LocalControl: An R Package for Comparative Safety and Effectiveness Research

The LocalControl R package implements novel approaches to address biases and confounding when comparing treatments or exposures in observational studies of outcomes. While designed and appropriate for use in comparative safety and effectiveness research involving medicine and the life sciences, the package can be used in other situations involving outcomes with multiple confounders. LocalControl is an open-source tool for researchers whose aim is to generate high quality evidence using observational data. The package implements a family of methods for non-parametric bias correction when comparing treatments in observational studies, including survival analysis settings, where competing risks and/or censoring may be present. The approach extends to bias-corrected personalized predictions of treatment outcome differences, and analysis of heterogeneity of treatment effect-sizes across patient subgroups

2020-06-26/27/28 DAILY UNM GLOBAL HEALTH COVID-19 BRIEFING

Executive Summary: NM Highlights: State fair cancelled. Phase 2 reopening stalls. Fewer New Mexicans staying home. ABQ July 4 celebration plan. NM case update. US Highlights: Family members infected following surprise birthday party. New cases spike in Texas due to early reopening of bars. International Highlights: 50% in Austria ski resort have antibodies. Economics, Workforce, Supply Chain, PPE: Why people do not wear masks. Mask filtration efficiencies compared. Masks worn incorrectly. Ultraviolet-based biophotonic technologies. Improved mask designs. Mask wearing controversy. Epidemiology Highlights: Contamination through air flow paths. Contamination of wastewater circulation. Healthcare Policy Recommendations: Moralizing COVID-19 mitigation practices contributes to social polarization. Misperception of exponential infection growth by Americans is common but can be corrected. Adjust quarantine plans for the findings that older patients might have a longer incubation period. Hazards of school reopening in European countries with high transmission rates. Practice Guidelines: Several Brazilian recommendations are published on managing lung cancer, performing laparoscopic surgery, and breastfeeding. Guidelines are provided and managing gynecological cancer. Testing: Test accessibility, frequency and speed of reporting matters more than sensitivity. Prolonged shedding of SARS-CoV-2. Sensitivity of nasopharyngeal and swabs testing. Testing algorithm for essential workers. Drugs, Vaccines, Therapies, Clinical Trials: dexamethasone trial preprint criticized, smallpox-based COVID-19 vaccine, 27 new clinical trials. Other Science: Pandemic sees increased alcohol consumption. Charlson Comorbidity Index predicts poor outcomes. CT features associated with severity. Immune-inflammatory tests associated with severity. Hepatic complications

2020-05-16/17 DAILY UNM GLOBAL HEALTH COVID-19 BRIEFING

Executive Summary: Only 1 case in NM state prisons. NM case count. NM travel warning. NM web-based recovery reporting system. NM Mask Madness Tournament. Face covering in ABQ. NM graduate medical program funding. ABQ Memorial Day cancellation. NM affordable housing funding. Taos farmers market drive through opening. US correctional facility cases. Social distancing works. Dogs sniffing out COVID-19. Germany\u27s soccer league to restart. Mask effectiveness. Mask comfort w/cardboard cutout. Ammonium cleaning ineffective. CDC contact tracing guidance. Spanish immunity. CDC epidemic intelligence fellowship. Speaking transmits virus. Decontaminating workers. CDC advisory for children. Addressing ER fears. Indoor presymptomatic virus transfer. Virus transmission of currency. Safety advice for reopening. Lessons learned from universities. Dutch safe sex guidelines for singles. Recommendations are given on invasive management of acute coronary syndrome, onco-gynecologic surgery, endoscopy, hemodialysis, on resuming orthopedic surgery, clozapine monitoring, starting ADHD medications, orthodontics, and scaling up virtual services. At-home sample collection kit. Hydroxychloroquine no benefit. Tocilizumab reduces mortality rate. Calcium channel blockers beneficial. COVID-19 opinion/review vs. primary research. Disease severity and biomarkers. Concomitant liver injury. Gastrointestinal and liver involvement. Diabetes mortality. High incidence venous thrombosis. Monitoring global emotions with twitter

2020-05-29/30/31 DAILY UNM GLOBAL HEALTH COVID-19 BRIEFING

Executive Summary: NM Highlights: NM case count. Navajo Nation case update. Largest COVID-19 surge in Taos. ABQ BioPark to reopen. NM public schools reopening plan. NM unemployment claims. Rise in domestic and sexual abuse. US Highlights: Protests inspire fear of surge. Trump withdraws from WHO. Last aid bill. No new NY patients. ICE detainees sick. International Highlights: South Korea schools close. Undercounting in Russia. South African overburdened health care system. Economics, Workforce, Supply Chain, PPE: Reusable protection system. Protective household products. Longterm economic challenges. Epidemiology Highlights: Estimate virus reproduction numbers. Hypertension & cardiovascular disease impact on mortality. Gastrointestinal manifestations. Healthcare Policy Recommendations: Immunity passports are bad idea. Evaluation of hand WHO-recommended products. Opioid use-related challenges of COVID-19 management. Practice Guidelines: NICE guidelines on COVID-19 and acute kidney injury. Example of rapid conversion of an outpatient psychiatric hospital to a virtual telepsychiatry clinic. JAMA recommendations on conducting and reporting COVID-19 clinical research. Testing: Comparison of 4 antigen tests. Validation of antibody assays. Drugs, Vaccines, Therapies, Clinical Trials: Encouraging results of Ruxolitinib phase II RCT. Benefits of adjunctive herbal medicine. Potential inhibitors of viral protease screened. Anticoagulation alone is unlikely to protect from COVID-19 related morbidity and mortality. Open access database Covid19db for COVID-19 drugs. 49 new trials registered. Other Science: COVID-19 collateral damage. Telomere length and COVID-19 outcomes. Wastewater RNA early warning. Neurologic manifestation review. MRI reveals predominant anosmia cases. Self-quarantine weight gain. Immunosuppression vs. cytokine storm. Combatting misinformation

2020-04-06 DAILY UNM GLOBAL HEALTH COVID-19 BRIEFING

Executive Summary: NM case updates. Several NM policy and legislative actions. Federal vs. state conflict over medical supply lines. Healthcare workers sleep in cars to prevent family exposure. Same-day in-house testing at Cedars-Sinai. Debate over hydroxychloroquine Tx. Death rate differences: Germany and Italy. African innovations. Testing recommended with mild symptoms. CDC guidelines for law enforcement PPE. New WHO first responder training and CDC sign language resources. COVID-19 droplets can travel up to 27 feet. Transmission from the asymptomatic. Humidifiers help. Drug and vaccine progress

2020-06-15/16 DAILY UNM GLOBAL HEALTH COVID-19 BRIEFING

Executive Summary: NM Highlights: NM case updates. Tribal outreach campaign. Santa Fe firefighters support first responders. US Highlights: COVID-19 hospitalizations rise in Texas. US retail sales up in May. Projected COVID-19 deaths in US. International Highlights: COVID-19 prevention and control in Africa. COVID-19 response and challenge in Africa. Epidemiology Highlights: Herd immunity in Europe. Social distance measures effects. Modeling infections in India. Fecal analysis. Wastewater-based Epidemiology Consortium. Healthcare Policy Recommendations: Public health approach to lockdown debate. All of Us Program adds new COVID-19 initiatives. Practice Guidelines: Guidelines are reviewed on urology care. IBD endoscopy. Convalescent plasma use. Testing: Patient predictors of risk for positive COVID-19 test are reported and an online risk calculator is now available. Drugs, Vaccines, Therapies, Clinical Trials: Steroid dexamethasone reduces 28-day mortality by 1/3. Research links ‘inflamm-aging’ and cytokine storm in elderly. Cancer drug may reduce severe COVID-19. 48 new trials registered. Other Science: Postpone surgery. Proteins predict outcomes. Neurologic manifestations. Thromboembolic risk. Zoonotic transmission. Liver failure. Cardiac complications

2020-06-19/20/21 DAILY UNM GLOBAL HEALTH COVID-19 BRIEFING

Executive Summary: NM Highlights: Dr. Scrase on-line briefing. NM cases. Campgrounds closed through July 4th. Otero prison reports. Navajo nation’s first police dies. Santa Fe cancels 4th July fireworks. Face coverings donated. NM infection rate drops. US Highlights: AZ Governor issues Exec Order. Economics, Workforce, Supply Chain, PPE: Epidemiology Highlights: Reopening hospitals metric. Comparison of mask effectiveness. Private practices suffer. Healthcare Policy Recommendations: Maternal mortality. Practice Guidelines: Recommendations on hepatobiliary surgery and neonate management. Drugs, Vaccines, Therapies, Clinical Trials: Animal studies generate new vaccine candidates and vaccine platform. 16 new clinical trials registered. Other Science: Respiratory secretions detected by trained dogs. MRI findings show brain lesions in non-survivors. Healthy blood vessels may protect children. Meta-analysis on pneumonia severity. Smoking and COVID-19 severity meta-analysis

2020-06-24/25 DAILY UNM GLOBAL HEALTH COVID-19 BRIEFING

Executive Summary: NM Highlights: Governor update. NM schools reopening. Parents split on allowing kids play sports. Santa Fe streets closure. Paid leave for ABQ businesses. 207 cases and 5 deaths. International Highlights: 9% HCW positive in Italy. Australian lessons. Economics, Workforce, Supply Chain, PPE: Plan for return to normalcy. Mask cleaning. Epidemiology Highlights: US years of life lost high. Fever and cough most prevalent symptoms. Hypertension and diabetes most prevalent comorbidities. Hypertension, diabetes and respiratory disease most prevalent in fatal cases. Practice Guidelines: Brazilian guidelines on thromboembolic complications in COVID-19. Novel design of door handle to touch with a forearm. Drugs, Vaccines, Therapies, Clinical Trials: Potential dexamethasone shortage. Arbidol potentially effective. Pixatimod promising. In-silico repurposing. 51 new COVID-19 trials. Other Science: Transmission prior to symptoms. Solar inactivation of coronaviruses. Risk factors for severity. Laboratory tests associated with outcomes

2020-06-03/04 DAILY UNM GLOBAL HEALTH COVID-19 BRIEFING

Executive Summary: NM Highlights: Navajo Nation to end weekend curfew. NM case count. Navajo Nation case updates. Food distribution by PepsiCo. APS to get funding. US Highlights: 5 vaccine candidates. Arizona’s increased cases. Some states postpone primaries. Pork plant infections. Economics, Workforce, Supply Chain, PPE: Impact on global supply chains. Residency selection process disrupted. Facemask filtration efficiency. Resources for underserved countries. Epidemiology Highlights: Morbidity and mortality in Africa. Healthcare Policy Recommendations: Need for social distancing. Psychological support guide. Return to work guidelines. Practice Guidelines: Anesthesia recommendations for ECT. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation outcomes. Testing: Roche Elecsys IL-6 test is authorized by FDA to identify severe inflammatory response. Drugs, Vaccines, Therapies, Clinical Trials: HCQ RCT does not show disease prevention. Lancet HCQ study retraction. Adjunctive convalescent plasma did not show clinical improvement. Mixed remdesivir results. Virtual drug screening. Heparin improved survival. Moderna phase 3. Skin science for vaccine development. ECMO therapy. 48 new clinical trials. Other Science: Androgens and poor male outcomes. Trust in science enhances prevention compliance. High VTE prevalence in critically ill

2020-06-29/30 DAILY UNM GLOBAL HEALTH COVID-19 BRIEFING

Executive Summary: NM Highlights: NM cases update. ABQ nursing home hit hard. UNM student family housing closure. White Sands National Park reopening. 52% of federal COVID-19 relief money for tribal communities. Bill signed to help NM taxpayers. US Highlights: Polarization of political elite response on Twitter. International Highlights: China’s military to use Ad5-nCoV vaccine in trials. Economics, Workforce, Supply Chain, PPE: Decontaminate N95 respirators using a microwave. Epidemiology Highlights: Mask-wearing prevents transmission. Face-masks associated with Italy’s declining epidemic. Healthcare Policy Recommendations: Social distancing reassessed? Lessons learned from previous pandemics. Digital tools against COVID-19. Investigating cultural and psychological factors to reduce spread. Practice Guidelines: Preserving couple relationships during COVID-19. Testing: No difference in viral load between symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals. A new fast point-of-care virus detection test. Few patient serum samples have virus RNA (at low viral load) and these are not associated with infectious disease. Symptoms and temperature reports are informative to screen health care workers. Drugs, Vaccines, Therapies, Clinical Trials: 37 new trials registered June 29-30. Other Science: Multisystem pediatric inflammatory syndrome. Hazardous postoperative outcomes. Childhood immunization in Africa. Citizen science and protein folding