Black COVID patients given riskier treatment

A roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines. Compiled by Reuters' Nancy Lapid.

Compared to patients recovering from other medical conditions, COVID-19 survivors are at greater risk of developing mental health problems, most commonly anxiety, depression and insomnia, psychiatrists reported on Monday. The estimated incidence of a first psychiatric diagnosis within 90 days was 5.8 per cent among COVID-19 survivors, compared to 2.8 per cent in a comparison group of flu survivors, 3.2 per cent in patients recovering from gallstones, and 2.5 per cent in patients who had suffered fractures. The study, published in The Lancet Psychiatry, included more than 62,000 U.S. COVID-19 patients, about two-thirds of whom had never been diagnosed with a psychiatric illness. Mental health specialists not directly involved with the study said the findings add to growing evidence that COVID-19 can affect the brain and mind, increasing the risk of a range of psychiatric illnesses.

PRONE POSITIONING

MIGHT HELP

Prone positioning, or lying face down, might be useful for severely ill patients who can still breathe on their own, early data suggest. Lying face down makes it easier for the lungs to deliver oxygen to the blood. The position is often used in COVID-19 patients on mechanical ventilators, but it is not without risks. Until the pandemic, it was not used in patients who were not intubated, even if they had low oxygen levels. In a report on Wednesday in CMAJ, researchers say evidence is emerging that hospitalized COVID-19 patients who are awake and breathing on their own might benefit. Randomized trials are needed to clarify the benefits and risks, they advise.

RACIAL DISPARITY IN BLOOD-THINNER USE

A new analysis of the use of blood thinners in hospitalized patients highlights a striking racial disparity that may help further explain why Black patients are hit harder by the disease. The anticoagulant enoxaparin — sold under the brand name Lovenox — which is associated with superior COVID-19 outcomes, is more likely to be given to Caucasian patients. Unfractionated heparin, an alternative drug associated with more complications, is more likely to be given to Black patients, according to data from 25,000 hospitalized COVID-19 patients in the international Discovery VIRUS registry. Treatment with unfractionated heparin was tied to more kidney injuries, heart injuries, life threatening blood infections, and anemia. Black patients were 28 per cent more likely than Caucasians to receive heparin, the analysis found. Mortality rates were 41 per cent in patients who got unfractionated heparin and 15 per cent in patients administered enoxaparin, researchers reported on Tuesday on medRxiv ahead of peer review.