COVID-19 Clinical Trials and Expanded Access

COVID-19 infection manifests in its severe form as acute alveolo-interstitial and vascular pneumonitis. However, long-term outcome remains unknown. A progression to fibrosing pneumonia could affect 10 to 30% of survivors of severe forms, making it a public health problem through secondary disability. The project concerns the analysis of CT images of patients followed at the Avicenne APHP hospital (Bobigny) in collaboration with two expert image treatment/modelling teams for an evaluation of vascular remodelling and mechanical simulation of the regional lung compliance. These parameters obtained at 2-4 months of COVID-19 infection will be correlated with clinical, CT, and functional data at 6 months and 1 year follow-up. This project should make it possible to understand the COVID-19 infection manifests as an acute alveolo-interstitial and vascular pneumonitis in its severe form. However, long-term outcome remains unknown. It has been hypothesized that a progression to fibrosing pneumonia could affect 10 to 30% of survivors of severe forms, making it a public health problem through secondary disability. But there is no parameter which could currently allow to predict such an outcome. The SILICOVILUNG project is based on the CT images analysis of patients followed at the Avicenne APHP hospital (Bobigny, France) after severe COVID pneumonitis in collaboration with two expert image treatment/modelling teams [ Artemis Telecom Sud-Paris (Evry, France) and LMS INRIA Ecole Polytechnique (Palaiseau, France)] for an evaluation of vascular remodeling and mechanical simulation of the regional lung compliance using a poromechanical model. These parameters obtained at 2-4 months of COVID-19 infection will be correlated with clinical, CT, and functional data at 6 months and 1-year follow-up. This project should make it possible to understand the mechanisms of regional physiology in the evolution of COVID-19 pneumonias in their severe forms and to anticipate the development or not of sequelae, particularly fibrosing.

This is a stepped-wedge cluster randomized trial to assess effectiveness of Sinovac's Adsorbed COVID-19 (Inactivated) vaccine. Residents in the urban area of a municipality are eligible to participate. The city was divided in clusters and those cluster were grouped to determine the offer of vaccination in four steps. The vaccine will be offered to adults (18 years old and above) according to the location of their homes in a cluster. The vaccine schedule is two doses with four-weeks interval. Baseline samples to determine previous immunity will be collected before vaccination. Cases of COVID-19 reported in the city will be recorded according to the WHO clinical progression scale. Comparison of periods before and after vaccination and relation to immunization coverage will be considered for the assessment of effectiveness in the clusters and groups of clusters.

This study aims to evaluate the immunogenicity of Moderna mRNA-1273 vaccine in volunteers aged 65 years or more compared to volunteers aged 18-45 years, over 24 months duration. It will provide necessary data on the early immunological response to the vaccine and its evolution in quantitative and qualitative terms. This study will allow establishing how aging influences the response to the vaccine and help to adapt the vaccinal plan. For instance it will suggest the necessity of a vaccination booster.

Profile known and novel biomarkers in blood in COVID19 patients to characterize the host response to SARS-CoV-2 over time and in response to treatment. The investigators aim to: - Better understand the disease. The investigators will achieve this by characterizing the biology of COVID-19 infection and the pathophysiology of the host response using clinical data together with cellular and molecular measurements over the course of the disease. This will allow better insights for the discovery and development of novel therapeutics. - Understand why different patients have different phenotypes and disease presentations over time. The investigators will achieve this by analyzing for patient subgroups. This will allow targeted patient stratification and better matching of resources. - Understand how patients are responding to the different medications being tested in clinical trials. The investigators will achieve that by co-enrolling with therapeutic trials. This will allow an understanding of the biological effects of these interventions. Study Design: Observational adaptive study of a translational nature, combining clinical data and basic science investigations in blood samples in the same patients, longitudinally, with serial interim analyses. Primary outcomes: 90 day ICU mortality. Secondary outcomes: measures of ICU utilization and disease severity, and 90 day in-hospital mortality. The study ends after 3 months from admission to the ICU, hospital discharge or death. Location: St. Michael's Hospital (Unity Health Toronto), an academic center in downtown Toronto affiliated with the University of Toronto. The investigators will collect: A) Detailed clinical data including investigations, mechanical ventilation and cardiovascular parameters. B) Blood samples for state-of-the-art multi-omics biomarker discovery and development: cytokines, anti-COVID19 antibodies, autoimmune serology, metabolomics, transcriptomics, epigenomics, deep immune phenotyping, viral loads. For those patients who die with COVID19 The investigators will perform bedside post-mortem biopsies of lung, heart, kidney and muscle. Sampling times: From admission to the maximal severity phase through convalescence, in order to capture the evolution and dynamics of the disease and the recovery process: days 0,1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 15 and 22, and then every 2 weeks until the end of the study (3 months from admission to the ICU, hospital discharge or death).

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, concerns of the risk of infection may lead to fear, anxiety or psychological disorders that may become generalised and long-lasting, corresponding to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD generally occurs in circumstances such as terrorist attacks, hostage-taking, bombings, aggression, accidents... The current health crisis also represents an increased risk of PTSD. After the first moments of stress, the illness becomes more diffuse: personality change (introverted/extraverted), sleep disorders, heart problems, hypervigilance reaction, agoraphobia, symptoms of reminiscence, irritability, decreased concentration, memory loss... In some people, PTSD can lead to more disabling problems such as (crowd) avoidance. In order to help patients with PTSD, clinical psychology offers therapeutic approaches which, starting from a debriefing with the patient, provide supportive therapy which (i) reassures by providing information on the symptomatology, in order to play down the present state of mind, (ii) allows for the expression of what was experienced during the event, (iii) initiates a process of elaboration of the trauma through transference. A study initiated at the François Baclesse Centre during the first confinement, which included 735 patients from April to June 2020, made it possible to assess the impact of the pandemic linked to COVID-19 on the care of cancer patients treated in day hospitals, but also to evaluate the PTSD experienced by patients, sleep difficulties, quality of life, cognitive complaints and confinement conditions using validated questionnaires. This study showed that 21% of patients had proven PTSD and 23% had insomnia problem. This study proposes to evaluate the value of adapted psychological care for patients with PTSD in relation to the pandemic on the improvement of PTSD, as well as on resilience, quality of life and sleep.

retrograde study of common and rare adverse effects of multiple doses of ivermectin used during the coivd 19 pandemic in egypt

In our study, we aimed to compare the average length of stay, death rates and costs of intensive care patients in October-November-December 2019 (before COVID 19) and October-November-December 2020 (during COVID 19).

In a PCORI-funded project on HIV and aging engagement that was co-led by the study team, the topics of isolation and depressions were identified as priority areas of deep concern among older PLWH. The COVID-19 pandemic has enhanced the urgency to test interventions to mitigate depression and isolation among older PLWH. However, there is scant evidence on effective interventions that help mitigate depression and isolation among older PLWH. While physical distancing and stay at home orders are a necessary strategy to flatten the curve, ease pressure on the healthcare system, and protect the most vulnerable, the order further increases the isolation faced by people aging with HIV, and creates barriers to accessing medications, health services, and other resources. This project will include 6 virtual focus groups and 12 individual interviews with adults ages 50 or older in California (Palm Spring, Los Angeles) and the Tampa-Bay region, Florida to (1): further characterize issues related to depression, isolation, and basic needs of people aging with HIV during the COVID-19 pandemic (2) utilizing results from Aim 1, co-develop ideas for what to include in a virtual village, and (3) create and pilot the virtual village in a group of people aging with HIV. The overall goal of this study is to execute an innovative solution to address issues related to isolation for older PLWH which have been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is an inflammatory disease of the pancreas, most commonly caused by gallstones, or excessive use of alcohol. It represents a management challenge and a significant healthcare burden. The incidence of AP ranges globally from 5 to 30 cases per 100.000 inhabitants/year, and there is evidence that the incidence has been rising in recent years. The overall case-fatality rate for AP is roughly 5%, and it is expectedly higher for more severe stages of the disease. In most cases (80%), the outcome of AP is rapidly favorable. However, acute necrotizing pancreatitis (ANP) may develop in up to 20% of cases, and is associated with significant rates of early organ failure (38%), needing some type of surgical/endoscopic intervention (38%) and death (15%). In the United States, AP is a leading cause of inpatient care among gastrointestinal conditions: more than 270.000 patients are hospitalized for AP annually, at an aggregate cost of over 2.5 billion dollars per year. In Europe, the UK incidence of AP is estimated as 15-42 cases per 100.000/year and is rising by 2.7% each year. Despite existing evidence-based practice guidelines for the management of biliary AP, clinical compliance with recommendations is poor, with studies on this field identifying major discrepancies between evidence-based recommendations and daily clinical practice. Audits about biliary AP have been performed in Italy, Germany, France, and England, with quite disappointing results. Indeed, in these audits, the treatment of biliary AP differed substantially from the recommendations. For example, less than 15% of the responders stated that they strictly followed all recommendations included in the guidelines in Germany and 25.8% of patients did not receive definitive treatment for biliary AP within 1 year in the UK. These findings support the view that publication alone of nationally or internationally developed and approved guidelines is insufficient to modify the practice of non-specialists and raises the question of how best to spread guideline recommendations. In 2020, the spread of the virus Covid-19 has represented a pandemic that also had a profound impact on the surgical community. There are many ways through which the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic could have influenced daily clinical practice for patients with biliary AP also leading to a failure to adhere to the recommendations coming from the guidelines, especially those regarding the early and definitive treatment with cholecystectomy or ERCP and sphincterotomy. First of all, the recommendation to postpone all non-urgent endoscopic procedures during the peak of the pandemic. Second, the recommendation to conservatively treat inflammatory conditions such as acute cholecystitis and acute appendicitis wherever possible. Since the clinical compliance with recommendations about AP is poor and the impact of implementing guideline recommendations in biliary AP has not been well studied on a global basis, we launched the MANCTRA-1 study with the aim to demonstrate areas where there is currently a sub-optimal implementation of contemporary guidelines on biliary AP. Moreover, we argue that during the Covid-19 pandemic the tendency to disregard the guidelines recommendations has been more marked than usual and we will try to find out if AP patients' care during the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in a higher rate of adverse outcomes compared to non-pandemic times due to the lack in the compliance of the guidelines. The MANCTRA-1 can identify a number of areas for quality improvement that will require new implementation strategies. Our aim is to summarize the main areas of sub-optimal care to provide the basis for introducing a number of bundles in the management of AP patients to be implemented during the next years. The primary objective of the study is to evaluate which items of the current AP guidelines if disregarded, correlate with negative clinical outcomes according to the different clinical presentations of the disease. Secondary objectives are to assess the compliance of surgeons worldwide to the most up-to-date international guidelines on biliary AP, to evaluate the medical and surgical practice in the management of biliary AP during the non-pandemic (2019) and pandemic Covid-19 periods (2020), and to investigate outcomes of patients with biliary AP treatment during the two study periods.

Stopping the SARS-CoV2 spread is essential to control the pandemic cause by this virus. A great effort is being made to carry out surveillance, case detection and contact control protocols in order to detect and isolate those contagious subjects. Since both symptomatic and asymptomatic subjects can be contagious, a surveillance system based on the presence of symptoms is not enough, requiring to perform diagnostic tests in a large number of subjects, such as asymptomatic contacts or high-prevalence populations, and repeatedly. Moreover, the speed in obtaining results is crucial in order not to delay the isolations of positive subjects. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is an expensive test which requires specialized equipment and personnel with a delay in results of 24-48 hours. In addition, its high sensitivity can mean that subjects without infective capacity have a positive result. In contrast, antigen detection tests (ADTs) are cheap and easy to perform, having a result in few minutes. They have shown high sensitivity and specificity in symptomatic subjects, specially in the first week of symptoms when the viral load is high. This could be very useful for the study of asymptomatic contacts to detect those with potential contagiousness quick, easily and cheaply. However, there is no evidence to support the use of ADTs in this group of subjects. For this reason, the investigators propose to carry out a study to compare the diagnostic efficacy of ADTs versus PCR in the group of subjects considered to be close contacts of SARS-Cov2 positive patients in the health area of Cáceres.