV-2 infections and COVID-19 vaccinations. Front Neurol. 2023 Jun 22;12:1099758.

Maintaining the utility of COVID-19 pandemic severity surveillance: Evaluation of trends in attributable deaths and development and validation of a measurement tool . Trottier C, La J, Li LL, Alsoubani M, Vo AD, Fillmore NR, Branch-Elliman W et al. By mid-2022, “death within 30 days” did not provide an accurate estimate of COVID-19-related death in two U.S. health care systems with routine admission screening. Hypoxemia and use of antiviral and anti-inflammatory drugs would improve classification of death as COVID-19-related. Clin Infect Dis. 2023 Jun 22. Online ahead of print.

Differential associations of mask mandates on COVID-19 infection and mortality by community social vulnerability . Frochen S, Wong MS, Neil Steers W, Yuan A, Saliba D, Washington DL. Mask mandates were associated with reductions in COVID-19 infection and mortality and mitigation of disparities for mid- and high-vulnerability communities. Am J Infect Control .2023 Jun 19. Online ahead of print.

Effect of COVID-19 and its vaccines on surgical and postsurgical mortality, ICU admission and 90-day readmission for elective surgical procedures in a United States veteran population. COVID-9 history increased hospital readmission without affecting intensive care unit requirement or mortality. Am J Surg. 2023 Jun 14. Online ahead of print.

Effectiveness of COVID-19 treatment with nirmatrelvir-ritonavir or molnupiravir among U.S. Veterans: Target trial emulation studies with one-month and six-month outcomes . Bajema KL, Berry K, Steja E, Rajeevan N, Li Y, Mutalik P et al. Nirmatrelvir-ritonavir was effective in reducing 30-day mortality but not hospitalization. Molnupiravir was associated with a benefit for 30-day mortality but not hospitalization. Further reductions in mortality from 31 to 180 days were observed with both antivirals. Ann Intern Med. 2023 Jun 6. Online ahead of print.

Exacerbated PTSD symptoms among older U.S. military Veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic: Results from the National Health and Resilience in Veterans study . Cations M, Cook JM, Fischer I, Pietrzak RH. The pandemic did not confer additional risk of PTSD exacerbation than would be expected over a three-year period for older Veterans. J Psychiatr Res. 2023 May 30;163:386-390.

Adverse outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection with delta and omicron variants in vaccinated versus unvaccinated US veterans: Retrospective cohort study . Hohnert AS ,Kumbier K, Rowneki M, Gupta A, Bajema K, Hynes DM, Viglianti E et al. In Veterans with high health care use and high occurrence of multi-morbidity, vaccination was robustly associated with lower odds of 30-day morbidity and mortality compared with no vaccination among patients infected with COVID-19. The vaccination type and number of doses had a significant association with outcomes. BMJ. 2023 May 23;381:e074521.

Excess mortality among patients in the Veterans Affairs health system compared with the overall US population during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic . Weinberger DM, Rose L, Rentsch C, Asch SM, Columbo JA, King J Jr et al. Active users of the VA health system had similar relative increases in mortality compared with the general U.S. population during the first 10 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. JAMA Netw Open. 2023 May 1;6(5):e2312140.

Mortality among US Veterans admitted to community vs Veterans Health Administration hospitals for COVID-19 . Ohl ME, Richardson Miell K, Becks BF, Mecham B, Bailey G, Mengeling M, Vaughan-Sarrazin M. Among VA health care enrollees, most older Veterans hospitalized for COVID-19 were in community hospitals, and Veterans experienced higher mortality in community hospitals than in VA hospitals. JAMA Netw Open. 2023 May 1;6(5):e2315902.

Hospital catchment areas characteristics and geographic regions associated with higher COVID-19 Veterans Health Administration hospitalization during the Omicron surge. Wong MS, Frochen S, Steers WN, Washington DL. Within VA’s health care system, areas serving a larger high-risk patient population had more Omicron-related hospitalizations, while areas with more fully vaccinated and boosted patients and new VHA users had lower hospitalizations. J Public Health Manag Pract. 2023 April 27. Online ahead of print.

Molnupiravir and risk of post-acute sequelae of COVID-19: Cohort study . Xie Y, Choi T, Al-Aly Z. In people with SARS-CoV-2 infection and at least one risk factor for progression to severe COVID-19, molnupiravir use within five days of infection was associated with reduced risk of post-acute symptoms in people who had and had not received a vaccine and in those with a first infection or reinfection. BMJ. 2023 Apr 25;381:e074572.

Pre- and peri-traumatic event stressors drive gender differences in chronic stress-related psychological sequelae: A prospective cohort study of COVID-19 frontline healthcare providers. Hennein R, Lowe SR, Feingold JH, Feder A, Peccoralo LA, Ripp JA, Mazure CM, Pietrzak RH. Stressors associated with heightened risk of psychological troubles and burnout in women health care providers included being in a woman-prevalent profession such as nursing; pre-pandemic burnout; and greater family-, infection-, and work-related concerns. J Psychiatr Res. 2023 Apr 20;162:88-94.

Baricitinib treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 is associated with a reduction in secondary infections . Sweeney DA, Tuyishimire B, Ahuja N, Beigel JH, Beresney T, Cantos VD, Castro JG et al. Baricitinib use was associated with a 50% reduction in secondary COVID-19 infections. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2023 Apr 19;10(5):ofad205.

Depression, anxiety, and suicidality in individuals with chronic traumatic brain injury before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: A National Institute on Disability Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research traumatic brain injury model systems study. Katta-Charles S, Adams LM, Chiaravalloti ND, Hammond FM, Perrin PB, Rabinowitz AR, Venkatesan UM et al. Contrary to predictions, the prevalence and severity of mental health conditions in people with traumatic brain injury were similar before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2023 Apr;104(4):619-630.

Physical function and fatigue recovery at 6 months after hospitalization for COVID-19. Qin ES, Gold LS, Singh N, Wysham KD, Hough CL, Patel PB, Bunnell AE, Andrews JS. A substantial proportion of patients who developed new activities of daily living impairment, worsening fatigue, and other physical function symptoms after hospitalization for COVID-19 did not recover at least partially by six months after discharge. PM R. 2023 Mar;15(3):314-324.

Acute kidney injury associated with severe SARS-CoV-2 infection: Risk factors for morbidity and mortality and a potential benefit of combined therapy with tocilzumab and corticosteroids. Iglesias J, Vassallo A, Ilgan J, Ang SP, Udongwo N, Mararenko A, Alshami A et al. The study confirms the high rate of acute kidney injury and associated mortality among COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care units and suggests a role for inflammation and bleeding disorder in acute kidney injury development. Biomedicines. 2023 Mar 10;11(3):845.

Rates of primary care and integrated mental health telemedicine visits between rural and urban Veterans Affairs beneficiaries before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Leung LB, Yoo C, Chu K, O’Shea A, Jackson NJ, Heyworth L, Der-Martirosian C. Despite initial telemedicine gains at rural VA health care sites, the pandemic was associated with an increase in the rural-urban telemedicine divide across the VA health care system. JAMA Netw Open. 2023 Mar 1;6(3):e231864.

Validation of a predictive model for hospital-acquired acute kidney injury with emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants. McAdams MC, Xu P, Li M, Gregg LP, Saleh SN, Ostrosky-Frid M, Willett DL et al. A model for predicting hospital-acquired acute kidney injury remained accurate in different COVID-19 variants, suggesting that risk factors for the kidney injury have not substantially evolved across variants. J Investig Med. 2023 Feb 14. Online ahead of print.

Inflammatory biomarkers differ among hospitalized Veterans infected with Alpha, Delta, and Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variants. Park C, Tavakoli-Tabasi S, Sharafkhaneh A, Seligman BJ, Hicken B, Amos CI, Chou A, Razjouyan J. Veterans infected with the Omicron variant showed milder inflammatory responses and lower mortality than other variants. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Feb 8;20(4):2987.

Palliative care in a pandemic: A multicenter cohort of critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019. Kodadek LM, Moore MS, Miller SM, Schneider EB, Ahuja V, Maerz LL, Davis KA. Mortality among critically ill patients with COVID-19 has remained constant across two pandemic waves with no change in use of palliative or end-of-life care. Surg Infect (Larchmt). 2023 Feb 8. Online ahead of print.

The impact of COVID-19 on trends in alcohol use disorder treatment in Veterans Health Administration. Perumalswami PV, Kilpatrick S, Frost MC, Adams MA, Kim HM, Zhang L, Lin LA. Despite increased telehealth use, the percentage of VA patients with an alcohol use disorder diagnosis receiving treatment declined during the COVID-19 pandemic, mainly because of a decrease in psychotherapy use. Addiction. 2023 Feb 3. Online ahead of print.

Outreach to the Veterans Crisis Line during the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed-methods analysis. Krishnamurti LS, Agha A, Iverson KM, Monteith LL, Dichter ME. The study emphasizes the role of the Veterans Crisis Line for providing general support to Veterans experiencing loneliness and supplying assistance in coping with pandemic-related distress. Psychiatr Serv. 2023 Feb 1;74(2):142-147.

COVID-19 vaccination and venous thromboembolism risk in older veterans. Elkin PL, Brown SH, Resendez S, McCray W, Resnick M, Hall K, Franklin G, Connors JM, Cushman M. The results provide reassurance that there is only a trivial increased risk of venous thromboembolism with current COVID-19 vaccines in Veterans older than age 45. This risk is significantly less than the risk among hospitalized COVID-19 patients. J Clin Transl Sci. 2023 Feb 1;7(1):e55.

Chronic anti-coagulation therapy reduced mortality in patients with high cardiovascular risk early in COVID-19 pandemic. Zaghloul MS, Jammeh M, Gibson A, Luo S, Chadwich-Mansker K, Liu Q, Yan Y, Zayed MA. Anticoagulation therapy reduced in-hospital death early in the pandemic among hospitalized patients but did not decrease risk of multi-organ system complications. Thromb J. 2023 Jan 30;21(1):14.

Overcoming access barriers for Veterans: Cohort study of the distribution and use of Veterans Affairs’ video-enabled tablets before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dhanani Z, Ferguson JM, Van Campen J, Slightam C, Jacobs JC, Heyworth L, Zulman D. Although the COVID-19 pandemic led to increased distribution of VA-issued tablets to Veterans with complex clinical and social needs, tablet recipients who were older or unstably housed remained less likely to have a video visit. J Med Internet Res. 2023 Jan 26;25:e42563.

Comparing substance use treatment initiation and retention between telehealth delivered during COVID-19 and in-person treatment pre-COVID-19. Sistad RE, Enggasser J, Livingston NA, Brief D. The odds of initiating substance use disorder treatment and rate of treatment attendance over time was greater for services delivered via telehealth during COVID-19 compared to in-person before the COVID-19 pandemic. Am J Addict. 2023 Jan 16. Online ahead of print.

Comparative effectiveness of third doses of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines in US veterans. Dickerman BA, Gerlovin H, Madenci AL, Figueroa-Muñiz MJ, Wise JK, Adhikari N, Ferolito BR et al. The 16-week risks of COVID-19 outcomes were low after a third dose of either of two mRNA booster vaccines. Nat Microbiol. 2023 Jan;8(1):55-63.

Risks and burdens of incident dyslipidaemia in long COVID: A cohort study. Xu E, Xie Y, Al-Aly Z. COVID-19 infection may increase the risk of high blood pressure one year after infection. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2023 Jan 6. Online ahead of print.

Neither race nor ethnicity impact the mortality of residents of Veterans Affairs Community Living Center with COVID-19. Alabdely MH, Kothadia S, Bej T, Wilson BM, Song S, Akpoji U, Kowal C et al. Among a national cohort of VA community living center residents with COVID-19, neither Black race nor Hispanic ethnicity had a negative impact on survival. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2023 Jan;24(1):22-26.

Major update 2: Antibody response and risk for reinfection after SARS-CoV-2 infection–final update of a living, rapid review. Holmer HK, Mackey K, Fiordalisi CV, Helfand M. Evidence for a sustained antibody response to COVID-19 infection is considerable for both Delta and Omicron variants. Prior infection protected against reinfection for both variants, but protection was weaker and waned rapidly for Omicron. Ann Intern Med. 2023 Jan;176(1):85-91.

Frailty reduces vaccine effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 infection: A test-negative case control study using national VA data. Tang F, Hammel IS, Andrew MK, Ruiz JG. COVID-19 mRNA vaccine effectiveness declines in Veterans with frailty. J Nutr Health Aging. 2023;27(2):81-88.

Frailty reduces vaccine effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 infection: A test-negative case control study using national VA data. Tang F, Hammel IS, Andrew MK, Ruiz JG. mRNA vaccine effectiveness declined in Veterans with frailty. J Nurtr Health Aging. 2023;27(2):81-88.

COVID-19 booster vaccination in rural community pharmacies. Gamble A, Hastings TJ, Westrick SC, Smith M, Hannings AN, Robinson JM, Rosenthal M et al. Interventions for both pharmacists and patients are needed to address hesitancy and improve booster uptake in rural communities. Vaccine. 2022 Dec 26. Online ahead of print.

Overcoming access barriers for Veterans: A cohort study of the distribution and use of VA’s video-enabled tablets before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dhanani Z, Ferguson JM, Van Campen J, Slightam C, Jacobs JC, Heyworth L, Zulman D. Although the COVID-19 pandemic led to increased distribution of VA-issued tablets to Veterans with complex clinical and social needs, tablet recipients who were older or unstably housed remained less likely to have a video visit. J Med Internet Res. 2022 Dec 20. Online ahead of print.

Effectiveness of messenger RNA-based vaccines during the emergence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 Omicron variant. Sharma A, Oda G, Holodniy M. mRNA vaccines were effective against COVID-19 following emergence of the Omicron variant. A third dose provided additional protection over the primary series. Clin Infect Dis. 2022 Dec 19;75(12):2186-2192.

Iodine contrast exposure and incident COVID-19 infection. Tsai K, Inoue K, McClean M, Kaunitz JD, Akiba Y, Lee ML, Neverova NV et al. Iodine exposure may be protective against incident COVID-19 infection. Front Med (Lausanne). 2022 Dec 1;9:1033601.

Infections, hospitalizations, and deaths among US nursing home residents with vs without a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine booster. McConeghy KW, Bardenheier B, Huang AW, White EM, Feifer RA, Blackman C, Santostefano CM et al. During a period when both Delta and Omicron variants were circulating, COVID-19 booster vaccination was associated with significant reductions in infections, hospitalizations, and deaths among residents of two nursing home systems. JAMA Netw Open. 2022 Dec 1;5(12):e2245417.

Hospital readmissions among Veterans within 90 days of discharge following initial hospitalization for COVID-19. Weaver FM, Niederhausen M, Hickok A, O’Neill AC, Gordon HS, Edwards ST, Grovier DJ et al. In the first year of the pandemic, about one in six Veterans discharged after hospitalization for COVID-19 were readmitted within 90 days. More severe COVID-19, more risk factors, and earlier discharges due to hospital over-capacity increased the risk of rehospitalization. Prev Chronic Dis. 2022 Dec 1. 19:E80.

Post-traumatic stress disorder and risk for hospitalization and death following COVID-19 infection. Nishimi K, Neylan TC, Bertenthal D, DOlsen EA, Seal KH, O’Donovan A. Individuals with PTSD and other psychiatric disorders had heightened vulnerability to severe adverse COVID-19 outcomes. Transl Psychiatry. 2022 Nov 2022;12(1):482.

A MUC5B gene polymorphism, rs35705950-T, confers protective effects against COVID-19 hospitalization but not severe disease or mortality. Verma A, Minnier J, Wan ES, Huffman JE, Gao L, Joseph J, Ho YL et al. Researchers identified a gene variant that may confer protection in COVID-19 hospitalizations. Respir Crit Car Med. 2022 Nov 15;206(10):1220-1229.

Healthcare access and delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic for Black Veterans with chronic pain: A qualitative study. Matthias MS, Burgess DJ, Eliacin J. Black patients with chronic pain described mostly negative effects from the shift to telecare after the pandemic’s onset. J Gen Intern Med. 2022 Nov 14:1-6.

Association between vitamin D supplementation and COVID-19 infection and mortality. Gibbons JB, Norton EC, McCullough JS, Meltzer DO, Lavigne J, Fiedler VS, Gibbons RD. Vitamin D supplementation reduced the risk of COVID-19 infection and death from COVID-19 in VA patients. Black Veterans, those with low baseline vitamin D levels, and those given higher doses saw the biggest benefits. Sci Rep. 2022 Nov 12;12(1):19397.

Neither race nor ethnicity impact the mortality of residents of Veterans Affairs community living center with COVID-19. Alabdely MH, Kothadia S, Bej T, Wilson BM, Song S, Akpoji U, Kowal C et al. Among a national sample of VA community living center residents with COVID-19, neither Black race nor Hispanic ethnicity had a negative impact of survival. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2022 Nov 4. Online ahead of print.

Exome-wide association study to identify rare variants influencing COVID-19 outcomes: Results from the Host Genetics Initiative. Butler-Laporte G, Kosmicki JA, Cirulli ET, Drivas T, Furini S, Saad C, Schmidt A et al. The results support the gene TLR7 as a genetic determinant of severe COVID-19. PLoS Genet. 2022 Nov 3;18(11):e1010367.

Geographic accessibility of COVID-19 test to treat sites by race, ethnicity, age, and rurality. Khazanchi R, Strumpf A, Essien UR, Powers SD, McManus KA. This study explores geographic disparities in antiviral access by quantifying the accessibility of COVID-19 test-to-treat sites for subpopulations by race, ethnicity, age, and rurality. JAMA Netw Open. 2022 Nov 1;5(11):e2241144.

Complexity and challenges of the clinical diagnosis and management of long COVID. O’Hare AM, Vig EK, Iwashyna TJ, Fox A, Taylor JS, Viglianti EM, Butler CR et al. Diagnosing long COVID in clinical settings is complex and challenging because of clinical uncertainty and care fragmentation. JAMA Netw Open. 2022 Nov 1;5(11):e2240332.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on eating disorders in U.S. military veterans. Mitchell KS, Smith BN, Masheb R, Vogt D. Mental health symptoms increased eating disorder diagnoses during the pandemic via their impact on social and health satisfaction, as well as physical health impacts of the pandemic. Int J Eat Disord. 2022 Oct 14. Online ahead of print.

The effects of loneliness and psychological flexibility on Veterans’ substance use and physical and mental health functioning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kelly MM, DeBeer BB, Chamberlin E, Claudio T, Duarte B, Harris JI, Kennedy MA, Shirk S, Reilly ED. Loneliness and psychological flexibility appear to be highly associated with the negative impact of COVID-19 on Veterans with problematic substance use. J Context Behav Sci. 2022 Oct 13. Online ahead of print.

Effectiveness of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine boosters against infection, hospitalization, and death: A target trial emulation in the Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant era. Ioannou GN, Bohnert ASB, O’Hare AM, Boyko EJ, Maciejewski ML, Smith VA, Bowling CD et al. Booster mRNA vaccination was highly effective in preventing death and moderately effective in preventing infection and hospitalization for up to four months after administration in the Omicron era. Ann Intern Med. 2022 Oct 11. Online ahead of print.

Ethnicity, comorbid medical conditions, and SARS-CoV-2 test cycle thresholds in the Veteran population. Petersen J, Jhala D. African American Veterans tested positive at higher rates and required more ICU care, despite similar rates of comorbid illness and viral loads. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2022 Oct;9(5):1775-1782.

The role of community-level factors on disparities in COVID-19 infection among American Indian/Alaskan Native Veterans. Wong MS, Upchurch DM, Steers WN, Haderlein TP, Yuan AT, Washington DL. Neighborhood-level social determinants of health may contribute to the disproportionate COVID-19 infection burden on American Indian/Alaskan Natives; differences are exacerbated among those living near reservations. J Racial Ethn Health Disparitied. 2022 Oct;9(5):1861-1872.

Magnitude and determinants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) household transmission: A longitudinal cohort study. Kelly JD, Lu S, Anglin K, Garcia-Knight M, Pineda-Ramirez J, Goldberg SA, Tassetto M et al. In households with individuals with symptomatic COVID-19, both vaccinated-to-vaccinated and unvaccinated-to-unvaccinated transmission of the virus was common. Clin Infect Dis. 2022 Oct 3;75(Supplement 2):S193-S204.

Variation in clinical treatment and outcomes by race among US Veterans hospitalized with COVID-19. Castro AD, Mayr FB, Talisa VB, Shaikh OS, Omer SB, Yende S, Butt AA. These findings suggest Black Veterans hospitalized with COVID-19 were less likely to be treated with evidence-based COVID-19 treatments, including systemic steroids, remdesivir, and immunomodulatory drugs, but had similar mortality rates and hospital readmission as white Veterans. JAMA Netw Open. 2022 Oct 3;5(10):e2238507.

Incidence of severe COVID-19 illness following vaccination and booster with BNT162b2, mRNA-1273, and Ad26.COV2.S vaccines. Kelly JD, Leonard S, Hoggatt KJ, Boscardin WJ, Lum EN, Moss-Vazquez TA, Andino R et al. In patients receiving care in VA during a period of Delta and Omicron variant predominance, there was a low incidence of hospitalization with COVID-19 pneumonia or death following vaccination and booster. JAMA. 202 Sep 26. Online ahead of print.

Veterans’ use of telehealth for Veterans Health Administration community care urgent care during the early COVID-19 pandemic. Cordasco KM, Yuan AH, Rollman JE, Moreau JL, Edwards LK, Gable AR, Hsiao JJ et al. Community urgent care via telehealth played an important role in providing Veterans with care access early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Use of telehealth differed by Veteran characteristics. Med Care. 2022 Sep 20. Online ahead of print.

Infectious viral shedding of SARS-CoV-2 Delta following vaccination: A longitudinal cohort study. Garcia-Knight M, Anglin K, Tassetto M, Lu S, Zhang A, Goldberg SA, Catching A et al. Results indicate that vaccination reduces the probability of shedding infectious virus after five days from symptom onset. PLoS Pathog. 2022 Sep 12;18(9):e1010802.

Outreach to the Veterans Crisis Line during the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed-methods analysis. Krishnamurti LS, Agha A, Iverson KM, Monteith LL, Dichter ME. Researchers analyzed the characteristics of calls to the Veterans Crisis Line during the first year of the pandemic. Mental health concerns, loneliness, and suicidal thoughts were the top reasons for Veterans calling. Psychiatr Serv. 2022 Sep 6. Online ahead of print.

Timing of a major operative intervention after a positive COVID-19 test affects postoperative mortality: Results from a nationwide, procedure-matched analysis. Kougias P, Sharath SE, Zamani N, Brunicardi FC, Berger DH, Wilson MA. Patients undergoing major operations within eight weeks after a positive COVID-19 test have substantially higher postoperative 90-day mortality than those who did not have COVID-19. Ann Surg. 2022 Sep 1;276(3):554-561.

Factors associated with poor outcomes among COVID-19 patients with gastrointestinal symptoms. Patil N, Kalgotra P, Sundaram S, Melquist S, Parasa D, Desai M, Sharma P. COVID-19 patients with gastrointestinal symptoms have overall worse in-hospital complications, but less cardiomyopathy and mortality. Gastro Hep Adv. 2022 Aug 26. Online ahead of print.

Persistent loneliness due to COVID-19 over 18 months of the pandemic: A prospective cohort study. Kotwal AA, Batio S, Wolf MS, Covinsky KE, Yoshino Benavente J, Perissinotto CM, O’Conor RM. Although loneliness declined for a majority of older adults during the pandemic, persistent loneliness attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic was common, particularly among Hispanic individuals or those living in poverty. J AM Geriatr Soc. 2022 Aug 25. Online ahead of print.

Vaccine effectiveness of 3 versus 2 doses of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) mRNA vaccines in a high-risk national population. Butt AA, Talisa VB, Yan P, Shaikh OS, Omer SB, Mayr FB. A third dose of mRNA vaccine is associated with high vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic infection, hospitalization, and critical disease in the pre-Omicron era. Clin Infect Dis. 2022 Aug 24;71(1):e579-e584.

Associations between gastrointestinal symptoms and COVID-19 severity outcomes, based on a propensity score-weighted analysis of a nationwide cohort. Shah SC, Canakis A, Halvorson AE, Dorn C, Wilson O, Denton J, Hauger R et al. Virus-positive patients with gastrointestinal symptoms experienced severe COVID-19 outcomes more often than those without symptoms. Gastro Hep Adv. 2022 Aug 7. Online ahead of print.

Can we use temperature measurements to identify pre-symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection in nursing home residents? Elhamamsy S, DeVone F, Bayer T, Halladay C, Cadieux M, McConeghy K, Rajan A et al. Early temperature trends may identify COVID-19 infection in pre-symptomatic long-term care residents. J AM Geriatr Soc. 2022 Aug 4. Online ahead of print.

COVID-19 mRNA vaccine effectiveness against hospitalisation and death in veterans according to frailty status during the SARS-CoV-2 delta (B.1.617.2) variant surge in the USA: a retrospective cohort study. Tang F, Hammel IS, Andrew MK, Ruiz JG. Patients with frailty had lower levels of vaccination protection against COVID-19, compared with non-frail patients. Lancet Healthy Longev. 2022 Aug 1. Online ahead of print.

Impact of age, sex, race, and regionality on major clinical outcomes of COVID-19 hospitalized patients in the United States. Sundaram SS, Melquist S, Kalgotra P, Srinivasan S, Parasa S, Desai M, Sharma P. Advanced age, male sex, and high comorbidity predicted worse outcomes in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. BMC Infect Dis. 2022 July 29;22(1):659.

Telehealth complementary and integrative health therapies during COVID-19 at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Der-Mertirosian C, Shin M, Upham ML, Douglas JH Zeliadt SB, Taylor SL. Despite delivery issues or disadvantages of tele-complementary and integrative health self-care, Veterans’ use of these therapies grew substantially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Telemed J E Health. 2022 Jul 22. Online ahead of print.

Timing of a major operative intervention after a positive COVID-19 test affects postoperative mortality: Results from a nationwide, procedure matched analysis. Kougias P, Sharath SE, Zamani N, Brunicardi FC, Berger DH, Wilson MA. Patients undergoing major operations within eight weeks after a positive COVID-19 test have substantially higher post-operative 90-day mortality, compared to controls. Ann Surg. 2022 Jul 15. Online ahead of print.

HDL cholesterol levels and susceptibility to COVID-19. Chidambaram V, Kumar A, Majella MG, Seth B, Sivakumar RK, Voruganti D, Bavineni M et al. Higher HDL cholesterol levels were associated with lower COVID-19 infection risk. EBioMedicine. 2022 Jul 14;82:104166.

Dexamethasone in hospitalised COVID-19 patients not on intensive respiratory support. Crothers K, DeFaccio R, Tate J, Alba PR, Goetz MB, Jones B, King JT Jr et al. In patients hospitalized with COVID-19, early initiation of dexamethasone was common and was associated with no mortality benefit among those not on intensive oxygen, but showed potential harm. Eur Respir J. 2022 Jul 13;60(1):2102532.

Rates and factors associated with documentation of diagnostic codes for long COVID in the national Veterans Affairs health care system. Ioannou GN, Baraff A, Fox A, Shahoumian T, Hickok A, O’Hare AM, Bohnert ASB et al. Long COVID care was documented in a variety of clinical setting, with great variability across regions and medical centers. It was more common in older persons, those with high comorbidity burden, those with more severe COVID-19, and unvaccinated persons. JAMA Netw Open. 2022 July 1;5(7):e2224359.

Medications associated with lower mortality in a SARS-CoV-2 positive cohort of 26,508 Veterans. Hunt CM, Efird JT, Redding TS 4th, Thompson AD Jr, Press AM, Williams CD, Hostler CJ, Suziki A. Treatment of COVID-19-positive patients with metformin and statins, ACEi and statins (or metformin), and other medications was associated with a markedly decreased 30-day mortality and can likely be continued safely. J Gen Intern Med. 2022 Jun 29:1-9.

COVID-19 disease severity in US Veterans infected during Omicron and Delta variant predominant periods. Mayr FB, Talisa VB, Castro AD, Shaikh OS, Omer SB, Butt AA. Infection with the Omicron variant is associated with less severe disease than the Delta variant in a high-risk older Veteran population, and vaccinations provide protection against severe or critical disease. Nat Commun. 2022 Jun 25;13(1):3647.

Temporal variation in individual social risk factors associated with testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 among Veterans in the Veterans Health Administration. Ferguson JM, Mitchell-Miland C, Shahoumian TA, Moy E, Jones KT, Cohen AJ, Hausmann LRM. Larger household size was a persistent risk factor for Veterans testing positive for COVID-19. Early in the pandemic, lower county-level population density was associated with lower infection risk, but later on this trend reversed. Ann Epidemiol. 2022 Jun 23. Online ahead of print.

Relative effectiveness of booster vs. 2-dose mRNA Covid-19 vaccination in the Veterans Health Administration: Self-controlled risk interval analysis. Korves C, Izurieta HS, Smith J, Zwain GM, Powell EI, Balajee A, Ryder KM, Young-Xu Y. Booster vaccination was more effective relative to a two-dose primary series during the Delta and Omicron COVID-19 periods. Vaccine. 2022 Jun 21

Pharmacogenetic variants and risk of remdesivir-associated liver enzyme elevations in Million Veteran Program participants hospitalized with COVID-19. Tuteja S, Yu Z, Wilson O, Chen HC, Wehdt F, Chung CP, Shah SC et al. Remdesivir-associated elevations of the liver enzyme alanine aminotransferase appear to be multifactorial, and further studies are needed. Clin Transl Sci. 2022 Jun 9. Online ahead of print.

Clinical characteristics and social determinants of health associated with 30-day hospital readmission of patients with COVID-19. Wiley Z, Kulshreshtha A, Li D, Kubes J, Kandiah S, Leung S, Kobaidze K et al. Patients who received remdesivir, were cared for in an ICU, and resided in ZIP codes with higher proportions of residence with increased social support had lower odds of hospital readmission. J Investig Med. 2022 Jun 1. Online ahead of print.

Racial and ethnic discrepancy in pulse oximetry and delayed identification of treatment eligibility among patients with COVID-19. Fawzy A, Wu TD, Wang K, Robinson ML, Farha J, Bradke A, Golden SH et al. Racial and ethnic biases in pulse oximetry accuracy were associated with greater occult hypoxemia in Asian, Black, and non-Black Hispanic patients with COVID-19, which was associated with significantly delayed or unrecognized eligibility for COVID-19 therapies among Black and Hispanic patients. JAMA Intern Med. 2022 May 31. Online ahead of print.

Variation in call volume to the Veterans Crisis Line by women and men Veterans prior to and following onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dichter ME, Chhatre S, Hoffmire C, Bellamy S, Montgomery AE, McCoy I. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 was not associated with a spike in calls by Veterans to the Veteran Crisis Line. The pandemic may have led to an increase in calls by some as well as a decrease in calls by others. J Psychiatr Res. 2022 May 23;151:561563.

Evaluating primary endpoints for COVID-19 therapeutic trials to assess recovery. Douin DJ, Grandits G, Phillips A, Aggarwal NR, Baker J, Brown SM et al. Among patients hospitalized with COVID-19, 20% had clinically significant post-discharge events within 90 days after study, in patients that would be considered “recovered” using the hospital discharge approach. Clinical trials should extend follow-up times to assess recovery more accurately. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2022 May 17. Online ahead of print.

Prior trauma exposure, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Nishimi K, Borsari B, Tripp P, Jiha A, Dolsen EA, Woolley JD, Neylan TC, O’Donovan A. Socio-demographic and pandemic-related factors appear more important than trauma or mental health for understanding COVID-19 vaccine intentions. J Psychiatr Res. 2022 May 12;151:399-404.

A population-level analysis of the protective effects of androgen deprivation therapy against COVID-19 disease incidence and severity. Lee KM, Heberer K, Gao A, Becker DJ, Loeb S, Makarov DV, Gulanski B et al. Androgen deprivation therapy is associated with reduced incidence and severity of COVID-19 amongst male Veterans. Front Med (Lausanne). 2022 May 4;9:774773.

Relative vaccine effectiveness of a SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine booster dose against the Omicron variant. Butt AA, Talisa VB, Shaikh OS, Omer SB, Mayr FB. While the relative vaccine effectiveness of an mRNA booster vaccine dose in preventing infection against the Omicron variant is low, the effectiveness is substantial in preventing hospitalization and high in preventing the most severe COVID-19. Clin Infect Dis. 2022 May 3. Online ahead of print.

Unraveling the treatment effect of baricitinib on clinical progression and resource utilization in hospitalized COVID-19 patients: Secondary analysis of the adaptive COVID-19 treatment randomized trial-2. Fintzi J, Bonnett T, Tebas P, Marconi VC, Levine CB, El Sahly HM, McLellan SLF et al. Compared with remdesivir monotherapy, baricitinib in combination with remdesivir reduces the clinical burden and use of intensive respiratory therapies for patients requiring low-flow oxygen or noninvasive positive-pressure ventilation. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2022 Apr 27;9(7). eCollection 2022 Jul.

Psychiatric disorders newly diagnosed among Veterans subsequent to hospitalization for COVID-19. Chen JI, Hickok A, O’Neill AC, Niederhausen M, Laliberte AZ, Govier DJ, Edwards ST et al. Eight percent of VA patients developed a new mental health diagnosis following COVID-19 hospitalization. The most common diagnoses were depression, anxiety, and adjustment disorders. Psychiatry Res. 2022 Apr 22. Online ahead of print.

Risk prediction for acute kidney injury in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. McAdams MC, Xu P, Saleh SN, Li M, Ostrosky-Frid M, Gregg LP, Willett DL et al. Researchers developed and externally validated a model to accurately predict acute kidney injury in patients with COVID-19. Kidney Med. 2022 Apr 8. Online ahead of print.

Association of the COVID-19 pandemic with rates of prostate cancer biopsies and diagnoses in Black vs white US Veterans. Klaassen Z, Stock S, Waller J, De Hoedt A, Freedland SJ. During the COVID-19 pandemic, prostate biopsy and prostate cancer diagnosis rates decreased, but there were no statistically significant changes in rates by race. JAMA Oncol. 2022 Apr 7. Online ahead of print.

Association of psychiatric disorders with incidence of SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infection among vaccinated adults. Nishimi K, Neylan TC, Bertenthal D, Seal KH, O’Donovan A. Psychiatric disorders were associated with increased incidence of SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infection among VA patients. JAMA Netw Open. 2022 Apr 1;5(4):e227287.

Associations between mental health and job loss among middle- and low-income Veterans and civilians during the COVID-19 pandemic: An exploratory study. Umucu E, Reyes A, Nay A, Elbogen E, Tsai J. Job loss is associated with poorer mental health, suggesting that increased mental health services may be important to address ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Stress Health. 2022 Apr;38(2):410-416

Differences in COVID-19-related testing and healthcare utilization by race and ethnicity in the Veterans Health Administration. Razjouyan J, Helmer DA, Li A, Naik AD, Amos CI, Bandi, Sharafkhaneh A. On a national level, the VHA was more likely to test and hospitalize Black and Hispanic Veterans compared to white Veterans, but there were no significant differences in ICU admission or in-hospital mortality among those hospitalized. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2022 Apr;9(2):519-526.

Associations of statin use with 30-day adverse outcomes among 4 801 406 US Veterans with and without SARS-CoV-2: An observational cohort study. Wander PL, Lowy E, Beste LA, Tulloch-Palomino L, Korpak A, Peterson AC, Kahn SE et al. Statins do not appear to exert SARS-CoV-2 specific effects. BMJ Open. 2022 Mar 18;12(3):e058363.

Impact of early corticosteroids on preventing clinical deterioration in non-critically ill patients hospitalized with COVID-19: A multi-hospital cohort study. Swaminathan L, Kaatz S, Chubb H, Tae K, Ramesh MS, Fadel R, Big C et al. Researchers found no evidence that early corticosteroid therapy prevents clinical deterioration among hospitalized non-critical ill COVID-19 patients receiving non-invasive oxygen therapy. Infect Dis Ther. 2022 Mar 10. Online ahead of print.

Vaccine effectiveness of three vs. two doses of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines in a high risk national population. Butt AA, Talisa VB, Yan P, Shaikh OS, Omer SB, Mayr FB. A third does of a SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine is associated with high vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic infection, hospitalization, and critical disease in the pre-omicron era. Clin Infect Dis. 2022 Mar 4. Online ahead of print.

COVID-19 in patients with rheumatic diseases: Is there a need to worry? Sachdeva S, Manaktala P, Malik FA, Gupta U, Desai R. Although the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection is not dramatically high in rhematic disease patients, concurrent COVID-19 does seem to play a role in determining disease severity and outcomes to some extent. J Clin Rheumatol. 2022 Mar 1;28(2):e401-e406.

Implementation of large-scale laboratory-based detection of COVID-19 in the Veterans Health Administration, March 2020 – February 2021. Sharma A, Oda G, Icardi M, Mole L, Holodniy M. During March 2020 to February 2021, VA had rapid increases in COVID-19 testing volume, decreases in test turnaround time, improvements in testing of hospitalized persons, changes in test positivity, and varying utilization of different tests. Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis. 2022 Mar;102(3):115617

Contribution of individual- and neighborhood-level social, demographic, and health factors to COVID-19 hospitalization outcomes. Tipirneni R, Karmakar M, O’Malley M, Prescott HC, Chopra V. Hospitalized patients with COVID-19 from socially vulnerable neighborhoods presented with greater illness severity and required more intensive treatment, but once hospitalized they did not experience differences in hospital mortality or discharge disposition. Ann Intern Med. 2022 Feb 22. Online ahead of print.

The experience of homebound older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ankuda CK, Kotwal A, Reckrey J, Harrison KL, Ornstein KA. Isolation among homebound older adults increased during COVID-19, partially due to differences in technology use. J Gen Intern Med. 2022 Feb 15. Online ahead of print.

Elevated risk of chronic respiratory conditions within 60 days of COVID-19 hospitalization in Veterans. Park C, Razjouyan J, Hanania NA, Helmer DA, Naik AD, Lynch KE, Amos CI, Sharafkhaneh A. COVID-19 patients had elevated risk of developing asthma, bronchitis, chronic lung disease, emphysema, and venous thromboembolism within 60 days of COVID testing. Healthcare (Basel). 2022 Feb 4;10(2):300.

Using dipstick urinalysis to predict development of acute kidney injury in patients with COVID-19. McAdams MC, Li M, Xu P, Gregg LP, Patel J, Willett DL, Velasco F et al. Proteinuria and hematuria values on dipstick urinalysis can be used to predict acute kidney injury in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. BMC Nephrol. 2022 Feb 1;23(1):50.

New-onset and exacerbated insomnia symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic in US military Veterans: A nationally representative, prospective cohort study. McCarthy, E, DeViva JC, Na PJ, Pietrzak RH. Nearly one in five U.S. Veterans studied developed new-onset or exacerbated insomnia symptoms during the pandemic. J Sleep Res. 2022 Feb;31(1):e13450.

Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms associated with protective and risky behaviors for coronavirus disease 2019. Nishimi K, Borsari B, Marx BP, Tripp P, Woodward E, Rosen RC, Cohen BE et al. Higher PTSD symptoms were associated with engagement in more protective but also more risky behaviors for COVID-19. Health Psychol. 2022 Feb;41(2):104-114.

Patient and provider predictors of telemental health use prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic within the Department of Veterans Affairs. Connolly SL, Stolzmann KL, Heyworth L, Sullivan JL, Shimada SL, Weaver KR, Linsay JA et al. Older and lower income patients, and older providers, engaged in less video care. Am Psychol. 2022 Feb-Mar;77(2):249-261.

Evaluating the findings of the IMPACT-C randomized clinical trial to improve COVID-19 vaccine coverage in skilled nursing facilities. Berry SD, Goldfeld KS, McConeghy K, Gifford D, Davidson HE, Han L, Syme M et al. A multicomponent vaccine campaign did not have a significant effect on vaccine rates among skilled nursing facility residents or staff. Vaccination rates were high among residents, but half of staff remained unvaccinated. JAMA Intern Med. 2022 Jan 31. Online ahead of print.

The incidence of diabetes among 2,777,768 Veterans with and without recent SARS-CoV-2 infection. Wander PL, Lowy E, Beste LA, Tulloch-Palomino L, Korpak A, Peterson AC, Kahn SE, Boyko EJ. SARS-CoV-2 is associated with higher risk of incident diabetes in men but not women. Diabetes Care. 2022 Jan 27. Online ahead of print.

Serious mental illness diagnosis and COVID-19 vaccine uptake in the Veterans Health Administration. Haderlein TP, Steers WN, Dobalian A. VA patients with and without serious mental illness were equally likely to receive COVID-19 vaccines. Psychiatr Serv. 2022 Jan 18. Online ahead of print.

Association of vitamin D status and COVID-19-related hospitalization and mortality. Seal KH, Bertenthal D, Carey E, Grunfeld C, Bikle DD, Lu CM. Vitamin D blood concentrations are inversely associated with COVID-19-related hospitalization and mortality. J Gen Intern Med. 2022 Jan 1:1-9. Online ahead of print.

COVID-19 vaccination associated with reduced postoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and mortality . Prasad NK, Lake R, Englum BR, Turner DJ, Siddiqui T, Mayorga-Carlin M, Sorkin JD, Lal BK. COVID-19 vaccination is associated with lower rates of postoperative death. Ann Surg. 2022 Jan 1;275(1):31-36.

COVID-19 infection in the Veterans Health Administration: Gender-specific racial and ethnic differences. Upchurch DM, Wong MS, Yuan AH, Haderlein TP, McClendon J, Christy A, Washington DL. American Indian/Alaska Native, Hispanic, and Black women and men Veterans are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 infection. Womens Health Issues. 2022 Jan-Feb;32(1):41-50.

Risk factors for delirium among SARS-CoV-2 positive Veterans. Santos CJ, Nuradin N, Joplin C, Leigh AE, Burke RV, Rome R, McCall J, Raines AM. Length of stay and new cardiac illness increase the odds of delirium in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. Psychiatry Res. 2021 Dec 30;309:114375.

Patient and provider predictors of telemental health use prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic withing the Department of Veterans Affairs. Connolly SL, Stolzmann KL, Heyworth L, Sullivan JL, Shimada SL, Weaver KR, Lindsay JA et al. Findings demonstrate a digital divide, such that older and lower income patients, and older providers, engaged in less video care. Non-psychologists also have lower video use. Am Psychol. 2021 Dec 23. Online ahead of print.

Premorbid traumatic stress and veteran responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fein-Schaffer D, Hawn SE, Annunziata AJ, Ryabchenko K, Miller MW, Wolf EJ. The results suggest that preexisting PTSD and alcohol use disorder are markers for adverse pandemic-related psychiatric outcomes and COVID-19 illness. J Trauma Stress. 2021 Dec 3. Online ahead of print.

Trends in US surgical procedures and health care system response to policies curtailing elective surgical operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mattingly AS, Rose L, Eddington HS, Trickey AW, Cullen MR, Morris AM, Wren SM. The initial shutdown period in March through April 2020 was associated with a decrease in surgical procedure volume. After the reopening, the rate of surgical procedures rebounded to 2019 levels. JAMA Netw Open. 2021 Dec 1;4(12):e2138038.

High variability in transmission of SARS-CoV-2 within households and implications for control. Toth DJA, Beams AB, Keegan LT, Zhang Y, Greene T, Orleans B, Seegert N et al. Estimates of COVID-19 spread within households may underestimate the true average transmissibility. PLoS One. 2021 Nov 10;16(11):e0259097.

High variability in transmission of SARS-CoV-2 within households and implications for control. Toth DJA, Beams AB, Keegan LT, Zhang Y, Greene T, Orleans B, Seegert N et al. Estimates of COVID-19 spread within households may underestimate the true average transmissibility. PLoS One. 2021 Nov 10;16(11):e0259097.

Bioinformatics analyses reveal cell-barrier junction modulations in lung epithelial cells on CARS-CoV-2 infection. Adil MS, Khulood D, Narayanan SP, Somanath PR. The study findings emphasize the integral role of cell junction and cytoskeletal genes in COVID-19, suggesting their therapeutic potential. Analysis also identified a distinct gene that had not been previously implicated in COVID-19. Tissue Barriers. 2021 Nov 5. Online ahead of print.

Testing of SARS-CoV-2 in symptomatic vaccinated and unvaccinated health care workers during the Delta variant surge. Lopez A, Kosnik R, Blanc PD, Taylor BR, Guntur S. In the Delta variant surge, COVID-19 test positivity rates among unvaccinated health care workers were dramatically elevated. J Occup Environ Med. 2021 Nov 5. Online ahead of print.

Bioinformatics analyses reveal cell-barrier junction modulations in lung epithelial cells on CARS-CoV-2 infection. Adil MS, Khulood D, Narayanan SP, Somanath PR. The study findings emphasize the integral role of cell junction and cytoskeletal genes in COVID-19, suggesting their therapeutic potential. Analysis also identified a distinct gene that had not been previously implicated in COVID-19. Tissue Barriers. 2021 Nov 5. Online ahead of print.

Predictors of COVID-19 vaccination among Veterans experiencing homelessness. Balut MD, Chu K, Gin JL, Dobalian A, Der-Martirosian C. Out of more than 83,000 Veterans experiencing homelessness, 46% were vaccinated. There was a strong association between COVID-19 vaccination and Veterans who utilized VA health care and housing services. Vaccines (Basel). 2021 Nov 3;9(11):1268.

Impact of fever thresholds in detection of COVID-19 in Department of Veterans Affairs community living center residents. Bej T, Kothadi S, Wilson BM, Song S, Briggs JM, Banks RE, Donskey CJ, Perez F, Jump RLP. A lower fever temperature threshold would increase the number of residents recognized as having symptomatic infection, potentially leading to earlier detection and more rapid implementation of treatment and control measures. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2021 Nov;69(11):3044-3050.

Association of PTSD with COVID-19 testing and infection in the Veterans Health Administration. Haderlein TP, Wong MS, Yuan A, Llorente MD, Washington DL. Elevated COVID-19 testing among Veterans with PTSD may reflect increased COVID-19 health concerns or hypervigilance. Lower rates of COVID-19 test positivity among Veterans with PTSD may reflect increased social isolation, or overrepresentation in the testing population due to higher overall use of VA services. J Psychiatr Res. 2021 Nov;143:504-507.

County-level impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on excess mortality among U.S. Veterans. Feyman Y, Auty SG, Tenso K, Strombotne KL, Legler A, Griffith KN. Despite Veterans’ greater likelihood of risk factors associated with severe COVID-19 illness, Veterans had slightly lower mortality than the general population. Lancet Reg Health Am. 2021 Oct 30. Online ahead of print.

Disulfiram use is associated with lower risk of COVID-19: A retrospective cohort study. Fillmore N, Bell S, Shen C, Nguyen V, La J, Dubreuil M, Strymish J et al. Disulfiram may contribute to reduced incidence and severity of COVID-19. PLoS One. 2021 Oct 28;16(10):e0359061.

The impact of school opening model on SARS-CoV-2 community incidence and mortality. Ertem Z, Schechter-Perkins EM, Oster E, van den Berg P, Epshtein I, Chaiyakanapruk N, Wilson FA, Perencevich E et al. COVID-19 incidence rates were not statistically different in counties with in-person learning versus remote school modes in most regions of the United States. However, states in the South saw a significant increase in cases. Nat Med. 2021 Oct 27. Online ahead of print.

Changes in the associations of race and rurality with SARS-CoV-2 infection, mortality, and case fatality in the United States from February 2020 to March 2021: A population-based cohort study. Ioannou GN, Ferguson JM, O’Hare AM, Bohnert ASB, Backus LI, Boyko EJ, Osborne TF et al. Higher cases of COVID-19 infection, mortality, and case fatality in Black and American Indian/Alaskan Native versus white patients and urban versus rural residents were ameliorated or reversed by March 2021. PLoS Med. 2021 Oct 21;18(10):e1003807.

Vaccine breakthrough infections in Veterans hospitalized with coronavirus infectious disease-2019: A case series. Kim PS, Schildhouse RJ, Saint S, Bradley SF, Chensue S, Houchens N, Gupta A. Individuals at risk of diminished response to vaccines and severe COVID-19 may benefit from selective serologic testing after vaccination. Am J Infect Control. 2021 Oct 12. Online ahead of print.

Racial and ethnic disparities in rates of COVID-19-associated hospitalization, intensive care unit admission, and in-hospital death in the United States from March 2020 to February 2021. Acosta AM, Garg S, Pham H, Witaker M, Anglin O, O’Halloran A, Milucky J et al. American Indian or Alaska Native, Latino, Black and Asian or Pacific Islander persons were more likely than white persons to have a COVID-19-associated hospitalization, ICU admission, or in-hospital death during the first year of the U.S. COVID-19 pandemic. JAMA Netw Open. 2021 Oct 1;4(10):e2130479.

Accuracy of the Veterans Health Administration COVID-19 (VACO) Index for predicting short-term mortality among 1307 US academic medical centre inpatients and 427 224 US Medicare patients. King JT Jr, Yoon JS, Bredl ZM, Habboushe JP, Walker GA, Rentsch CT, Tate JP et al. The VACO Index could help inform vaccination prioritization and indicate who among outpatients testing positive for COVID-19 should receive greater clinical attention or scarce treatments. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2021 Sep 28. Online ahead of print.

Changes in activity levels, physical functioning, and fall risk during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hoffman GJ, Malani PN, Solway E, Kirch M, Singer DC, Kullgren JT. The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with worsened physical functioning and fall outcomes, with the greatest effect on individuals with reduced physical activity and social isolation. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2021 Sep 18. Online ahead of print.

Early convalescent plasma therapy and mortality among US Veterans hospitalized with nonsevere COVID-19: An observational analysis emulating a target trial. Cho K, Keithly SC, Kurgansky KE, Madenci AL, Gerlovin H, Marucci-Willman H, Doubleday A et al. A targeted emulation estimated no meaningful differences in 30-day mortality between nonsevere COVID-19 patients treated and untreated with convalescent plasma. J Infect Dis. 2021 Sep 17;224(6):967-975.

Effectiveness of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 associated hospitalizations – Five Veterans Affairs medical centers, United States, February 1-August 6, 2021. Bajema KL, Dahl RM, Prill MM, Meites E, Rodriguez-Barradas MC, Marconi VC, Beenhouwer DO et al. COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are highly effective in preventing COVID-19-associated hospitalization. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2021 Sep 17;70(37):1294-1299.

Posttraumatic growth among health care workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Feingold JH, Hurtado A, Feder A, Peccoralo L, Southwick SM, Ripp J, Pietrzak RH. Nearly four out of five frontline health care workers reported posttraumatic growth, driven largely by salutogenic factors assessed during the pandemic surge. J Affect Disord. 2021 Sep 16;296:35-40.

Factors associated with post-traumatic growth in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: Results from a national sample of U.S. military veterans. Na PJ, Southwick SM, Pietrzak RH. Psychosocial interventions that promote more deliberate and organized rumination about the pandemic and enhance posttraumatic growth in response to prior traumatic events may help facilitate positive psychological changes related to the COVID-19 pandemic in U.S. military Veterans. Soc Sci Med. 2021 Sep 15;289:114409.

The roll of community-level factors on disparities in COVID-19 infection among American Indian/Alaska Native Veterans. Wong MS, Upchurch DM, Steers WN, Haderlein TP, Yuan AT, Washington DL. Neighborhood-level social determinants of health may contribute to the disproportionate COVID-19 infection burden on American Indian/Alaska Natives. Differences are exacerbated among those living near reservations. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2021 Sep 7:1-12.

Kidney outcomes in long COVID. Bowe B, Xie Y, Xu E, Al-Aly Z. COVID-19 survivors exhibited increased risk of kidney outcomes in the post-acute phase of the disease. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2021 Sep 1. Online ahead of print.

Outcomes among patients with breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infection after vaccination in a high-risk national population. Butt AA, Yan P, Shaikh OS, Mayr FB. Demographic or clinical factors are not associated with a lower risk of severe disease or death in persons with breakthrough COVID-19. EClinicalMedicine. 2021 Aug 28;40:101117.

Continuing cardiopulmonary symptoms, disability, and financial toxicity 1 month after hospitalization for third-wave COVID-19: Early results from a US nationwide cohort. Iwashyna TJ, Kamphuis LA, Gundel SJ, Hope AA, Jolley S, Admon AJ, Caldwell E et al. Patient who survived COVID-19 during late 2020/early 2021 still face new burdens one month after hospital discharge, including lingering symptoms and financial hardships. J Hosp Med. 2021 Aug 18. Online ahead of print.

Temporal trends of COVID-19 mortality and hospitalisation rates: an observational cohort study from the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Cai M, Bowe B, Xie Y, Al-Aly Z. Between March and September 2020, COVID-19 mortality rates for COVID-19 patients dropped substantially, largely due to changes in demographic and health characteristics of infected patients. BMJ Open. 2021 Aug 16;11(8):e047369.

Association between administration of IL-6 antagonists and mortality among patients hospitalized for COVID-19: A meta-analysis. WHO Rapid Evidence Appraisal for COVID-19 Therapies (REACT) Working Group; Shankar-Hari M, Vale CL, Godolphin PJ, Fischer D, Higgins JPT, Spiga F, Savovic J et al. Administration of IL-6 antagonists, compared with usual care or placebo, was associated with lower 28-day all-cause mortality on COVID-19 patients. JAMA. 2021 Aug 10;326(6):499-518.

Race, ethnicity, neighborhood characteristics, and in-hospital coronavirus disease-2019 mortality. Hu J, Bartels CM, Rovin RA, Lamb LE, Kind AJH, Nerenz DR. Neighborhood disadvantages independently predicted in-hospital COVID-19 mortality. Med Care. 2021 Aug 2. Online ahead of print.

Proportion of SARS-CoV-2 positive tests and vaccination in Veterans Affairs community living centers. Rudolph JL, Hartronft S, McConeghy K, Kennedy M, Intrator O, Minor L, Hubert TL, Goldstein MD. The proportion of COVID-19 positive tests significantly declined in VA community living centers after vaccine delivery and continued to decline in vaccinated and unvaccinated residents. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2021 Aug;69(8):2090-2095.

Trends in COVID-19 cases and clinical management in Veterans Health Administration medical facilities: A national cohort study Aboumrad M, Shiner B, Riblet N, Huizenga H, Neupane N, Young-Xu Y. Among hospitalized patients with COVID-19, researchers observed a trend toward decreased disease severity and mortality over time. PLoS One. 2021 Jul 29;e0246217.

Moral distress in frontline healthcare workers in the initial epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States: Relationship to PTSD symptoms, burnout, and psychosocial functioning. Norman SB, Feingold JH, Kaye-Kauderer H, Kaplan CA, Hurtado A, Kachadourian L, Feder A, et al. Moral distress is prevalent in frontline health care workers and includes family-, infection-, and work-related concerns. Depress Anxiety. 2021 Jul 22. Online ahead of print.

Promise and perils of telehealth in the current era. Mahtta D, Daher M, Lee MT, Sayani S, Shishehbor M, Virani SS. Telehealth services have been associated with improved health care outcomes wile remaining a cost-effective mode of health care delivery. Focus is needed on access disparities. Curr Cardiol Rep. 2021 Jul 16;23(9):115.

Characteristics and outcomes of 627 044 COVID-19 patients living with and without obesity in the United States, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Recalde M, Roel E, Pistillo A, Sena AG, Prats-Uribe A, Ahmed WU, Alghoul H, et al. Obese patients present with more severe forms of COVID-19, with higher hospitalization rates and intensive service requirements. Int J Obes (Lond). 2021 Jul 15;1-11. Online ahead of print.

Reduced mortality with ondansetron use in SARS-CoV2-infected inpatients. Bayat V, Ryono R, Phelps S, Geis E, Sedghi F, Etminani P, Holodniy M. Ondansetron, a safe, widely available drug, has potential to be used to decrease morbidity and mortality from COVID-19 in at-risk populations. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2021 Jul 14;8(7):ofab336.

COVID-19 in health care personnel: Significance of health care role, contact history, and symptoms in those who test positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Lepak AJ, Buys A, Stevens L, LeClair-Netzel M, Anderson L, Osman F, Brennan MB, Bartels CM, Safdar N. Health care providers had higher odds of testing positive for COVID-19 when they came in contact with family or community members with COVID-19. Contact with infected patients was not associated with higher odds of testing positive. Mayo Clin Proc. 2021 Jul 2. Online ahead of print.

Short-term effects of canceled elective procedures due to COVID-19: Evidence from the Veterans Affairs healthcare system. Tran LD, Rose L, Urech T, Dalton A, Wu S, Vashi AA. The pause in elective surgical cases caused by the pandemic was not associated with shot-term adverse outcomes in VA hospitals, suggesting appropriate surgical case triage and management. Annals of Surgery. 2021 July 1;274(1):45-49.

Coping strategies, neural structure, and depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal study in a naturalistic sample spanning clinical diagnoses and subclinical symptoms. Holt-Gosselin B, Tozzi L, Ramirez CA, Gotlib IH, Williams LM. Maladaptive coping strategies and structural variation in brain regions may influence clinical symptoms during a prolonged stressful event such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Biol Psychiatry Glob Open Sci. 2021 Jun 30. Online ahead of print.

Emerging advances of nanotechnology in drug and vaccine delivery against viral associated respiratory infection diseases (VARID). Seyfoori A, Shokrollahi Barough M, Mokarram P, Ahmadi M, Mehrbod P, Sheidary A, Madrakian T, et al. Nanoparticles hold promising opportunities for both anti-viral treatments and vaccines against viral respiratory infections. Int J Mol Sci. 2021 Jun 28;22(13):6937.

Early convalescent plasma therapy and mortality among US Veterans hospitalized with non-severe COVID-19: An observational analysis emulating a target trial. Cho K, Keithly SC, Kurgansky KE, Madenci AL, Gerlovin H, Wellman HM, Dobleday A, et al. The target trial emulation estimates no meaningful differences in 30-day mortality between non-severe COVID-19 patients treated and untreated with convalescent plasma. J Infect Dis. 2021 June 21. Online ahead of print.

Increased procoagulant platelet levels are predictive of death in COVID-19. Khattab MH, Prodan CI, Vincent AS, Xu C, Jones KR, Thind S, Rabadi M, Mithilesh S, Mathews E, Guthery L, Dale GL, Kirkpatrick. Platelet procoagulant potential is decreased in most patients during COVID-19; however, increased baseline platelet procoagulant levels predict death. Geroscience. 2021 June 9. Online ahead of print.

Association of social and behavioral risk factors with mortality among US Veterans with COVID-19. Kelly JD, Bravata DM, Bent S, Wray CM, Leonard SJ, Boscardin WJ, Myers LJ, Keyhani S. In an integrated health system such as VA, social and behavioral risk factors were not associated with mortality from COVID-19. JAMA Netw Open. 2021 Jun 1;4(6):e2113031.

Designing COVID-19 mortality predictions to advance clinical outcomes: Evidence from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Makridis CA, Strebel T, Marconi V, Alterovitz G. The study shows how artificial intelligence recommendations can be mad explainable and practical for clinicians and their interactions with patients. BMJ Health Care Inform. 2021 Jun;28(1):e100312.

Mental health and suicidal ideation in US military veterans with histories of COVID-19 infection. Na P, Tsai J, Harpaz-Rotem I, Pietrzak R. Psychiatric symptoms and suicidal ideation are prevalent in Veterans who have survived COVID-19. Veterans with greater prepandemic psychiatric and substance use problems, COVID-19-related stressors, and fewer psychosocial resources may be at increased risk of these outcomes. BMJ Military Health. 2021 May 25. Online ahead of print.

A qualitative study of the impact of COVID-19 on smoking behavior for participants in a post-hospitalization smoking cessation trial. Schnitzer K, Jones S, Kelley JHK, Tindle HA, Rigotti NA, Kruse GR. Stress during the COVID-19 pandemic may undermine effective coping skills among individuals enrolled in a smoking cessation trial. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 May 19;18(10):5404.

Risk factors for intensive care unit admission and in-hospital mortality among hospitalized adults identified through the US Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Associated Hospitalization Surveillance Network (COVID-NET). Kim L et al. In-hospital mortality increased markedly with increasing age. Aggressive implementation of prevention strategies may benefit the population as a whole, as well as those at highest risk for COVID-19-related complications. Clin Infect Dis. 2021 May 4;72(9):e206-e214.

Time trends in racial/ethnic differences in COVID-19 infection and mortality. Wong MS, Haderlein TP, Yuan AH, Moy E, Jones KT, Washington DL. Racial/ethnic groups at higher risk for COVID-19 infection and mortality changes over time. There were mortality disparities for Black patients in springtime 2020, and American Indian/Alaskan Natives, Asians, and Hispanics in summertime. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 May 1;18(9):4848.

COVID-19 associated mortality and cardiovascular disease outcomes among US women veterans. Tsai S, Nguyen H, Ebrahimi R, Barbosa MR, Ramanan B, Heitjan DF, Hastings JL, Modrall JG, Jeon-Slaughter H. Women Veterans who tested positive for COVID-19 had four times higher mortality risk than women Veterans who tested negative, but had lower risk of cardiovascular events or heart disease. Despite a higher infection rate among minority women Veterans, there was no significant race difference in mortality, cardiovascular events, or onset of heart disease. Sci Rep. 2021 Apr 19;11(1):8497.

Mental health treatment and the role of tele-mental health at the Veterans Health Administration during the COVID-19 pandemic. Zhang J, Boden M, Trafton J. VA and other large health care systems will need to expand outreach and continue to develop tele-mental health services to maintain care continuity and initiate care for existing and new patients during COVID-19 and future large-scale outbreaks. Psychol Serv. 2021 Apr 8. Online ahead of print.

Differences in COVID-19 testing and test positivity among Veterans, United States, 2020. Differences in COVID-19 testing and test positivity among Veterans, United States, 2020. Ferguson JM, Abdel Magrid HS, Purnell AL, Kiang MV, Osborne TF. Despite receiving more tests than White Veterans, Black and Hispanic/Latino Veterans were at increased risk of receiving a positive COVID-19 test result, suggesting social inequities are driving disparities in COVID-19 prevalence. Public Health Rep. 2021 Apr 7. Online ahead of print.

COVID-19 infections among healthcare personnel in the United States Veterans Health Administration, March to August, 2020. Oda G, Sharma A, Lucero-Obusan C, Schirmer P, Sohoni P, Holodniy M. Nearly 5% of health care workers studied had a positive COVID-19 infection. J Occup Environ Med. 2021 Apr 1;63(4):291-295.

Seroprevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection among Veterans Affairs healthcare system employees suggests higher risk of infection when exposed to SARS-CoV-2 outside the work environment. Dimcheff DE, Schildhouse RJ, Hausman MS, Vincent BM, Markovitz E, Chensue SW, Deng J, McLeod M, Hagan D, Russel J, Bradley SF. COVID-19 test results were not significantly different among employees who provided direct patient care and those who did not, suggesting that facility-wide infection control measures were effective. Employees who reported direct personal contact with COVID-19-positive persons outside work were more likely to have SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2021 Apr;42(4):392-398.

The association between alpha-1 andrenergic receptor antagonists and in-hospital mortality from COVID-19. Rose L, Graham L, Koenecke A, Powell M, Xiong R, Shen Z, Mench B, Kinzler KW, Bettegowda C, Vogelstein B, Athey S, Vogelstein JT, Konig MF, Wagner TH. The use of alpha-1-AR antagonists, drugs often used to treat hypertension, may reduce mortality in COVID-19. Front Med (Lausanne). 2021 Mar 31;8:637647.

Universal masking to control healthcare-associated transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Thompson ER, Williams FS, Giacin PA, Drummond S, Brown E, Nalick M, Wang Q, McDOnald JR, Carlson AL. Universal masking was effective in preventing further spread of SARS-CoV-2 in a medical facility. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2021 Mar 29:1-24.

Heterogeneity in COVID-19 patient volume, characteristics and outcomes across US Department of Veterans Affairs facilities: An observational cohort study. Bravata DM, Myers LJ, Perkins AJ, Keyhani S, Zhang Y, Zillich AJ, Dysangco A, Lindsey R, Sharmitha D, Myers J, Austin C, Sexson A, Arling G. Individual VA facilities differed greatly in COVID-19 patient age, patient volume, hospital admissions, intensive care caseloads, and mechanical ventilation rates. These differences could explain differing mortality rates from facility to facility. BMJ Open. 2021 Mar 8;11(3):e044646.

Clinical evidence of an interferon-glucocorticoid therapeutic synergy in COVID-19. Lu Y, Liu F, Tong G, Qiu F, Song P, Wang X, Zou X, Wan D, Cui M, Xu Y, Zheng Z, Hong P. Early interferon therapy in patients being treated with glucocorticoids for COVID-19 was associated with earlier hospital discharge, better symptom relief, and lower viral shedding. Interferon did not have these effects in patients not receiving glucocorticoids. Signal Transduct Target Ther. 2021 Mar 3;6(1):107.

Virtual care expansion in the Veterans Health Administration during the COVID-19 pandemic: Clinical services and patient characteristics associated with utilization. Ferguson JM, Jacobs J, Yefimova M, Greene L, Heyworth L, Zulman DM. While virtual care may expand access, access barriers must be addressed to avoid exacerbating disparities. J AM Med Inform Assoc. 2021 Mar 1;28(3):453-462.

What are the sources of exposure in healthcare personnel with coronavirus disease 2019 infection? Zabarsky TF, Bhullar D, Silva SY, Mana TSC, Ertle MT, Navas ME, Donskey CJ. In a health care facility, all high-risk exposures to infected patients occurred in a non-COVID-19 unit, and high-risk exposure to co-workers often involved lapses in mask compliance in nonpatient areas. Am J Infect Control. 2021 Mar;49(3):392-395.

Coronavirus disease 2019 in Veterans receiving care at Veterans Health Administration facilities. Luo J, Jeyapalina S, Stoddard GJ, Kwok AC, Agarwal JP. Elderly Veterans and Veterans with a history of cardiovascular disease represent a large proportion of the VA COVID-19 cases and deaths. Black Veterans had higher mortality rates but lower case fatality rates than white Veterans. Ann Epidemiol. 2021 Mar;55:10-14.

Short-term effects of cancelled elective procedures due to COVID-19: Evidence from the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System. Tran LD, Rose L, Urech T, Dalton A, Wu S, Vashi AA. The pause in elective surgical cases due to the COVID-19 pandemic was not associated with short-term adverse outcomes in VA hospitals, suggesting appropriate surgical case triage and management. Ann Surg. 2021 Feb 12. Online ahead of print.

Nursing home oversight during the COVID-19 pandemic. Stevenson DG, Chang AK. In the months since COVID-19 first impacted nursing homes, regulatory oversight efforts have fallen off considerably. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2021 Feb 12. Online ahead of print.

Association of mortality and aspirin prescription for COVID-19 patients at the Veterans Health Administration. Osborne TF, Veigulis ZP, Arreola DM, Mahajan SM, Röösli E, Curtin CM. Pre-diagnosis aspirin prescription was strongly associated with decreased mortality rates for Veterans diagnosed with COVID-19. PLoS One. 2021 Feb 11;16(2):e0246825.

COVID-19-related hospitalization rates and severe outcomes among Veterans from 5 Veterans Affairs medical centers: Hospital-based surveillance study. Cardemil CV, Dahl R, Prill MM, Cates J, Brown S, Perea A, Marconi V, Bell L, Rodriguez-Barradas MC, Rivera-Dominguez G, Beenhouwer D, Poteshkina A, Holodniy M, Lucero-Obusan C, Balachandran N, Hall AJ, Kim L, Langley G. COVID-19 hospitalization rates and severe outcomes are high among older Veterans. Hospitalizations are higher among Hispanic, Latino, and Black Veterans than among white Veterans. JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2021 Jan 22;7(1):e24502.

Prevalence and risk factors for delirium in critically ill patients with COVID-19 (COVID-D): A multicentre cohort study. Pun BT, et al. Acute brain dysfunction was highly prevalent and prolonged in critically ill patients with COVID-19. Benzodiazepine use and lack of family visitation were risk factors for delirium. Lancet Respir Med. 2021 Jan 8. Online ahead of print.

End-of-life care in the time of COVID-19: Communication matters more than ever. Ersek M, Smith D, Griffin H, Carpenter J, Feder SL, Shreve ST, Nelson FX, Kinder D, Thorpe JM, Kutney-Lee A. Effective remote communication with the patient and health care team was associated with significantly better ratings of the overall experience of end-of-life care by bereaved family members. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2021 Jan 4. Online ahead of print.

Association of intensive care unit patient load and demand with mortality rates in US Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bravata DM, Perkins AJ, Myers LJ, Arling G, Zhang Y, Zillich AJ, Reese L, Dysangco A, Agarwal R, Myers J, Austin C, Leonard SJ, Dev S, Keyhani S. Strains on critical care capacity were associated with increased COVID-19 ICU mortality in VA medical centers. JAMA Netw Open. 2021 Jan 4;4(1):e2034266.

Periprocedural complications in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to those without infection: A nationwide propensity-matched analysis. Lal BK, Prasad NK, Englum BR, Turner DJ, Siddiqui T, Carlin MM, Lake R, Sorkin JD. Pulmonary, septic, and ischemic complications are increased in COVID-19 positive patients, compared to negative patients. Am J Surg. 2020 Dec 28. Online ahead of print.

Healing after Covid-19: Are survivors at risk for development of pulmonary fibrosis? McDonald LT. This review examines current basic and clinical data regarding fibrogenic mechanisms of viral injury in the context of SARS-CoV-2. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2020 Dec 23. Online ahead of print.

Coronavirus disease 2019 in Veterans receiving care at Veterans Health Administration facilities. Luo J, Jeyapalina S, Stoddard GJ, Kwok AC, Agarwal JP. Elderly Veterans and Veterans with a history of cardiovascular disease represent a large proportion of the VA COVID1-9 cases and deaths. Black Veterans had higher mortality rates, but lower case fatality rates when compared with white Veterans. Ann Epidemiol. 2020 Dec 15. Online ahead of print.

COVID-19 infections among healthcare personnel in the United States Veterans Health Administration, March – August, 2020. Oda G, Sharma A, Lucero-Obusan C, Schirmer P, Sohoni P, Holodniy M. Between March and August 2020, nearly 6,000 VA health care workers contracted COVID19. Of those, 18 died after infection. J Occup Environ Med. 2020 Dec 11. Online ahead of print.

Facial personal protective equipment: Materials, resterilization methods, and management of occupation-related dermatoses. Yu J, Goldminz A, Chisolm S, Jacob SE, Zippin JH, Wu PA, Hylwa S, Dunnick CA, Chen JK, Reeder M, Honari G, Atwater AR. There are increasing reports of occupational dermatoses associated with facial personal protective equipment. This review discusses the components of facial PPE, mask resterilization methods, and strategies for prevention and management of facial dermatoses. Dermatitis. 2020 Dec 1. Online ahead of print.

Association of PTSD with COVID-19 testing and infection in the Veterans Health Administration. Haderlein TP, Wong MS, Yuan A, Llorente MD, Washington DL. Veterans with PTSD were more likely to be tested for COVID-19 than those without PTSD. However, Veterans with PTSD were less likely to test positive. J Psychiatr Res. 2020 Nov 23. Online ahead of print.

Acute kidney injury in a national cohort of hospitalized US Veterans with COVID-19. Bowe B, Cai M, Xie Y, Gibson AK, Maddukuri G, Al-Aly Z. Acute kidney injury is common during hospitalization with COVID-19 and associated with higher risk of health care resource use and death. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2020 Nov 16. Online ahead of print.

Cycle threshold to test positivity in COVID-19 for return to work clearance in health care workers. Domeracki S, Clapp RN, Taylor K, Lu CM, Lampiris H, Blanc PD. Considering estimated viral load testing may help inform return-to-work planning and decision making beyond solely relying on positive/negative test results. J Occup Environ Med. 2020 Nov;62(11):889-891.

Virtual care expansion in the Veterans Health Administration during the COVID-19 pandemic: Clinical services and patient characteristics associated with utilization. Ferguson JM, Jacobs J, Yefimova M, Greene L, Heyworth L, Zulman DM. Veterans with high clinical or social need had higher likelihood of virtual service use early in the COVID-19 pandemic. However, older, homeless, and rural Veterans were less likely to have video visits, raising concerns for access barriers. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2020 Oct 30. Online ahead of print.

Emerging mechanisms of pulmonary vasoconstriction in SARS-CoV-2-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and potential therapeutic targets. Karmouty-Quintana H, Thandavarayan RA, Keller SP, Sahay S, Pandit LM, Akkanti B. In this review, the authors outline emerging mechanisms of pulmonary vascular dysfunction in COVID-19 and outline potential treatment options that have been clinically tested. Int J Mol Sci. 2020 Oct 29;21(21):E8081.

Metformin is associated with decreased 30-day mortality among nursing home residents infected with SARS-CoV2. Lally M, Tsoukas P, Halladay C, O’Neill E, Gravenstein S, Rudolph JL. Nursing home residents taking metformin-containing diabetes drugs has a reduction in 30-day mortality after COVID-19 infection. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2020 Oct 26;S1525-8610(20)30924-5.

Impact of exposure to patients with COVID-19 on residents and fellows: an international survey of 1420 trainees. Cravero AL, Kim NJ, Feld LD, Berry K, Rabiee A, Bazarbashi N, Bassin S, Lee TH, Moon AM, Qi X, Liang PS, Aby ES, Khan MQ, Young KJ, Patel A, Wijarnpreecha K, Kobeissy A, Hashim A, Houser A, Ioannou GN. Exposure to patients with COVID-19 is significantly associated with higher burnout rates in physician trainees. Postgrad Med J. 2020 Oct 21. Online ahead of print.

ACE2 mouse models: A toolbox for cardiovascular and pulmonary research. Jia H, Yue X, Lazertigues E. The purpose of this review is to provide researchers with the genetic tools available for further understanding of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 biology and for the investigation of ACE2 in the pathogenesis and treatment of COVID-19. Nat Commun. 2020 Oct 14;11(1):5165.

Temperature screening for SARS-CoV-2 in nursing homes: Evidence from two national cohorts. McConeghy KW, White E, Panagiotou OA, Santostefano C, Halladay C, Feifer RA, Blackman C, Rudolph JL, Mor V, Gravenstein S. A definition of 38.0°C for fever in nursing home screening tools should be lowered to improve predictive accuracy for SARS-CoV-2 infection. J AM Geriatr Soc. 2020 Oct 9. Online ahead of print.

The ten reasons why corticosteroid therapy reduces mortality in sever COVID-19. Arabi YM, chrousos GP, Meduri GU. This article summarizes the current understanding of the effect of corticosteroid therapy in severe COVID-19, which appears to reduce mortality. Intensive Care Med. 2020 Oct 7;1-4.

Geographic variation of racial disparities in health and COVID-19 mortality. Parcha V, Malla G, Suri SS, Kalra R, Heindl B, Berra L, Fouad MN, Arora G, Arora P. Racial disparities in COVID-19 are largely driven by higher cumulative incidence of infection in Black patients. There is a discordance between the geographic dispersion of COVID-19 mortality and the regional distribution of health factors. Mayo Clin Proc Innov Qual Outcomes. 2020 Oct 6. Online ahead of print.

Seroprevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection among VA healthcare system employees suggests higher risk of infection when exposed to SARS-CoV-2 outside of the work environment. Dimcheff DE, Schildhouse RJ, Hausman MS, Vincent BM, Markovitz E, Chensue SW, Deng J, McLeod M, Hagan D, Russel J, Bradley SF. Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 among VA employees was not significantly different among those who provided direct patient care and those who did not. Employees who reported direct personal contact with COVID-19-positive persons outside of work were more likely to have virus antibodies. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2020 Sep 23:1-25.

Patterns of COVID-19 testing and mortality by race and ethnicity among United States Veterans: A nationwide cohort study. Rentsch CT, Kidwai-Khan F, Tate JP, Park LS, King JT Jr, Skanderson M, Hauser RG, Schultze A, Jarvis CI, Holodniy M, Lo Re V 3rd, Akgün KM, Crothers K, Taddei TH, Freiberg MS, Justice AC. Black and Hispanic individuals are experiencing excess burden of SARS-CoV-2 infection not entirely explained by underlying medical conditions or where they live and receive care. PLoS Med. 2020 Sep 22;17(9):e1003379.

Long-term hydroxychloroquine use in patients with rheumatic conditions and development of SARS-CoV-2 infection: A retrospective cohort study. Gentry CA, Humphrey MB, Thind SK, Hendrickson SC, Kurdgelashvili G, Williams RJ 2nd. Hydroxychloroquine was not associated with a preventive effect against SARS-CoV-2 infection in a large group of patients with rheumatological conditions. Lancet Rheumatol. 2020 Sep 21. Online ahead of print.

Endocrine significance of SARS-CoV-2’s reliance on ACE2. Lazartigues E, Qadir MMF, Mauvais-Jarvis F. This review discusses the rapidly evolving knowledge of the potential role of the ACE2 enzyme and coronaviruses in the development of diabetes, hypogonadism, and pituitary and thyroid diseases. Endocrinology. 2020 Sep 1;161(9): bqaa108.

Utility of repeat nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR testing and refinement of diagnostic stewardship strategies at a tertiary care academic center in a low-prevalence area of the United States. Lepak AJ, Chen DJ, Buys A, Stevens L, Safdar N. Repeat inpatient testing after initial negative COVID-19 result with the RT-PCR test failed to demonstrate negative-to-positive conversion, suggesting that sensitivity of the test may be higher than previously believed. Open Forum Infect Dis. 202 0Aug 27;8(9):ofaa388.

A case for targeting Th17 cells and IL-17A in SARS-CoV-2. Orlov M, Wander PL, Morrell ED, Mikacenic C, Wurfel MM. This review describes evidence linking risk factors for critical illness in COVID-19 with increased Th17 cell activation and IL-17 signaling that may lead to increased likelihood for lung injury and respiratory failure. J Immunol. 2020 Aug 15;205(4):892-898.

Income disparities in access to critical care services. Kanter GP, Segal AG, Groeneveld PW. A large gap exists in access to ICU beds based on income: 49% of the lowest-income communities had no ICU beds, whereas only 3% of the highest-income communities had no ICU beds. Health Aff (Millwood). 2020 Aug;39(8):1362-1367.

Survival after in-hospital cardiac arrest in critically ill patients: Implication for Covid-19 outbreak? Girotra S, Tang Y, Chan PS, Nallamothu BK. In a cohort of critically ill patients on mechanical ventilation, survival outcomes following in-hospital resuscitation were not uniformly poor. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes. 2020 Jul;13(7):e006837.

COVID-19, mast cells, cytokine storm, psychological stress, and neuroinflammation. Kempuraj D, Selvakumar GP, Ahmed ME, Raikwar SP, Thangavel R, Khan A, Zaheer SA, Iver SS, Burton C, James D, Zaheer A. COVID-19 can induce mast cell activation, psychological stress, cytokine storm, and neuroinflammation. Neuroscientist. 2020 Jul 10. Online ahead of print.

Decontamination methods for reuse of filtering facepiece respirators. Su-Velez BM, Maxim T, Long JL, St John MA, Holliday MA. UV light, steam, low-dry heat, and commercial sterilization methods with ethylene oxide or vaporized hydrogen peroxide appear to be viable options for successful decontamination of N95 masks. JAMA Otolaryngol Hed Neck Surg. 2020 Jul 2. Online ahead of print.

Characteristics and quality of US nursing home reporting cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Chatterjee P, Kelly S, Qi M, Warner RM. Rates of failure to meet or allegations of noncompliance with federal requirements were higher in nursing homes that reported COVID-19 cases. JAMA Netw Open. 2020 Jul 1;3(7):e2016930.

Investigation of nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 transmission from two patients to health care workers identifies close contact but not airborne transmission events. Bays DJ, Nguyen MH, Cohen SH, Waldman S, Martin CS, Thompson GR, Sandrock C, Tourtellotte J, Pugashetti JV, Phan C, Nguyen HH, Warner GY, Penn BH. At least in a health care setting, a majority of SARS-CoV-2 transmission is likely to take place during close contact with infected patients through respiratory droplets, rather than by long-distance airborne transmission. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2020 Jul 3:1-22.

AGA Institute rapid review of the gastrointestinal and liver manifestations of COVID-19, meta-analysis of international data, and recommendations for the consultative management of patients with COVID-19. Sultan S, Altayar O, Siddique SM, Davitkov P, Feuerestein JD, Lim JK, Falck-Ytter Y, El-Serag HB; AGA Institute. Gastrointestinal symptoms are associated with COVID-19 in less than 10% of patients. Further studies are needed to standardize GI symptom questionnaires and liver function tests on admission for COVID-19. Gastroenterology. 2020 Jul;159(1):320-334.

Review of viral testing (polymerase chain reaction) and antibody/serology testing for severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 for the intensivist. Motley MP, Bennett-Guerrero, Fries BC, Spitzer ED. This review details the strengths and weaknesses of various testing methods for the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Crit Care Explor. 2020 Jun 15;2(6):e0154.

Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin II receptor blocker use among outpatients diagnoses with COVID-19. Bae DJ, Tehrani DM, Rabadia SV, Frost M, Parikh RV, Calfon=Press M, Aksoy O, Umar S, Ardehali R, Rabbani A, Bokhoor P, Nsair A, Currier J, Tobis J, Fonarow GC, Dave R, Rafique AM. Among patients diagnosed with COVID-19, ACE inhibitor/ARB use for high blood pressure was not associated with increased risk of hospital admission. Am J Cardiol. 2020 Jul 12. Online ahead of print.

Systematic review and meta-analysis on the value of chest CT in the diagnosis of coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Sol Scientiae, Illustra Nos. Adams HJA, Kwee TC, Yakar D, Hope MD, Kwee RM. Chest CT scans have relatively high sensitivity to infections in patients with COVID-19 symptoms, but studies on the testing suffer from quality issues. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2020 Jun 1;1-9. Online ahead of print.

Differences in race and other state-level characteristics and associations with mortality from COVID-19 infection. Sehra ST, Fundin S, Lavery C, Baker JF. States with a greater proportion of African American residents report a higher death rate from COVID-19 despite adjusting for case rates and state-level factors. J Med Virol. 2020 May 30. Online ahead of print.

Clinical outcomes in COVID-19 patients treated with tocilizumab: An individual patient data systematic review. Antwi-Amoabeng D, Kanji Z, Ford B, Beutler BD, Riddle MS, Siddiqui F. Following tocilizumab treatment in COVID-19 patients, interleukin-6 levels elevate and C-reactive protein levels dramatically decrease, suggestion an improvement in the hyperinflammatory state. J Med Virol. 2020 May 21. Online ahead of print.

Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine in the context of COVID-19. Shukla AM, Archibald LK, Shukla AW, Mehta HJ, Cherabuddi K. Pending the availability of confirmatory studies, the use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine in COVID-19 should be viewed as experimental at this stage, and it should adhere to local, regional, or national ethics and research guidelines. Drugs Context. 2020 Apr 28;9:2020-4-5.

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