A January 2021 appraisal of REMAP-CAP’s early tocilizumab and sarilumab findings in critically ill patients with COVID-19. Dan Horner examines organ support and survival outcomes, strict eligibility criteria and the uncertainties that remained as the results moved rapidly into policy and public discussion.
Tocilizumorelikeit? The latest data on Tocilizumab. St Emlyn’s Read More
A December 2020 review of RECOVERY’s lopinavir/ritonavir results in hospitalised patients with COVID-19. It discusses the lack of demonstrated benefit, the limits of extrapolating to earlier disease and how adaptive platform trials made rapid evaluation of proposed treatments possible.
JC: Lopinavir/Ritonavir in the treatment of COVID-19 Read More
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.
JC: Azithromycin in patients hospitalised with COVID-19 Read More
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.
The Emerging Evidence for a Genetic Susceptibility to Severe Covid-19. St Emlyn’s Read More
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.
Risk stratification in the ED for COVID19 patients: The PRIEST study. St Emlyn’s Read More
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.
Tocilizumaybe? Immune modulation in COVID-19 Read More
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.
Understanding COVID-19 testing with Rick Body. St Emlyn’s Read More
A November 2020 appraisal of the PLACID convalescent plasma trial in moderately unwell hospitalised patients with COVID-19 in India. It explores the lack of demonstrated clinical benefit, variation in usual care and antibody levels, and why larger trials were still needed.
JC: Convalescent plasma in COVID 19 patients. Read More
