The Italian Coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak: Recommendations from clinical practice

Care for Critically Ill Patients With COVID-19 Initial reports suggest that COVID-19 is associated with severe disease that requires intensive care in approximately 5% of proven infections. Given how common the disease is becoming, as in prior major severe acute respiratory infection outbreaks—SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome), avian influenza A(H7N9), and influenza A(H1N1)pdm09—critical care will be an integral component of the global response to this emerging infection. Management of severe COVID-19 is not different from management of most viral pneumonia causing respiratory failure. The principal feature of patients with severe disease is the development of ARDS: a syndrome characterized by acute onset of hypoxemic respiratory failure with bilateral infiltrates. Evidence-based treatment guidelines for ARDS should be followed, including conservative fluid strategies for patients without shock following initial resuscitation, empirical early antibiotics for suspected bacterial co-infection until a specific diagnosis is made, lung-protective ventilation, prone positioning, and consideration of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for refractory hypoxemia. To read complete article- https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2762996 Source- JAMA Authors- Srinivas Murthy, MD, CM, MHSc; Charles D. Gomersall, MBBS; Robert A. Fowler, MD, CM, MSc

Clinical characteristics and intrauterine vertical transmission potential of COVID-19 infection in nine pregnant women Background Previous studies on the pneumonia outbreak caused by the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) were based on information from the general population. Limited data are available for pregnant women with COVID-19 pneumonia. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical characteristics of COVID-19 in pregnancy and the intrauterine vertical transmission potential of COVID-19 infection. Methods Clinical records, laboratory results, and chest CT scans were retrospectively reviewed for nine pregnant women with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 pneumonia (ie, with maternal throat swab samples that were positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 [SARS-CoV-2]) who were admitted to Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China, from Jan 20 to Jan 31, 2020. Evidence of intrauterine vertical transmission was assessed by testing for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in amniotic fluid, cord blood, and neonatal throat swab samples. Breastmilk samples were also collected and tested from patients after the first lactation. Findings All nine patients had a caesarean section in their third trimester. Seven patients presented with a fever. Other symptoms, including cough (in four of nine patients), myalgia (in three), sore throat (in two), and malaise (in two), were also observed. Fetal distress was monitored in two cases. Five of nine patients had lymphopenia (<1·0 × 10⁹ cells per L). Three patients had increased aminotransferase concentrations. None of the patients developed severe COVID-19 pneumonia or died, as of Feb 4, 2020. Nine livebirths were recorded. No neonatal asphyxia was observed in newborn babies. All nine livebirths had a 1-min Apgar score of 8–9 and a 5-min Apgar score of 9–10. Amniotic fluid, cord blood, neonatal throat swab, and breastmilk samples from six patients were tested for SARS-CoV-2, and all samples tested negative for the virus. Interpretation The clinical characteristics of COVID-19 pneumonia in pregnant women were similar to those reported for non-pregnant adult patients who developed COVID-19 pneumonia. Findings from this small group of cases suggest that there is currently no evidence for intrauterine infection caused by vertical transmission in women who develop COVID-19 pneumonia in late pregnancy. To read more- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673620303603 Source-sciencedirect

x-ray chest of first case of Corona virus pneumonia patient aged 61 years male who died during treatment in WUHAN city of China.

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Treatment for severe acute respiratory distress syndrome from COVID-19 In The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, Kollengode Ramanathan and colleagues provide excellent recommendations for the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for patients with respiratory failure from acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) secondary to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The authors describe pragmatic approaches to the challenges of delivering ECMO to patients with COVID-19, including training health-care personnel, resolving equipment and facilities issues, implementing systems for infection control and personal protection, providing overall support for health-care staff, and mitigating ethical issues. For patients with COVID-19 who require endotracheal intubation, use of low tidal volume (6 mL/kg per predicted bodyweight) with a plateau airway pressure of less than 30 cm H2O, and increasing the respiratory rate to 35 breaths per min as needed, is the mainstay of lung-protective ventilation. If the hypoxaemia progresses to a PaO2:FiO2 ratio of less than 100–150 mm Hg, there are several therapeutic options. The level of positive end-expiratory pressure can be increased by 2–3 cm H2O every 15–30 min to improve oxygen saturation to 88–90%, with the goal of maintaining a plateau airway pressure of less than 30 cm H2O. Lower driving pressures (plateau airway pressure minus positive end-expiratory pressure) with a target of 13–15 cm H2O can also be used. To read more- https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PIIS2213-2600(20)30127-2/fulltext Source- The Lancet Authors- Michael A Matthay, J Matthew Aldrich, Jeffrey E Gotts