
Assessment of Obstetric, Fetal and Neonatal Risks and Vertical SARS-CoV-2 Transmission During COVID-19...
PregnancyA new coronavirus (COVID-19) highlighted at the end of 2019 in China is spreading across all continents. Most often at the origin of a mild infectious syndrome, associating benign symptoms (such as fever, cough, and headache) to different degrees, COVID-19 can cause serious pulmonary pathologies and sometimes death. Data on the consequences during pregnancy are limited. The first Chinese data published seem to show that the symptoms in pregnant women are the same as those of the general population. There are no cases of intrauterine maternal-fetal transmission, but cases of newborns infected early suggest that there could be vertical intrauterine, perpartum or neonatal transmission. Prematurity and cases of respiratory distress in newborns of infected mothers have been described. Subsequently, an in-depth analysis of cases in pregnant women and pregnancy issues are necessary in order to improve knowledge on the subject.

Characteristics and Outcomes of Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19 in Spain
Covid19COVID-19@Spain is a retrospective cohort study that aims to determine the clinical characteristics of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in Spain and to identify prognostic factors of mortality and the need for mechanical ventilation

A Phone-call With a Student/General Practitioner Team to Impact Morbidity of Chronic Patients During...
Cardiovascular DiseasesMental DisorderFollowing the announcement of the containment of the population due to the COVID-19 epidemic on March 17, 2020 in France, a notable decrease in the number of consultations in general practice was reported. Patients no longer contact their general practitioner, including those with regular follow-up for one or more chronic conditions. This observation raised worries since it could lead to delay or failure in detecting decompensations / complications of these chronic conditions by a lack of recourse to care. Thus, an urgent message from the National Health Department (Direction Générale de la Santé - DGS) was adressed on April 8, 2020 to the health professionals regarding the organization of care aside from COVID-19. The main recommendation was "that the personal physician or the corresponding specialist should contact the most fragile patients with chronic condition to ensure follow-up and detect any risk of decompensation ". Such fragile patients are in great numbers, up to more than 200 for an average general practitioner. Therefore, although this recommendation is regarded as "essential in view of the health needs of the population", it will prove quite difficult to follow without the help of a skilled external assistance that can be quickly mobilized.

IMPACT: IMPact of Antimalarials on Covid-19 Infections in RAPPORT
Covid-19 InfectionRheumatoid Arthritis2 moreThis study aims to evaluate the experience of Alberta patients with inflammatory arthritis who participate in the the RAPPORT-ONTRAAC registry during the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically comparing the experience of those taking anti-malarial medications compared to those who do not. This registry includes approximately 2500 northern Alberta patients with inflammatory arthritis who receive highly complex therapies which may be associated with side effects. This program of data collection and research has been evaluating the effectiveness and safety as well as associated health care costs of rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis patients since 2004. The principle investigators are based at the University of Alberta while the co-investigators are academic rheumatologists at the University of Alberta. The registry has approximately 900 patients taking anti-malarials combined with their complex therapies and ~ 1500 not on anti-malarials in combination with their complex therapies. We aim to perform a case control study evaluating the impact of anti-malarial drugs (eg. hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine) on the development of COVID-19 compared to those patients who are not on anti-malarial drugs over the next 6-12 months. In addition to frequent e-mail surveys screening for the clinical symptoms of COVID-19 and understanding their concomitant arthritis medication use, we will compare the healthcare outcomes of both groups of arthritis patients with and without COVID-19 for the duration of the pandemic. This information will provide critical information beyond an anecdotal level on whether or not anti-malarials truly provide a protective benefit against COVID-19 or reduce the severity of infection. A blood sample from all participants (Covid-19 positive and negative) will be drawn approximately six months into the study for measurement of antibodies to Covid-19 and possible blood types and HLA alleles. Additionally, this study will be linked to another study "Persistence of SARS-Cov2 in immunocompromised patients" which will specifically evaluate COVID-19 serology and nasopharyngeal swab findings in the subset of patients who develop COVID-19.

Evaluating the Immune Response for COVID-19
COVID-19The 2019-20 coronavirus disease, caused by COVID-19, is an ongoing pandemic. The measures in which public health officials quarantine confirmed and isolate symptomatic cases in order to reduce the spread COVID-19 is the common practice used in most countries. However, a significant question remains in regards to the asymptomatically infected individuals, which may propagate the virus and impede infection control. The other question to consider is whether these asymptomatic carriers develop an immune response or continue viral shedding. The purpose of the current study is the evaluate the immune response, i.e developing anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the asymptomatic cases, in a household study design. We plan to evaluate over 1000 patients with positive COVID-19 results and their households.

Exhaustion and Needs in Frontline COVID-19 Healthcare Workers: Cross-sectional Study in a Belgian...
COVID-19Background: In the Covid-19 pandemic context, all healthcare teams face clinical, organizational and technical challenges given the contagion, severity and mortality characteristics of the disease. A study reported the negative psychological impact on healthcare workers of this new situation, in terms of depression, anxiety and distress. Working in frontline constitutes an independent risk factor for worse mental health outcomes. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study aiming to compare levels of burnout, emotional distress and needs between frontline Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 healthcare workers. Any physician, nurse and physiotherapist will be recruited from emergency care units and Covid-19 care units (target group) and from non-Covid-19 care units (control group) from different hospitals in Belgium. The participation will occur on a voluntary basis. Participants will be recruited from April 15th 2020 to May 15th 2020. Participants will complete self-reported questionnaires and scales. A mixed-mode data collection will be carried out, either in paper or web-based form. This mixed-mode survey will ensure the highest range of participants, considering the hygiene and organizational requirements for target care units. Assessment will provide socio-demographic characteristics and professional information. It will also measure professional fulfillment and burnout with the Stanford Professional Fulfillment Index (PFI), emotional distress with the Depression, Anxiety and Distress Scale-Short Form (DASS-21), sleep disturbance with the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) and needs with the Needs and Difficulties Inventory (developed for the study). Hypothesis: This study is based on the hypothesis that higher levels of burnout, depression, anxiety and stress will be found in frontline Covid-19 healthcare workers than in non-Covid-19 healthcare workers. Considering the unprecedented challenges for healthcare workers and organizations, and considering the exploratory nature of the study, no hypothesis is made for the needs of the healthcare workers. Statistical Analysis: Means and standard deviation will be calculated for the PFI, the DASS-21, the ISI and the NDI. Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) will be performed including the PFI, the DASS-21 and the ISI scores to test the effect of group (work position), occupation and the two-way group × occupation interaction effect. Age, gender, profession, sector of activity, job status and job experience will be entered as covariate. Odds ratio will be also provided. All tests are two-tailed and alpha is set at .05. All analyzes will be performed using IBM SPSS®, version 26.

Awake Prone Position for Early Hypoxemia in COVID-19
COVID-19Prone positioning is a well studied and validated treatment for severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), however there are no randomized studies on the use of prone positioning in the non-intubated patient. It is unknown if this intervention would be helpful in preventing further respiratory deterioration in terms of increasing supplemental oxygen requirements, endotracheal intubation, and ICU admission. The Awake Prone Position for Early hypoxemia in COVID-19 (APPEX-19) Study is a pragmatic adaptive randomized controlled unblinded trial. APPEX-19 randomizes non-ICU patients with COVID-19 or who are under evaluation for COVID-19 to lie in a prone position (i.e, with their stomach and chest facing down) or to usual care.

HEalth Care Worker pROphylaxis Against COVID-19: The HERO Trial
ProphylaxisCOVID-192 moreThis is a double-blinded, randomized placebo-controlled trial to determine if pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with 400mg hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), taken orally once daily, for health care workers in the hospital reduces symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID-19 disease during the pandemic. 374 health care workers will be randomized at a 1:1 allocation between the intervention and placebo arms and followed for 90 days. The cumulative incidence of COVID-19 infection in the intervention group will be compared to the cumulative incidence of COVID-19 in the placebo group with relative (risk ratio and 95% CI) and absolute measures (risk difference and 95% CI).

Evaluation of Airway Pressure Release Ventilation in COVID-19 ARDS
ARDSCOVID19The 2020 pandemic of the coronavirus (SARS-CoV2) has lead to an increase in ARDS cases requiring invasive mechanical ventilation in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit). The investigators hypothesize that airway pressure release ventilation (APRV) could be beneficial in patients with ARDS secondary to SARS-COV2 viral pneumonia.

Clinical Validation of New Injection Molded Flocked Nasopharyngeal Swabs in Response to the COVID-19...
COVID19The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has resulted in an international shortage of the nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs used to collect sample for virological testing. This shortage has become a crisis as testing capacity is growing, and threatens to become the bottleneck at University of Virginia Health System and in the Commonwealth of Virginia, as it already is in other testing centers. To resolve this crisis, a team in the Clinical Microbiology Laboratories at University of Virginia Medical Center has been working closely with biomedical engineers in the University of Virginia (UVA), School of Engineering and with high volume domestic manufacturers developing injection molded polypropylene flocked nylon NP swab. This prototype will be tested for non-inferiority relative to existing, already validated NP swabs ("control swab") for purposes of molecular microbiology: i.e. the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests used for virological testing for SARS-CoV-2. Specifically, the nasopharynx of patients with Covid-19 and patients under investigation (PUI) for Covid-19, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, will be swabbed using a prototype swab and a control swab (the standard of care swab), and test for concordance of SARS-CoV-2. In all cases the swab will be transported in validated FDA cleared viral transport medium (VTM) as per standard operating procedure at University of Virginia Medical Center.