#FOAMed

Thomas Shanahan examines the December 2020 RECOVERY preprint on azithromycin for hospitalised patients with COVID-19. The review covers the absence of a mortality benefit, incomplete follow-up at publication and the importance of avoiding antibiotic use without a supported indication.

Iain and Simon look back at November and early December 2020 on the St Emlyn's blog. The Christmas round-up covers emerging COVID-19 research, purpura in children, the future of medical conferences and research in emergency medicine.

Why did COVID-19 cause such different outcomes in different people? John McDermott reviews the December 2020 GenOMICC findings, explaining genetic associations with severe illness, their potential to guide research and why they cannot predict an individual patient's fate on their own.

A December 2020 appraisal of PRIEST's evaluation of risk scores in emergency department patients with suspected COVID-19. It examines the balance between sensitivity and specificity, differences between predicting death and organ support, and why the population in which a score is tested matters.

Before the fuller tocilizumab trial reports, Dan Horner examined the conflicting evidence available in December 2020. This appraisal considers biological plausibility, early REMAP-CAP announcements, adverse effects and the difficulty of discussing an experimental treatment when media coverage runs ahead of the data.

Simon Carley and Rick Body discuss the strengths and limitations of COVID-19 testing in December 2020. The episode and accompanying links explore PCR, LAMP, rapid testing and lateral flow tests, alongside the FALCON/CONDOR programme evaluating new diagnostics.