IDWeek 2021 Virtual Conference

The oral selective JAK1/2 inhibitor baricitinib significantly reduces the risk of death in critically ill COVID-19 patients who are on invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) or ECMO*, when used in combination with standard care, according to the addendum study of the COV-BARRIER trial presented at IDWeek 2021.

That COVID-19 mostly spared children might be changing. The Delta variant has taken a severe, unthinkable toll on kids – at least in Arkansas, US, reports an expert at IDWeek 2021.

While rapid antigen test is less sensitive than conventional nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) such as RT-PCR* in detecting SARS-CoV-2 virus, “a test does not have to be perfect to be clinically useful,” said Professor Angela Caliendo during a session in IDWeek 2021 — echoing the maxim that perfect should not be the enemy of good in the pandemic era.

The monoclonal antibody (mAb) combination therapy comprising BRII-196 and BRII-198 significantly reduced the risk of hospitalization and death by more than three-quarters in non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients who were at high risk of worsening illness, according to an interim analysis of the ACTIV*-2 trial presented at IDWeek 2021.

Data presented at ID Week 2021 show that Clostridioides difficile (CDI), which is known to be hospital-associated, is highly prevalent even in nonhealthcare settings.

In hospitalized COVID-19 patients, treatment with the novel GM-CSF* neutralizing monoclonal antibody lenzilumab led to a significant improvement in survival without invasive mechanical ventilation (SWOV), findings from the phase III LIVE-AIR study suggest.