Clinical Trials and Expanded Access

Experimental intervention: Insertion of Extracorporal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) within 24 hours of referral to an Intensive Care Unit. Control intervention: Insertion of Extracorporal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) as rescue therapy following failure of conventional therapy for ARDS. This conventional therapy will be standardized to reduce bias. Duration of intervention per patient: varies, depending on severity of pulmonary compromise Follow-up per patient: Until hospital discharge Accompanying measures: Serum Samples and bronchoscopy samples of patients included into the trial for secondary analysis of inflammatory parameters and potential biomarkers

The purpose of this study is 1) to understand effects of COVID-19 crisis on wellness of pulmonary and critical care faculty and trainees who are at frontline fighting this pandemic 2) Assess the effectiveness of series of weekly web based crisis management coaching from world renowned experts in coaching and 3) identify future areas of opportunities in physician wellness

INTRODUCTION In critical situations, such as the current COVID 19 pandemic, themes of fear, uncertainty and stigmatization are common and constitute barriers to appropriate medical and mental health interventions. These challenges, when faced by those who live with a chronic disease, such as diabetes mellitus (DM), can negatively influence quality of life and adherence to treatment, compromising the control of the disease. OBJECTIVES The present study aims to investigate the effectiveness of a tele-intervention during the COVID-19 pandemic in improving glycemic control, lipid profile, blood pressure levels and parameters of medication adherence, mental well-being and sleep quality in patients with type 1 DM and type 2 DM. METHODS A randomized clinical trial will be carried out with patients with a previous diagnosis of type 1 DM and type 2 DM, who are registered at the Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA). Inclusion criteria will be age greater than or equal to 18 years, collection of HbA1c in the HCPA laboratory in January, February or March 2020 and availability to receive weekly phone calls. Patients will be randomized, stratified by type of diabetes, in two groups: G1: participants will receive a tele-intervention by a case manager weekly to discuss topics related to diabetes management and mental well-being during the social distancing period ; G2: participants will receive the usual care. The primary outcome assessed will be the variation in HbA1c levels comparatively between groups, with or without a tele-guided strategy, after four months of social distancing (or as long as the recommendation of social distancing measures remains). Secondary outcomes will include experiencing confirmation of COVID-19 infection, variation in lipid profile, blood pressure levels and variation in parameters of emotional distress related to diabetes, eating disorders, medication adherence, symptoms minor psychiatric disorders and altered sleep patterns, which will be evaluated with specific and validated scales. According to the sample calculation, 150 patients will be included in the study (92 with type 2 DM and 58 with type 1 DM). Analysis by intention to treat will be performed separately for patients with type 1 DM and with type 2 DM. SCHEDULE The proposed experiment will start immediately after approval of this project by the research ethics committee. The duration of the proposed intervention is 4 months (or as long as the recommendation of social distancing measures remains. This means that the study may be completed before or after that period, based on national recommendations for social distancing in Brazil), with a data analysis plan and publication of the results until September 2020.

In December 2019, new coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) broke out in Wuhan (Hubei, China), and it spread rapidly from one city to the whole country in just 30 days, and then worldwide cases began to appear. All the countries of the world take some precautions to prevent the spread of this epidemic disease, which WHO declared as "pandemic". Apart from compulsory situations, non-home and social isolation are the primary measures. However, not leaving the house and social isolation brings with it the restriction of physical activity. According to World Health Organization (WHO), in order to obtain health benefits, adult individuals between the ages of 18-64 should perform at least 150 minutes of physical activity per week (30 minutes a day for 5 days a week) or intensive physical activity for at least 75 minutes a week. For additional health benefits, adults should increase their moderate-intensity physical activities to at least 300 minutes a week or equivalent. Physical activity; It is directly related to the prevention of chronic diseases, increasing fitness, strengthening the muscles and increasing the quality of life. It is reported that one of the ten main risk factors in terms of mortality in the world is insufficient physical activity. The effects of social isolation are related to physical inactivity, smoking and the possibility of having both health risk behaviors together. Practical and innovative interventions are needed to reduce physical performance and decrease in muscle mass, strength and physical performance in the aging population. Considering today's conditions and current COVID-19 Pandemic, technology-supported exercise programs are effective in increasing the motivation for physical activity. The purpose of this study; In order to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, social isolation, which is one of the measures taken in our country, is to evaluate the physical activity level of adults and to investigate the effectiveness of home exercises. It is aimed to use a model based on the video supported by a home-based exercise program.

The investigators had designed weekly mindfulness sessions (details see intervention below), which is free-of-charge and will be made available to general public who feel distressed during the outbreak of COVID-19. Face-to-face delivery of mindfulness interventions was not possible due to mandatory quarantine. The investigators hypothesize that this intervention is feasible and acceptable by the participants. As secondary outcomes, the investigators also hypothesize that the intervention can reduce stress, depressive and anxiety symptoms and enhance participants' sense of coherence This will be a quasi-experimental study. Participants will be invited to fill in an online informed consent and questionnaire around 2 days before each mindfulness online session and another set of questionnaire immediately after each session (see outcome measures). Participants will be identified by their e-mail and therefore serial data could be obtained.

The investigators hypothesize that JAK 1/2 inhibition with ruxolitinib, an FDA approved treatment for intermediate or high-risk myelofibrosis, could have a similar effect in patients with severe COVID-19, quelling the immune-hyperactivation, allowing for clearance of the virus and reversal of the disease manifestations.

INTRODUCTION As there is no specific cure in the treatment of COVID-19 at this moment of the pandemic, supportive management including mechanical ventilation is the core management in an intensive care unit (ICU). It is a challenge to provide consistent care in this situation of high demand and potential staff shortage in ICU. Also, the investigators need to reduce unnecessary exposure of the providers to the virus. This study aims to examine the impact of care using a non-invasive oscillating device (NIOD) for chest physiotherapy in the care of mechanically ventilated patients with COVID-19. METHODS Objective: To explore if a NIOD performed by non-specialized personnel is not inferior to the standard Chest PhysioTherapy (CPT) in the care of COVID-19. Design: A Pilot Multicenter Prospective Crossover Randomized Study. Setting: Two ICUs in Canadian Academic Hospitals (CHU Sainte Justine and Montreal General Hospital) Patients: All the mechanically ventilated patients admitted to the two ICUs, and CPT ordered by the responsible physician, with COVID-19 infection during the study period. Procedure: The investigators will implement NIOD and CPT alternatingly for 3 hours apart over 3 hours. We will apply a pragmatic design, so that other procedures including hypertonic saline nebulization, Intermittent Positive Pressure Ventilation (IPPV), suctioning (e.g., oral or nasal), or changing the ventilator settings or modality can be provided at the direction of bedside intensivists in charge. The order of the procedures (i.e. NIOD or CPT) will be randomly allocated. Measurements and Analyses: The primary outcome measure is the oxygenation level before and after the procedure (SpO2/FIO2 (SF) ratio). For the cases with Invasive ventilation and non-invasive ventilation, the investigators will also document expiratory tidal volume, vital signs, and any related complications such as vomiting, desaturations, or unexpected extubations. The investigators will collect the data before, 10 minutes after, and 30 minutes after the procedure. Sample Size: The investigators estimate the necessary sample size as 25 for each arm (Total 50 cases), with a power of 0.90, alfa of 0.05, with the non-inferiority design. FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS This randomized pilot study will be considered a running phase if the investigators can/should undertake the RCT which should follow without significant modification of the methods.

Following 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. The COVIQUEST project is a cluster randomized trial in general practice designed to assess the optimizationg of the screening and management of patients with chronic condition at risk of decompensation through a collaboration between the general practitioner and a medical student. The trial will focus on patients wit cardiovascular conditions aged 70 or more and patients with mental health conditions. These conditions are both highly prevalent in general practice and both at risk of severe short-term complications. Practices will be randomly assigned to a group (A or B). In group A, students will start by contacting patients with cardiovascular conditions; in group B they will start by contacting patients patients with mentral health conditions. The students will call these patients on the phone and ask them specific questions about their health, their needs, and if they want their general practitioner to call them back. The student will then transmit this information to the general practitioner who will decide on the best care to offer the patient. The primary outcome is defined as the occurrence of hospitalization during a one-month period after the phone call. It will be collected by a second phone call from the medical student. This time, all patients will be contacted, i.e. both patients with mental illness and cardiovascular patients, whatever the group. Thus, patients allocated to the control groups (i.e. patients with mental illness from group A and cardiovascular patients from group B) will also benefit from the intervention at 1 month: again, students will ask patients about their health and whether they want their general practitioner to call them back. This approach has several advantages: 1. all patients will benefit from a phone call, in accordance with the recommendations of the DGS, 2. the involvement of students, competent in medical interviews and quickly mobilizable, will help general practitioners, on the front line of many missions, without any health risk linked to the contagiousness of COVID-19 for students, 3. randomizing the call order will allow to assess with a high level of evidence the impact of such an organization on hospitalizations, for two families of diseases with high prevalence. The trial will involve at least nine French regions. Considering that the general practitioner's patient base numbers an average of 110 patients with chronic cardiovascular disease or chronic mental illness, and that at least 25 general practitioners per region participate in the study, we can expect that 22,000 patients will benefit from the intervention of this study.

Some preliminary epidemiological research conduct in China in health workers involved in the care of Covid-19 patients has shown high rates of depression (>50%), generalized anxiety disorder (>44%), insomnia (>36%) and stress symptoms (>73%), which negatively impact their well-being as well as their ability to work effectively . These rates were observed during the epidemic peak, but they can also have a long-term mental health effect, both individually, but also in a systemic manner , similar to what has been reported relative to the SARS-CoV-1 . Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is recognized as an effective treatment for stress-reduction, as well as for the prevention of multiple mental health problems in at-risk individuals . Moreover, CBT has been found to be effective in brief online formats , which could make it feasible during the current Covid-19 epidemic. To our knowledge, there are no online CBT programmes targeting stress problems in health workers involved in the care of patients during the current epidemic context. The aim of our study is to evaluate the efficacy of the online CBT programme we have developped to specifically address immediate perceived stress in health workers, as well as the prevention of mental health problems at 3- and 6-months follow-up

Mental health disorders are common during pregnancy and the postnatal period, and can have serious adverse effects on the well-being of woman and child. Every tenth woman has depressive symptoms and 5% suffer major depression during pregnancy. The consequences for global mental health due to the novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19, are likely to be significant and may have long-term impact on the global burden of disease. Pregnant women may be particularly vulnerable due to partial immune suppression. Besides physical vulnerability, the women could be at increased risk of mental health problems, such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), due to social distancing leading to less support from the family and friends, and in some cases, partners not being allowed to be present during prenatal visits, labor and delivery. Furthermore, many pregnant women may feel insecure and worried about the effect of COVID-19 on their unborn child, if the women get infected during pregnancy. Today, young urban women are used to utilizing internet services frequently and efficiently. Therefore, providing mental health support to pregnant women via web-based support may be effective in ameliorating their anxiety/depression and reduce the risk of serious mental health disorders leading to improved maternal and perinatal outcomes.