Revealing some good news for minorities, a new study found similar survival rates for Hispanic, Black and white COVID-19 patients at a New York City hospital system. “It is well-documented that communities of color have shouldered the heaviest burden of COVID-19 in the United States, and there have been many explanations offered for why that is the case,” said Dr. Andrew Racine. He is system senior vice president and chief medical officer at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. “We discovered, somewhat surprisingly, that Black and Hispanic patients, when hospitalized, had similar or slightly better survival outcomes compared to white patients,” Racine said in a Montefiore news release. The study included more than 5,900 COVID-19 patients admitted to the medical center. As has been seen nationwide, black and Hispanic people were more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 than white people, the findings showed. And Black and Hispanic people who were hospitalized were more likely to have two or more pre-existing conditions (38% and 43%, respectively) than white people (34%). However, survival rates among Black and Hispanic patients were at least as good as those for white patients after the researchers controlled for age, sex, income levels and pre-existing conditions, according to the study. The results were published online Sept. 25 in JAMA Network Open. Similar findings have been reported from other major health systems…  read on >

Falling leaves, pumpkins and apples are signs of fall. And so is asthma. Asthma attacks tend to increase in early autumn. During the coronavirus pandemic, it’s especially important for people with the disease to know how to prevent flare-ups, a lung expert says. “There are two different types of asthma flare-ups,” said Dr. Pushan Jani, an assistant professor of pulmonary and critical care medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. “First, you have those who suffer asthma year-round, and then there are some people who have seasonal asthma, which is triggered by different allergens and pollen in the air,” he said in a UTHealth news release. “This time of the year increases the attacks for seasonal asthma and can make those who suffer from persistent asthma control worse.” Every fall, Jani said he sees a significant increase in asthma-related hospitalizations as various types of pollen, such as ragweed, and mold fill the air. The combination of the COVID-19 pandemic, the start of the flu season and high pollen levels mean that people with asthma need to protect themselves so they don’t end up in the hospital. Stock up on any medications or inhalers needed to control flare-ups, Jani advised. Get an allergy test. “If you are unaware of what triggers these attacks, get tested. This will help pinpoint what you should…  read on >

A life support technique called ECMO has saved the lives of many critically ill COVID-19 patients, a new study shows. The ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) machine takes over the function of the lungs and heart. Blood is pumped from the body into equipment that adds oxygen to the blood before it’s returned to the body. This technique has saved lives in previous epidemics of lung-damaging viruses, but small studies published early in the coronavirus pandemic questioned its effectiveness. This international study included 1,035 COVID-19 patients at high risk of death because ventilators and other types of care couldn’t support their lungs. After being placed on ECMO, the death rate among these patients was less than 40%, according to the study authors. “These results from hospitals experienced in providing ECMO are similar to past reports of ECMO-supported patients, with other forms of acute respiratory distress syndrome or viral pneumonia,” said co-author Dr. Ryan Barbaro, of the University of Michigan. “The results support recommendations to consider ECMO in COVID-19 if the ventilator is failing. We hope these findings help hospitals make decisions about this resource-intensive option,” Barbaro said in a university news release. Most centers in this study did not need to use ECMO for COVID-19 very often, said study co-author Graeme MacLaren, of the National University Health System in Singapore. “By bringing data from over 200…  read on >

Over the years electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) — commonly known as “shock therapy” — has gotten a bad rap. But new research out of Italy suggests that reputation may be unwarranted. Investigators found that among bipolar patients who fail to respond to standard treatments, ECT can be a lifesaver, preventing out-of-control mood swings and dramatically lowering suicide risk. The study — among the largest of its kind — tracked 670 Italian adults who had ECT for bipolar disorder at a single psychiatric clinic between 2006 and 2019. “Importantly, 84% of patients showing high risk of suicide before ECT were no longer considered overtly suicidal after treatment,” said lead author Dr. Giulio Brancati, a resident in clinical and experimental medicine at the University of Pisa. “Overall, 72% of patients showed a good response to ECT,” Brancati added. For about six in 10, ECT appeared to offer relief from an array of debilitating symptoms — including delusions, aggressiveness, uncooperativeness, emotional oversensitivity, physical hyperactivity and paranoia. Depression and anxiety were alleviated in just over one-quarter of the patients. Based on the findings, Brancati said, “ECT should be considered a valuable treatment for severe episodic syndromes,” especially the kind of overexcitement, restlessness, hostility and suspiciousness that can arise when manic, depressive and psychotic symptoms intertwine. The study team noted that bipolar disorder affects about 1% of the population. It can…  read on >

Challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic may increase the risk of suicide, so it’s crucial to know the warning signs, a mental health expert says. Suicide is often preventable, because people considering suicide want help, according to Dr. Ahmad Hameed, a psychiatrist at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Penn. “A majority of the time, individuals who survived a serious suicide attempt say they were relieved that they are alive and that someone was there to listen to them and understand what they were going through,” Hameed said in a Penn State news release. A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study conducted in June found a rise in mental health conditions during the pandemic. Thirty-one percent of respondents reported symptoms of anxiety or depression, and 11% said they had seriously considered suicide in the preceding 30 days. “About 90% of individuals who die by suicide have either a diagnosed or diagnosable mental health disorder,” Hameed said. For people already prone to anxiety, health concerns, potential job loss and worries about loved ones during the pandemic can seem unbearable. “It’s time for loved ones, friends and family members to be really mindful of any potential behaviors they might see in a person with a mental health condition,” Hameed said. Some of the signs to look for include: Is a person’s…  read on >

Challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic may increase the risk of suicide, so it’s crucial to know the warning signs, a mental health expert says. Suicide is often preventable, because people considering suicide want help, according to Dr. Ahmad Hameed, a psychiatrist at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Penn. “A majority of the time, individuals who survived a serious suicide attempt say they were relieved that they are alive and that someone was there to listen to them and understand what they were going through,” Hameed said in a Penn State news release. A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study conducted in June found a rise in mental health conditions during the pandemic. Thirty-one percent of respondents reported symptoms of anxiety or depression, and 11% said they had seriously considered suicide in the preceding 30 days. “About 90% of individuals who die by suicide have either a diagnosed or diagnosable mental health disorder,” Hameed said. For people already prone to anxiety, health concerns, potential job loss and worries about loved ones during the pandemic can seem unbearable. “It’s time for loved ones, friends and family members to be really mindful of any potential behaviors they might see in a person with a mental health condition,” Hameed said. Some of the signs to look for include: Is a person’s…  read on >

The coronavirus pandemic could cause short-term decreases in life expectancy in many parts of the world, according to a new study. Using a computer model, the researchers concluded that infection rates of only 2% could cause a drop in life expectancy in countries where average life expectancy is high (about 80 years). At higher infection rates, the decline would be greater, especially in Europe and North America, according to the study published online Sept. 17 in the journal PLOS One. “At 10% prevalence, the loss in life expectancy is likely to be above one year in high life-expectancy countries such as those in Europe and North America. At 50%, it would translate into three to nine years of life lost in high life-expectancy regions. In less developed regions, the impact is smaller given that there is already lower survival at older ages,” said study leader Guillaume Marois, a researcher at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Laxenburg, Austria. “However, even in the most affected regions, the life expectancy will likely recover once the pandemic is over,” Marois added in an institute news release. Study co-author Sergei Scherbov noted that it took Europe decades for average life expectancy at birth to increase by six years — from 72.8 years in 1990 to 78.6 years in 2019. “COVID-19 could thus set back this indicator in…  read on >

TUESDAY, Sept. 22, 2020 (Healthday News) — While health officials worry about a potential “twindemic” of COVID-19 and the flu this winter, a new study finds that hospital patients who were infected with both viruses were more than twice as likely to die as those infected only with the new coronavirus. British government scientists conducted the research during the early months of the pandemic, and the results were troubling: 43% of patients who were hospitalized with both infections died, compared with 26.9% of people who were hospitalized for coronavirus infection alone, the Washington Post reported. While the study only followed 58 people between the months of January and April, the findings line up with similar research that is underway, the Post reported. “If you get both, you are in some serious trouble, and the people who are most likely to get both of these infections may be the very people who can least afford to in terms of their own immune system, or their risk for serious outcomes,” Yvonne Doyle, Public Health England’s medical director, said in an agency news release. She urged people considered high-risk to go for a flu shot if they were eligible. “The flu vaccine is more important than ever, to help reduce transmission of flu and protect the nation from the double threat of flu and COVID-19,” Doyle said. As…  read on >

Women diagnosed with an early, highly treatable form of breast cancer still face a higher-than-normal risk of eventually dying from the disease, a large new study finds. The study looked at women with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), where cancer cells form in the lining of the milk ducts but have not yet invaded the breast tissue. Sometimes it’s called a “pre-cancer,” other times a “noninvasive breast cancer” — terms that can be confusing, and partly reflect the fact that DCIS is not fully understood. The researchers found that among more than 144,000 U.S. women treated for DCIS, the risk of dying from breast cancer over the next 20 years was about three times higher than that of cancer-free women. The vast majority of women with DCIS did not die of breast cancer during the study period. There were 1,540 deaths from the disease. But given that all underwent surgery — often followed by radiation — the findings show that DCIS treatment does not eliminate the risk of dying from breast cancer, said senior researcher Dr. Steven Narod. “Despite the best treatment available, the risk is still there,” said Narod, of the Women’s College Research Institute in Toronto, Canada. Overall, he said, women faced a 3% chance of dying from breast cancer. And for Black women, the odds were significantly greater — close to 10%.…  read on >

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 23, 2020 (Healthday News) — The U.S. coronavirus death toll reached the tragic milestone of 200,000 on Tuesday, with at least 22 states now reporting a rise in new cases. Just last Monday, only nine states were reporting increases in new COVID-19 cases, CNN reported. For the most part, the case spikes are showing up in the country’s heartland and the Midwest. “We’re entering into the fall and into the winter, and that means there’s going to be more indoor things than outdoor things,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday, CNN reported. “Going into that situation, I would like to have seen the baseline of where we are — the daily number of infections — come way, way down, and not be stuck at around 30 to 40,000 per day.” In the next three months, another 150,000 people could lose their lives to COVID-19, according to the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), CNN reported. Alarm is growing in states like Kentucky and Wisconsin, which has one of the highest COVID-19 positivity rates in the nation, higher than 16%, CNN reported. Wisconsin’s governor declared a new public health emergency this week following a surge of cases among young people and issued a new order for face coverings. Kentucky also saw a spike in its positivity rate after several counties witnessed…  read on >