COVID-19 first anniversary review of cases, hospitalization, and mortality in the UK

Introduction: The first confirmed COVID-19 case in UK dates to 11 January 2020, exhibiting its first peak during April 2020. The country has since been hit by another wave in the winter 2020, almost at the first anniversary of the pandemic.Areas covered: An in-depth analysis of the COVID-19 positive cases in the UK throughout the year, hospitalizations, patients in critical care, and COVID-19 associated deaths.Expert opinion: The COVID-19 associated hospital admission accounts to 15% of total COVID-19 positive cases in November 2020. The percentage of total COVID-19 positive patients in the country died from the disease was under 4% in November 2020. Total deaths in England (all-cause) from June to October 2020 were similar to the historic averages. Age was the single most determinator of COVID-19 associated mortality, 50 years or older accounted for 98% of total COVID deaths. Age distribution of COVID-19 associated deaths in 2020 was similar to all-cause mortality age distribution in 2019. There was no significant improvement in the survival rate of COVID-19 patients receiving critical care. This prompts an urgent need to invest in novel antiviral therapeutics to save the most vulnerable in the society

The use of neutralizing monoclonal antibodies and risk of hospital admission and mortality in patients with COVID-19:a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials

AIM: Several randomized trials have evaluated the effect of neutralizing monoclonal antibodies on the risk of hospital admission and risk of mortality in patients with COVID-19. We aimed to summarize the overall evidence in the form of a systematic review and meta-analysis. METHODS: A systematic literature search with no language restriction was performed in electronic databases and preprint repositories to identify eligible studies published up to 29 June 2021. The outcomes of interest were hospital admission and all-cause mortality. A random-effects model was used to estimate the pooled odds ratio (OR) for outcomes of interest with the use of neutralizing monoclonal antibodies relative to nonuse of neutralizing monoclonal antibodies, at 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS: Our systematic literature search identified nine randomized controlled trials. Three trials had an overall low risk of bias, while four trials had some concerns in the overall risk of bias. The meta-analysis revealed no statistically significant difference in the odds of mortality (pooled OR = 0.69; 95% CI 0.33–1.47), but a statistically significant reduction in the odds of hospital admission (pooled OR = 0.29; 95% CI 0.21–0.42), with the administration of a neutralizing monoclonal antibody among patients with COVID-19, relative to non-administration of a neutralizing monoclonal antibody, at the current sample size. CONCLUSION: The reduced risk of hospital admission with neutralizing monoclonal antibodies use suggests that the timing of neutralizing antibodies administration is key in preventing hospital admission and, ultimately, death. Future randomized trials should aim to determine if the clinical outcomes with neutralizing monoclonal antibodies differ based on serostatus

Innovating medication reviews through a technology-enabled process

Medication reviews are effective in improving the quality of medication use among older people. However, they are conducted to various standards resulting in a wide range of outcomes which limit generalisability of findings arising from research studies. There also appear to be funding and time constraints, lack of data storage for quality improvement purposes, and non-standardised reporting of outcomes, especially clinically relevant outcomes. Furthermore, the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic has restricted many face-to-face activities, including medication reviews. This article introduces a technology-enabled approach to medication reviews that may overcome some limitations with current medication review processes, and also make it possible to conduct medication reviews during the COVID-19 pandemic by providing an alternate platform. The possible advantages of this technology-enabled approach, legislative considerations and possible implementation in practice are discussed

The effect of higher-intensity dosing of anticoagulation on the clinical outcomes in hospitalized patients with COVID-19:A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to perform a meta-analysis to summarize the overall evidence from randomized controlled trials related to higher-intensity anticoagulation in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. METHODS: A systematic literature search was performed in electronic databases to identify randomized controlled trials comparing the clinical outcomes between intermediate or therapeutic anticoagulation and prophylactic anticoagulation. Meta-analyses with random-effects models were used to estimate the pooled odds ratio (OR) for outcomes of interest at a 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: Eight randomized controlled trials were included, with a total of 5405 hospitalized patients with COVID-19. The meta-analysis revealed no statistically significant difference in the odds of mortality (pooled OR = 0.92; 95% CI 0.71–1.19) but a statistically significant reduction in the odds of development of thrombotic events (pooled OR = 0.55; 95% CI 0.42–0.72), and significantly increased odds of development of major bleeding (pooled OR = 1.81; 95% CI 1.20–2.72) with the use of intermediate/therapeutic anticoagulation relative to prophylactic anticoagulation, with adequate evidence against our model hypothesis of “no significant difference”, at the current sample size. Subgroup analysis in patients with a severe course of COVID-19 observed a statistically significant reduction in the odds of development of thrombotic events (pooled OR = 0.66; 95% CI 0.45–0.98) but no significant difference in the odds of development of major bleeding events (pooled OR = 1.37; 95% CI 0.74–2.56), with the use of intermediate/therapeutic anticoagulation relative to prophylactic anticoagulation. CONCLUSION: There were net clinical benefits with higher-intensity-dosing anticoagulation relative to prophylactic-dosing anticoagulation among hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19

Phase-specific strategies and interventions to enhance medication adherence across different phases in ADHD: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction: This systematic review and meta-analysis assessed the characteristics, types, and impact of interventions to improve adherence to attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medications within the context of the three phases of adherence, namely, initiation, implementation, and discontinuation. Methods: PubMed, Psychological Information Database, Embase, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, and Google Scholar were systematically searched for relevant trials using appropriate search terms. Interventions were classified as educational, behavioural, affective, and multifaceted. Data was pooled using odds ratios and proportions. Results: Seventeen studies were included in this review. In a pooled analysis of four RCTs, interventions did not significantly improve medication adherence (OR = 2.32; 95%-Confidence Interval=CI = 0.91–5.90; p = 0.08). In seven non-randomized trials, a pooled proportion of people who adhered to ADHD medication was considerably higher in the intervention group (85%, 95%CI = 78%-91%) than in the control group (47%, 95%CI = 33%–61%). Interventions varied in terms of study design, methods and their impact on different phases of adherence. Conclusions: Despite some promising results, the lack of consideration of phase-specific adherence factors may limit the effectiveness and sustainability of interventions to improve adherence in clinical practice. Future interventions should be phase-specific, guided by factors which are pertinent to each phase. Meanwhile, clinicians should choose or tailor interventions based on individual needs and preferences

Antifungal Treatment of Mucormycosis-Associated with COVID-19

Not Applicabl