Sharing EHR records could unlock their true potential, says health data experts
When the tangle of data locked in EHRs is decoded and shared between organizations and institutions, important health insights can be discovered, Nature reported May 3.
- Beckers Hospital Review, Georgia Gonzalez: May 4, 2022
Health Data for All
For the gastrointestinal condition known as ulcerative colitis, some physicians recommend using a particular drug twice a day, others, three times. But which protocol is the best way to help people with the condition to avoid surgery? Instead of launching a clinical trial, Peter Higgins, a gastroenterologist at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, examined the data.
-Nature, Jyoti Madhusoodanan: May 3, 2022
Researchers test the power of machine learning to unravel long Covid’s mysteries
Long Covid, with its constellation of symptoms, is proving a challenging moving target for researchers trying to conduct large studies of the syndrome. As they take aim, they’re debating how to responsibly use growing piles of real-world data — drawing from the full experiences of long Covid patients, not just their participation in stewarded clinical trials.
- Stat News, Katie Palmer: April 29, 2022
Synthetic data mimics real patient data, accurately models COVID-19 pandemic
While caring for COVID-19 patients, health-care professionals across the country have amassed a treasure trove of information about SARS-CoV-2, its evolving variants such as delta and omicron, and their effects on the human body and public health.
-Washington University School of Medicine, Julia Evangelou Strait: April 27, 2022
Synthetic data accurately replicates the results of analyses from real COVID-19 patient data
Research led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has demonstrated that analyzing synthetic data generated from real COVID-19 patients accurately replicates the results of the same analyses conducted on the real patient data.
- News Medical Life Sciences, Emily Henderson: April 27, 2022
Study evaluates the use of a diagnostic code for Long COVID
In a recent study posted to the medRxiv* preprint server, researchers evaluated the use of U09.9, an International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) code described as 'Post coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) condition, unspecified' for post-acute COVID-19 sequelae (long COVID).
- News Medical Life Sciences, Pooja Toshniwal Paharia: April 21, 2022
Alert! Omicron increases the risk of heart attack in children: Report
Digital Desk: According to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Colorado, Northwestern University, and Stony Brook University in the United States, the coronavirus variant Omicron is more likely than other variants to cause upper airway infection (UAI) in children, putting them at risk of heart attack and other severe issues.
- Prag News, Dhupali Das: April 19, 2022
Omicron More Likely To Cause Upper Airway Infections Among Children Than Previous Covid Varieties, Study Says
The omicron variant is more likely than other coronavirus variants to cause upper airway infection (UAI) among children, which puts them at risk of heart attack and other severe complications, even as the overall risk for serious illness for children remains low, according to a study published Friday by JAMA Pediatrics.
- Forbes, Zachary Snowdon Smith: April 15, 2022
Clinical, social, and policy factors in COVID-19 cases and deaths: methodological considerations for feature selection and modeling in county-level analyses
There is a need to evaluate how the choice of time interval contributes to the lack of consistency of SDoH variables that appear as important to COVID-19 disease burden within an analysis for both case counts and death counts.
-BMC Public Health: April 14, 2022
COVID-19 Vaccine Largely Protects Cancer Patients
MONDAY, April 11, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Real-world evidence shows that patients with cancer have a higher risk for developing breakthrough COVID-19 infections and severe outcomes, according to a study published online March 14 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
- Health Day News: April 11, 2022
Research Finds COVID-19 Vaccine Protects Most Patients With Cancer, but Risk Remains Higher for Patients With Blood Cancers
Using the nation’s largest COVID-19 data resource, a research team found that the COVID-19 vaccine offered protection for most patients with cancer. However, patients with certain types of cancer—especially those with hematologic malignancies—had a higher and widely varied risk of breakthrough COVID-19 infections after being vaccinated. These findings were published by Song et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
- The ASCO Post: April 8, 2022
COVID-19 Roundup: Convalescent Plasma, Ivermectin Efficacy, Aspirin Use
Individuals with COVID-19 who are treated with convalescent plasma within 9 days of symptom onset may have a reduced risk of disease progression and hospitalization, according to the results of a recent study.
- Consultant360, Leigh Precopio: April 7, 2022
Risk of Breakthrough COVID-19 Higher for Patients With Cancer
Patients with cancer have a higher risk of breakthrough COVID-19 after vaccination when compared with patients who don’t have cancer, according to research published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
- Cancer Therapy Advisor, John Schieszer: April 7, 2022
Vir Biotechnology Scientists Named Winners of the BARDA and HHS-Sponsored Pediatric COVID-19
SAN FRANCISCO, April 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vir Biotechnology, Inc. (Nasdaq: VIR) today announced that a team of three company scientists were named one of the winners of the Pediatric COVID-19 Data Challenge, sponsored by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
- Globe Newswire, April 6, 2022
Study says duplilumab reduces mortality from COVID-19
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), continues to plague the globe.
- News Medical, Nidhi Saha: April 5, 2022
Vaccinated patients with blood cancers are at higher risk of breakthrough COVID than other cancers, study says
COVID-19 vaccines protect most cancer patients from contracting COVID or severe cases, however; those with blood cancers do not get the same protective benefit, according to a research study at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center in Indianapolis.
- Yahoo, Amy McGorry: April 4, 2022
Effectiveness of COVID-19 Booster Vaccination
Booster vaccination against COVID-19 was found to reduce risk of COVID-19-related death regardless of immune status, according to the results of a study presented at the 2022 Conference for Antiretrovirals and Opportunistic Infections (CROI).
– Consultant360, Ellen Kurek: April 1, 2022
NIH Gears Up for Data Sharing Policy, Modernized Biomedical Data Ecosystem
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is creating infrastructure capabilities and new programs to promote data discovery, use and sharing in alignment with its upcoming data management policy. “Our goals are to catalyze data science. capabilities across all the 27 institutes and centers at NIH,” Susan Gregurick, associate director for data science and director of the Office of Data Science Strategy, said at GovCIO Media & Research’s Infrastructure: Health IT virtual event. "We do that by working with a very large number of colleagues across NIH — almost over 200 NIH staff work with us on various teams — to help us implement different data science strategy capabilities.”
– GovCIO Media & Research, Sarah Sybert: March 31, 2022
Researchers Mine EHR Data to Identify Long-COVID Patients
A research team has used the National COVID Cohort Collaborative’s (N3C) EHR repository to develop machine learning models to identify potential long-COVID patients. Their research is part of the NIH Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) Initiative, which is addressing the need to understand long-COVID and identify treatments.
– Healthcare Innovation, David Raths: March 31, 2022
Aspirin reduces risk of death from covid-19 – study finds
Aspirin lowers the risk of death from covid-19 by up to 13.6%, says a new study published in the journal Jama Network Open. The study covered 112,269 patients who were hospitalized due to SARS-CoV-2 infection and was undertaken by scientists at George Washington University in the United States.
– Revyuh, Jiya Saini: March 30, 2022
Aspirin May Lower Death Risk in Patients with Moderate COVID, Study
A large study conducted by researchers at George Washington University has found that hospitalized patients with moderate COVID who were given aspirin had a lower risk of dying compared to those who were not given the drug, according to Science Daily.
– MyHealthyClick, Justin Thompson: March 28, 2022
Aspirin May Reduce Death In Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients
Researchers at the George Washington University published findings from the world’s largest cohort study showing that hospitalized patients with moderate COVID-19 who were given aspirin early on in their treatment had a lower risk of dying compared to patients who were not given aspirin.
– Newswise: March 24, 2022
It's Not Over for Aspirin in Moderate COVID-19
People with moderate COVID-19 illness tended to have better clinical outcomes if they took aspirin their first day in the hospital, according to data from the NIH's National COVID Cohort Collaborative.
– MedPage Today, Nicole Lou: March 24, 2022
Early aspirin use may lower mortality risk in adults hospitalized with COVID-19
Among patients hospitalized with moderate COVID-19, those who received aspirin on the first day of hospitalization had a significantly lower risk for 28-day mortality than those who did not, according to a recent observational cohort study.
– Healio, Stephanie Viguers: March 24, 2022
Glycemic Control a Risk Factor for Poor COVID-19 Outcomes Among Patients With Type 2 Diabetes
Poor glycemic control was found to be associated with increased risk for COVID-19 hospitalization and mortality, according to the results of a retrospective study published in Diabetes Care.
– Endocrinology Advisor, Jessica Nye, PhD: March 21, 2022
HbA1c levels linked to hospitalization risk in patients with type 2 diabetes, COVID-19
For patients with type 2 diabetes and COVID-19, the risk for hospitalization increased with incrementally higher HbA1c levels, according to results of a large, multicenter cohort study.
– Healio, Brian Ellis: March 16, 2022
COVID Vax Effectiveness Quantified in Immunosuppressed Patients
People taking immunosuppressive drugs benefit significantly from SARS-CoV-2 vaccines approved in the United States to prevent and reduce the severity of COVID-19, according to the first study to quantify the vaccines' real-world effectiveness in this population.
– Medscape, Richard Mark Kirkner: March 10, 2022
CT researchers validate long COVID as disabling: It’s not ‘all in your head'
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., introduced the CARE for Long COVID Act. The bill seeks to encourage more research and provide resources for those suffering from lingering COVID-19 symptoms and other post-viral illnesses. In a press release, Kaine acknowledged that he is enduring mild long COVID symptoms himself.
– New Canaan Advertiser, Annelise Hanshaw; March 9, 2022
COVID Vaccine Boosters Protect People With Immune Dysfunction
Receiving an additional COVID-19 vaccine dose provided more protection for people with compromised immunity, according to research presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections 2022 (CROI 2022). While the study did not analyze booster effectiveness based on the specific type of immune dysfunction, it does offer reassurance that this population can benefit from keeping up to date on vaccination.
– POZ, Liz Highleyman: March 9, 2022
Threshold effect for HbA1c association with poor COVID-19 outcomes
Researchers confirm that higher glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels are associated with a higher risk for poor outcomes in people with type 2 diabetes and COVID-19, but the risk does not increase further beyond a certain threshold.
– medwireNews, Eleanor McDermid: March 8, 2022
Incidence and outcomes of breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infections in vaccinated chronic liver disease patients
The development of safe and effective vaccines against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has significantly altered the course of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Both clinical trials and real-world evidence have demonstrated that current COVID-19 vaccines are extremely effective, particularly in reducing the risk of severe disease.
– News Medical, Benedette Cuffari, M.Sc.: March 3, 2022
Biden calls on Congress to fund ‘DARPA for health’ in State of the Union address
President Biden on Tuesday called for lawmakers in Congress to fund a new health R&D agency that would emulate the Department of Defense’s emerging technology incubator. “I call on Congress to fund what I call ARPA-H, the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health,” he said during his annual address to the nation.
– FedScoop, John Hewitt Jones: March 2, 2022
HHS installs Karl Mathias as chief information officer
The Department of Health and Human Services has appointed Karl Mathias as chief information officer, according to two people familiar with the matter. He becomes the agency’s 8th IT leader in seven years, and takes over from George Chambers, who has held the role on an acting basis since Jan. 1.
– FedScoop, John Hewitt Jones and Dave Nyczepir: March 2, 2022
University Researchers Find that CBD Helps Fight COVID-19 Infection in Human Cells
A group of UChicago researchers recently published a study that found that CBD may help block the COVID-19 virus in mice and human cells. Scientists believe that CBD interacts with the host’s endoplasmic reticulum and interferon signaling pathways in order to block SARS-CoV-2 replication.
– The Chicago Maroon, Natalie Hoge: March 1, 2022
Effectiveness of COVID-19 Booster Vaccination
Booster vaccination against COVID-19 was found to reduce risk of COVID-19-related death regardless of immune status, according to the results of a study presented at the 2022 Conference for Antiretrovirals and Opportunistic Infections (CROI). The US National COVID Cohort Collaborative used data from 50 sites to estimate the effectiveness of booster vaccination compared with that of full vaccination (defined as 2 doses of mRNA or 1 dose of Janssen vaccine).
– Consultant360, Ellen Kurek: March 1, 2022
CU-Led National Youth COVID Study Could Speed Care for Sickest Children
In one of the largest studies to date looking at youth and COVID-19, researchers pinpointed traits and initial lab values that signaled which infected children would get the sickest once hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2. The results could help accelerate intensive care and early, more aggressive treatment for at-risk children, potentially improving outcomes.
— CU Anschutz Newsroom, Debra Melani: Feb. 25, 2022
Does Long-Term Use of Immunosuppressive Medications Inform In-Hospital COVID-19 Outcomes?
Individuals receiving treatment with long-term immunosuppressive medications, except rituximab, and hospitalized for COVID-19 were not found to have an increased risk for invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) or in-hospital death, according to study results published in Lancet Rheumatology.
— Renal & Urology News, Sheila Jacobs: Feb. 24, 2022
Can CBD fight COVID-19?
A new study published in Science Advances reports evidence that cannabidiol, a product of the cannabis plant, can inhibit infection by SARS-CoV-2 in human cells and in mice. SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes COVID-19.
– UIC Today, Jacqueline Carey: Feb. 23, 2022
What factors are linked to severe COVID-19 in children?
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the general understanding of how the disease affects children has shifted, from being seen as a disease with little to no impact on children to children being a significant proportion of patients contracting the virus. However, a lack of large cohort studies has made it difficult to build a robust knowledge base. A recent report sheds some much needed light.
– Contemporary Pediatrics, Miranda Hester: Feb. 23, 2022
For Children Hospitalized with COVID-19, Factors Identified for Progression to Severe Illness
Demographic characteristics, preexisting comorbidities, and vital sign and laboratory values at the time of hospitalization indicate which children with COVID-19 are at higher risk of severe illness, a recent research article shows.
– HealthLeaders Media, Christopher Cheney: Feb. 22, 2022
PLWH, Aging and the Effects of COVID-19 Outcomes
PLWH may have an accelerated aging process and this could affect the severity of COVID-19. Investigators from the University of South Carolina and the University of Washington wanted to see if this population were more likely to have a more severe case of COVID-19. Adverse outcomes were identified as hospitalization and mortality.
— Contagion Live, John Parkinson: Feb. 16, 2022
New study identifies risk factors for severe COVID in kids
A new study recently published in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) has identified characteristics, outcomes, and severity risk factors associated with coronavirus infections in American children. The study looked at data from the U.S. National COVID Cohort Collaborative, with 167, 262 children at 56 sites COVID positive and 10, 245 needing to be hospitalized.
— KRDO, Mallory Anderson: Feb. 16, 2022
Comparing COVID-19 Vaccination, Boosters for Patients With and Without Immune Dysfunction
One of the ongoing challenges has been full vaccination and booster efficacy among both those with and without immune dysfunction, especially since the Delta and Omicron variants have become the predominant strains. With regards to the immunocompromised, it has been reported that they as a group have a diminished effectiveness with all the COVID-19 vaccines, and now with booster doses, concerns remain about the ability of an extra dose to add protection.
— Contagion Live, John Parkinson: Feb. 15, 2022
Which children are at higher risk of severe COVID-19?
A new study is providing insight into which children have a higher risk of developing severe complications from COVID-19. The results are now published in the Journal of American Medical Association and one of the authors spearheading the study is in Colorado. The national study was published on Feb. 8 and tracked thousands of children for nearly two years, including kids in Colorado. Doctors and researchers found that overall children handle the virus well, but there’s a certain group that’s more likely to end up hospitalized.
— FOX 31 Denver, Talya Cunningham: Feb. 14, 2022
8 risk factors tied to severe COVID-19, MIS-C in kids
Researchers have linked certain risk factors to severe COVID-19 for kids, along with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, according to a study published Feb. 8 by JAMA Network Open. Researchers at Denver-based University of Colorado led a study involving patients 18 years and younger tested for COVID-19 at 56 U.S. National COVID Cohort Collaborative facilities up to Sept. 24, before the emergence of the omicron coronavirus variant.
— Becker's Hospital Review, Gabrielle Masson: Feb. 10, 2022
Study reveals risk factors for severe COVID-19, related syndrome in kids
A prospective cohort study of US children diagnosed as having COVID-19 reveals that certain demographic characteristics, preexisting chronic diseases, and initial vital sign and lab values may portend disease severity, a finding that the researchers said could help improve outcomes.
— CIDRAP - Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy: Feb. 9, 2022
Which Kids Are More Likely to Develop MIS-C?
A study of more than 1 million children is giving researchers a hint at who may be more likely to develop multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) following a COVID-19 infection.
– MedPage Today, Molly Walker: Feb. 8, 2022
Nationwide study of 'Long COVID' to launch at University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has invested nearly $470 million to build a national study population of diverse research volunteers and support large-scale studies on the long-term effects of COVID-19. The Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CCTSI) is playing a major role in the initiative called REsearching COVID to Enhance Recovery or RECOVER.
– CU Anschutz Newsroom, Wendy Meyer: Feb. 7, 2022
The great gaslighting: how Covid longhaulers are still fighting for recognition
People with long Covid face an uphill battle convincing skeptics their malady is real – but discrediting uncommon conditions is hardly a new phenomenon.
– The Guardian, Mike Mariani: Feb. 3, 2022
Study finds pediatric acute upper airway infection cases have increased during the Omicron variant surge
In a study posted to the medRxiv* preprint server, a team of researchers from the United States (US) conducted a retrospective cohort study to determine if pediatric acute upper airway infection (UAI) was more common during the surge of the Omicron (B.1.1.529) strain of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the US.
— News Medical, Susha Cheriyedath, M.Sc.: Feb. 3, 2022
Can CBD Protect You from COVID-19? We’re Breaking Down the Science
In early 2022, a team of researchers published findings showing that an FDA-approved form of CBD helps block replication of several variants of SARS-CoV-2 (aka, the 2019 coronavirus, which causes COVID-19) in lab tests on human lung cells and mice. The findings shared that it can’t keep the virus from getting into the cell, but instead keeps the virus from reproducing itself, which can stop the COVID-19 infection in its tracks. Researchers connected this info to CBD’s impact on your body’s stress and immune responses.
— Greatist, Samantha Kostaras: Jan. 27, 2022
CU Anschutz Research: Innovation in the Face of COVID Crisis
Much has changed in the world since COVID-19 emerged and touched off a global health crisis. The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and other academic research institutions have been at the heart of the response to the pandemic, aggregating data, making discoveries, running clinical trials and developing therapies. The nature of research has changed during the pandemic, accelerating and becoming more collaborative. In many ways, CU Anschutz has been a leader in adapting to the new landscape, including launching the COVIDome project, publishing the first paper from National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C) data, and joining CEAL – Community Engagement Alliance Against COVID-19 Disparities – a research effort aimed at identifying and eliminating health disparities.
– CU Anschutz Newsroom, Chris Casey: Jan. 26, 2022
New Science Continues to Suggest Use of Cannabinoids to Prevent COVID-19 Infection - Largest Global Maker of Raw CBGa and CBDa Products, 101 Hemp, Points to Another Recently Published Study
101 Hemp (https://101hemp.org/) recently noted another promising new study showcasing advances in using cannabidiol in the fight against the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Listed on Science.org, "Cannabidiol Inhibits SARS-CoV-2 replication through induction of the host ER stress and innate immune responses," comes on the heels of groundbreaking research out of Oregon State University that also explicitly concluded cannabidiol in the raw form (CBGa and CBDa – both non-psychoactive) can outright block COVID-19 infection in human cells and mice. In a stunning conclusion, the new study's abstract noted that: "In matched groups of human patients from the National COVID Cohort Collaborative, CBD (100-mg/ml oral solution per medical records) had a significant negative association with positive SARS-CoV-2 tests … a potential preventative agent for early-stage SARS-CoV-2 infection and merits further clinical trials."
– Yahoo! Finance: Jan. 26, 2022
Does Long-Term Use of Immunosuppressive Medications Inform In-Hospital COVID-19 Outcomes?
Individuals receiving treatment with long-term immunosuppressive medications, except rituximab, and hospitalized for COVID-19 were not found to have an increased risk for invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) or in-hospital death, according to study results published in Lancet Rheumatology.
– Rheumatology Advisor, Sheila Jacobs: Jan. 26, 2022
Can CBD Help Curb COVID? Maybe, But More Study Needed
Cannabidiol, a compound derived from marijuana, appears to show promise in blocking replication of the COVID-19 virus and preventing its spread, lab and animal studies show. CBD inhibited the ability of the coronavirus to spread in human lung cell samples, and also suppressed COVID-19 infection in the lungs and nasal passages of lab mice. Although research in animals doesn't always pan out in humans, the success of CBD may not be limited to the lab.
– HealthDay News, Dennis Thompson, Jan. 24, 2022
Can cannabis compound CBD block COVID? Maybe, but not what’s in stores, study finds
One active ingredient in the cannabis plant – cannabidiol (CBD) – could potentially block COVID-19 infection, a new study suggests. If you’re wondering if this means you’ll be protected from the virus by smoking weed or vaping CBD, the answer is no. Here’s what the research means: You might’ve seen products with the non-psychoactive marijuana compound legally sold in stores and advertised with potential calming capabilities. However, the commercially available CBD that can be infused in food or drinks isn’t of the same quality as the CBD used in the study, authors point out in the peer-reviewed research published Jan. 20 in Science Advances.
– The Olympian, Julia Marnin: Jan. 24, 2022
Researchers recommending human clinical trials for CBD to prevent COVID-19
A team of researchers, including members from the University of Louisville, found that an FDA-approved, pharmaceutical-grade formulation of CBD has an antiviral effect and significant negative association with COVID infection. The study, headed by the University of Chicago and published in Science Advances on Jan. 20, looked at people who tested positive for COVID-19 while taking the approved drug to treat epilepsy, according to a release.
– WHAS11, Kennedy Thompson: Jan. 24, 2022
Oral CBD has been found to prevent COVID-19 infection in humans
We research Cannabidiol found (CBD) effectively blocks the replication of SARS-CoV-2 in human cells. The study was published Thursday in the peer-reviewed journal Advances in Science. A team of 33 researchers from the University of Chicago and the University of Louisville found that people taking 100 milligrams per milliliter of high-purity CBD returned positive COVD-19 tests at a slower rate than control groups that did not take CBD.
– TheHealthGuild: Jan. 22, 2022
Research shows CBD can prevent Covid from replicating
A study conducted on mice shows that CBD inhibits viral replication without side effects.
– Spanish News Today: Jan. 21, 2022
Researchers recommend clinical trials for CBD to prevent COVID-19 based on promising animal data
An interdisciplinary team of researchers from the University of Chicago has found evidence that cannabidiol, or CBD, a product of the cannabis plant, can inhibit infection by the COVID-19 virus in human cells and in mice. The study, published on Jan. 20 in Science Advances, found CBD showed a significant negative association with positive COVID tests in a national sample of medical records of patients taking the FDA-approved drug for treating epilepsy. The researchers now say that clinical trials should be done to determine whether CBD could eventually be used as a preventative or early treatment for COVID-19.
– University of Chicago News, Matt Reyer: Jan. 21, 2022
CBD Could Help Stop SARS-CoV-2 Replicating Inside Cells, Study Suggests
Cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive chemical in cannabis commonly known as CBD, stops the replication of SARS-CoV-2 in mice and human lung cells in a petri dish in a new study. In another arm of the study, a survey revealed that people taking CBD oil as a treatment for epilepsy were testing positive for COVID-19 at significantly lower rates than people who were not taking CBD.
– IFLScience, Tom Hale: Jan. 21, 2022
Immune dysfunction linked to 'substantial risk' for breakthrough COVID-19 infection
Although vaccines reduce the overall risk for COVID-19 regardless of immune status, patients with immune dysfunction are at a “substantial risk” for breakthrough infection versus those without, according to data. Specifically, the researchers found that patients with rheumatoid arthritis, HIV infection or solid organ transplant had a higher rate of breakthrough infection despite being fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
– Healio Rheumatology, Jason Laday: Jan. 19, 2022
Digital Health COVID-19 Impact Assessment: Lessons Learned and Compelling Needs
COVID-19 arrived in the context of such promise and demonstration of opportunity—the first global pandemic of the digital age. There have been many shining examples of how digital health solutions have helped in critical ways during the pandemic. Perhaps the most noticeable acceleration, both in the United States and other parts of the world, has been in the rapid adoption of telemedicine, but there have also been less visible digitally-dependent advances that are just as important across all sectors of health care, public health, and medical research. In many ways, the response to COVID-19 sparked years of advances in mere months.
– National Academy of Medicine: Jan. 18, 2022
Transplantation, HIV infection and immunosuppression: Wright Center scientists contribute to studies using national COVID-19 data
Organ transplant recipients and people living with HIV are more likely to experience adverse effects after contracting COVID-19. And kidney and heart transplant recipients are at highest risk. Those are just some of the conclusions coming from an international team of researchers that includes Virginia Commonwealth University data scientists. Amy Olex, M.S., and Evan French of the Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research joined that team as co-authors on four recent publications that used data from the National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C).
– C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research: Dec. 2, 2021
Untangling Laboratory Data's Twisted Journey
Researchers are proving the power of aggregating and sharing data across institutions, but progress depends on lab leaders’ commitment to data quality and standardization.
– American Association for Clinical Chemistry, Deborah Levenson: Dec. 1, 2021
Most Immunosuppressive Meds Not Tied to Worse COVID-19 Outcomes
Overall, people taking immunosuppressive medications do not have a higher risk for dying from COVID-19 or being put on a ventilator compared with non-immunosuppressed hospitalized COVID-19 patients, according to a study published online Nov. 15 in The Lancet Rheumatology.
– HealthDay News: Dec. 1, 2021
Rituximab increased odds of COVID-19 hospitalization vs. DMARDs for patients with RA
Baseline use of rituximab compared with conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs was associated with worse COVID-19 outcomes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, according to a presenter at ACR Convergence 2021. “The COVID-19 pandemic led to several questions regarding the safety of DMARDs that patients with rheumatic diseases use for their management,” Namrata Singh, MD, MSCIFACP, assistant professor at the University of Washington, told Healio.
– Healio Rheumatology, Lisa Holden: Nov. 27, 2021
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus Researchers to Lead Multi-Institution Effort to Study Long COVID
Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus will lead a four-year, multi-institution effort to study the effects of post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC), or long COVID, with more than $11 million in first-year funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). More than 30 research teams across the country will study and share data in real time as part of the Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) Initiative, a centralized effort that will enable research with a nationally representative cohort of patients with long COVID.
– CU Anschutz Medical Campus, Kelsea Pieters: Nov. 21, 2021
Outcomes for hospitalized COVID-19 patients taking immunosuppressive medications similar to non-immunosuppressed patients, study finds
A large, nationwide study of COVID-19 cases led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has found that people taking medications that suppress the immune system -- for example, to prevent transplant rejection or to treat cancer -- overall do not have a higher risk of dying from COVID-19 or being put on a ventilator than non-immunosuppressed hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
— ScienceDaily: Nov. 16, 2021
Out of many, one: COVID database takes root, epitomizes the national ideal
NC3, the NIH-spurred effort to grow a national COVID database from far-flung local siloes, has already yielded an impressive harvest: almost 600 million clinical observations of nearly 6.5 million patients seen at 56 sites.
— Innovate Healthcare, Dave Pearson: June 22, 2021
It took a pandemic, but the US finally has (some) centralized medical data
The database is now one of the largest collections of covid records in the world, with 6.3 million patient records from 56 institutions and counting, including records from 2.1 million patients with the virus. Most records go back to 2018, and contributing organizations have pledged to keep updating them for five years. That makes N3C not just one of the most useful resources for studying the disease today, but one of the most promising ways to study long covid.
— Cat Ferguson: June 21, 2021
Introducing National COVID Cohort Collaborative for Data Science-driven EHR Analysis
With healthcare analytics, the N3C platform could benefit all participants to securely integrate electronic patient records (EHR) across states and compare these to build a highly secured and super-beneficial healthcare infrastructure for everyone.
— Sudipto Ghosh: June 21, 2021
Risk Factors Identified for All-Cause Mortality in Cancer Patients With COVID-19
The study was based on data obtained from the National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C), which is a large nationwide cohort of COVID-19 cases and control groups, consisting of outpatients and inpatients seen at various sites across the United States. The analysis included adults from the N3C cohort who had received either a positive or negative COVID-19 diagnostic result between January 1, 2020, and March 25, 2021. From this population, the researchers aimed to develop and characterize a cohort of patients with cancer to examine possible risk factors for mortality with COVID-19.
— Vicki Moore: June 18, 2021
Palantir Recognized with Amazon Web Services Global Public Sector Partner Award
Palantir’s platform was instrumental in the fight against COVID-19 by providing customers a secure platform to integrate, harmonize, and analyze COVID-19 data. At the NIH’s National Covid Cohort Collaborative (N3C), Palantir software was used to accelerate research and improve understanding of the disease. More than 1000 researchers used N3C to collaborate on hundreds of projects that ultimately helped guide an effective response to COVID-19. Palantir was also used by other organizations across the U.S. government to better respond to the pandemic.
— Business Wire, Lisa Gordon: June 17, 2021
Translating Data into Action
In the presentation, “Informatics, Ontology, Data Systems: The N3C,” Kenneth Gersing, MD & Christopher Chute, DrPh, MD, MPH explained the workings of the National COVID Cohort Collaborative as a centralized secure portal for hosting patient-level COVID clinical data involving more than 2,000 data scientists from across the nation collaborating on COVID-related data analysis.
— Mary Therese Phelan: June 10, 2021
How does COVID-19 affect patients with cancer? Largest U.S. study shares first results
In the largest study of its kind to date, researchers analyzing national data from more than 63,000 patients with cancer and a positive COVID-19 diagnosis report an increased risk of death among those who were older, male, had a higher number of comorbidities, and had hematologic cancers and recent chemotherapy treatments.
— Matt Windsor: June 10, 2021
Most COVID-19 Cases in Solid Organ Transplant Patients Occur in KTRs
Investigators who reviewed data from the largest cohort to date of solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients with COVID-19 found that the viral illness is more likely to occur among those who receive kidney rather than other solid organs, according to a presentation at the virtual 2021 American Transplant Congress.
— Jody A. Charnow: June 7, 2021
2021 FedHealthIT Innovation Award Winners Announced
The 7th Annual FedHealthIT Innovation Awards recognizes and honors the Federal Health technology and consulting community by celebrating programs nominated and selected by their peers for DRIVING INNOVATION and RESULTS across the Department of Veterans Affairs, Military Health, Health and Human Services, and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
This year’s Program Award Winners were announced over three days, in no particular order. (See entry 19.)
National Institutes of Health, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences
National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C)
N3C is an innovative collaboration program across 70 NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award sites to centralize data on COVID-19 for clinical research. N3C’s most innovative aspect is the creation of a secure Data Enclave comprising 1M+ COVID-19 patients from across more than 70 providers and the fostering of a group of more than 1000 researchers using it. N3C has transformed how CTSA sites conduct research, allowing them to form cross-institute research teams accessing much richer datasets. Building the data enclave used industry-leading modern cloud technology, and management of complex organizational change was required to build the community of researchers who are now pursuing training, mentorship, and collaborative science.
— Heather Seftel-Kirk: May 25, 2021
Unmasking The Covid Realities - The CDC Still Needs To Find The Data
The National COVID Collaborative (N3C) is an electronic health record repository of over 5.6 M+ patients including 1,550,337+ Covid positive patients. This staggering amount of information is held in 6.2 B+ rows of data and provides enough substrate to currently support 173 projects. The projects range from evaluation of anti-thrombotic therapies to the effects of alcohol consumption on Covid-19 outcomes and a host of other studies.
— Steve Brozak: May 14, 2021
Health Data Sharing Improved During Pandemic, but Barriers Remain
Another large health data sharing project is known as N3C—the National COVID Cohort Collaborative. It is sponsored by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), part of the NIH. "The goal of this group is so important," said Kenneth Gersing, MD, the center's director of informatics. To get the database going, NCATS said to its partnering institutions, "We want your data on people who have COVID or 'controls'—people who have not had COVID—and we want their entire medical record, and we'd like it starting in January of 2018," Gersing explained.
— Joyce Frieden: April 23, 2021
Examining a Connection Between HIV, COVID-19, and Race
Jessica Islam PhD, MPH, assistant professor, University of North Carolina, member of Cancer Epidemiology at Moffitt Cancer Center, was part of a team of investigators who looked at racial disparities of COVID-19 in people living with HIV (PLWH) in the United States. They reviewed COVID-19 positive data and HIV status by using the US National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C).
— John Parkinson: April 11, 2021
Data science talk to focus on COVID-19 database available to Penn State faculty
The National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C), funded by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, is an initiative that seeks to put data into the hands of scientists who are skilled at manipulating or deriving insight from data sets. Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute spearheaded the University’s participation in the N3C initiative. As part of the initiative, which includes institution-level data usage agreements, Penn State faculty can get free access to the platform without seeking Institutional Review Board approval.
— Liam Jackson: April 9, 2021
NIH’s COVID-19 data enclave continues to evolve with the virus
The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences within NIH launched the largest COVID-19 dataset in the U.S., the National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C) Data Enclave, in April. And now NCATS wants to use privacy-preserving record linkage (PPRL) to link data from its enclave with medical images, omics tools, electronic health records (EHRs), and social determinants of health to answer researchers’ lingering questions like why COVID-19 symptoms linger in some patients.
— Dave Nyczepir: April 7, 2021
Palantir Issues Additional Details About Life Sciences Capabilities to be Shown at “Double Click” on Wednesday, April 14, 2021
More than 1,000 researchers at the NIH’s National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C) use Palantir's Foundry to securely maintain one of the largest patient-level data assets of COVID-19 Electronic Health Record (EHR) data in the world and collaborate on more than 150 research projects (as illustrated in this video demonstration by N3C).
— Lisa Gordon: April 1, 2021
UC hospitals join NIH's national EHR database collaborative for COVID-19 research
UC Health centers will use the $500,000 grant to integrate the COVID-19 patient data its facilities have collected with the N3C database, making the case records available on a national scale. The UC Health centers participating are UC San Diego, UC Davis, UC San Francisco, UCLA and UC Biomedical, Research, Acceleration, Integration and Development.
— Jackie Drees: March 25, 2021
NIH Funds National Project to Promote COVID-19 Data Sharing
UC hospitals have received a $500,000 grant from NIH to enable COVID-19 data sharing on a national scale, allowing collaborations among researchers, providers, and patients.
— Jessica Kent: March 25, 2021
UCI to lead transfer of UC COVID-19 patient information to federal database
Dr. Dan M. Cooper, associate vice chancellor for clinical and translational science at UCI, will manage a transfer of UC information on COVID-19 cases into the National COVID Cohort Collaborative’s centralized data resource at the NIH’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences.
— Newswise, Irvine, California: March 24, 2021
TraCS' Emily Pfaff works with NIH to co-lead long-COVID domain team
The Long-COVID Clinical Domain Team aims to define and characterize patients with long-term sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection. These patients continue to experience several symptoms for an extended period of time after recovering from the initial effects of COVID-19 virus. A Long-COVID phenotype will support prognostic characterization of different substrata, potentially more precise care management, and greatly inform prospective interventional studies. The NIH has also just launched a new initiative to study Long COVID to help answer underlying questions surrounding this phenomenon.
— North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute: March 22, 2021
Role of Immunosuppression in the Risk of Severe COVID-19
For those with immunosuppression or are immunocompromised (ISC), it is well-known that they are at an increased risk for more severe forms of disease. During the time of a global pandemic, like that of the currently ongoing COVID-19 virus, the role to which ISC plays is of significant importance.
— Killian Meara: March 8, 2021
National COVID data repository available to researchers
The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences-funded National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C) is open for business and recruiting interested investigators across the clinical and translational spectrum to engage with this health record repository containing the largest, most representative U.S. cohort of COVID-19 cases and controls to date.
— Jerrod Anzalone: March 4, 2021
CU Anschutz Physician Publishes First Paper from Data in the National COVID Cohort Collaborative
Tell Bennett, MD, associate professor in the University of Colorado School of Medicine and director of Informatics in the Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CCTSI), has been helping to lead the N3C nationally. He is also the first author on the first preprint to be published from N3C data, The National COVID Cohort Collaborative: Clinical Characterization and Early Severity Prediction.
— Wendy Meyer: February 17, 2021
Leverage National COVID Cohort Collaborative Data
Researchers across the University of Michigan planning COVID-19 trials can now take advantage of the National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C) to inform their research hypotheses.
— Michigan Institute for Clinical & Health Research: February 2, 2021
The National COVID Cohort Collaborative: Clinical Characterization and Early Severity Prediction
This is the first description of an ongoing longitudinal observational study of patients seen in diverse clinical settings and geographical regions and is the largest COVID-19 cohort in the United States. Such data are the foundation for ML models that can be the basis for generalizable clinical decision support tools. The N3C Data Enclave is unique in providing transparent, reproducible, easily shared, versioned, and fully auditable data and analytic provenance for national-scale patient-level EHR data. The N3C is built for intensive ML analyses by academic, industry, and citizen scientists internationally. Many observational correlations can inform trial designs and care guidelines for this new disease.
— DocWireNews: January 20, 2021 (Originally Published Here)
NIH-led COVID research effort taps AI startup schooled in synthetic health data
The NIH, FDA and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation are working with a San Francisco startup whose calling card is an AI-enabled engine that renders patient data unidentifiable by reproducing it in synthetic versions. The startup, Syntegra announced the development Jan 18, 2021. The parties will collaborate around opening access to EHR data as part of the NIH’s COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C), which is marshaling resources and expertise for researchers studying SARS-CoV-2 and its effects on U.S. healthcare.
— Innovative Health, Dave Pearson: January 20, 2021
Syntegra, NIH, Gates Foundation Partner on COVID-19 Synthetic Patient Data
A San Francisco startup is partnering with the NIH to address a key challenge posed by the agency collecting the largest set of COVID-19 patient records since June: How can access to that repository be broadened for researchers without compromising the privacy of patients who contributed all that data Syntegra plans to tackle that challenge by applying its synthetic data engine to the NIH’s National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C). The company uses machine learning to create validated “synthetic data”—replicas of healthcare data that are designed to precisely duplicate its statistical properties, with patient privacy protected by removing all links to the original.
— Clinical Omics, Alex Philippidis: January 20, 2021
Syntegra collaborates with US NIH to increase access to Covid-19 data
Syntegra and the NIH's National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C) have collaborated to expand access to the largest set of Covid-19 patient records using the former's AI-enabled synthetic data technology. Through its Covid-19 Therapeutic Accelerator, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is backing the partnership between Syntegra and the NIH. The NIH will be able to provide far less restricted access to the largest available repository of patient-level Covid-19 electronic medical records using Syntegra’s synthetic data engine, can help in rapidly expanding the reach and usage of this data in driving Covid-19 insights, and can set the basis for increasing data access to life science researchers in other major fields of disease understanding and drug and device development.
— Pharmaceutical Technology: January 19, 2021
Widening Access to COVID-19 Data
California information technology and services company Syntegra and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have signed a partnership to 'democratize access to the largest set of COVID-19 patient records' with the use of Syntegra's synthetic data engine
— BioPharma Reporter, Rachel Arthur: January 18, 2021
Individuals With Down Syndrome Should Get Vaccinated For COVID-19 Early, CDC Recommends
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending individuals with comorbidities get vaccinated from the coronavirus early, which now includes those with Down syndrome. “The increased risk conferred by Down syndrome in terms of COVID-19 hospitalization and mortality is equivalent to adding 40 years to your birth certificate” suggests findings from the United Kingdom published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Data from the National COVID Cohort Collaborative shows similar trends for Down syndrome patients who have contracted COVID-19 in the U.S.
— NPR, Lisa Mullins & Samantha Raphelson: January 15, 2021
UTHSC’s Madlock-Brown Participating in National COVID Data Research Collaborative
One of UTHSC’s data scientists is applying her extensive expertise in informatics to a national effort to leverage big data in the fight against COVID-19. Charisse Madlock-Brown, PhD, MLS, a faculty member in Health Informatics and Information Management at UTHSC, is a co-lead for one of the clinical domain teams of the National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C). "As co-lead for the SDoH task team, I can facilitate the development of robust research protocols, integrate various data sets, coordinate training on the N3C platform, collaboratively analyze COVID-19 data, and provide opportunities for investigators to share related research and propose ideas."
— The Tennessee Tribune: January 14, 2021
Synthetic Data Engine to Support NIH’s COVID-19 Research-Driving Effort
As a partnership between NIH, Syntegra, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation an artificial intelligence-enabled synthetic data generator that converts clinical data of any kind into equivalent versions that don't expose sensitive patient-identifying details is being put to use as a component of the National Institutes of Health-steered National COVID Cohort Collaborative.
— NextGov, Brandi Vincent: January 14, 2021
AI and ML – Help Change the Course of the Pandemic and Make Money
N3C has a higher potential for business to partner with research in an agile rapid manner than do most research infrastructures. A combination of cloud computing, open data, and hosting ensures that your business can utilize the N3C Data Enclave. This cloud-based platform has taken research from an expensive system that we each need to implement into an inexpensive solution that we can all access. The solution ensures the business will eliminate the traditional costs and time associated with large, expensive research facilities. It allows business to do what it does best: rapidly innovate and leverage data to deploy solutions at facilities around the nation.
— HIStalk, Jeremy Harper: January 6, 2021
Regenstrief, Indiana CTSI, Datavant partner on NIH national COVID-19 data effort
Regenstrief Institute, Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CTSI) and Datavant are supporting the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in a national effort to securely gather data to help scientists understand and develop treatments for COVID-19. Supported by a contract from the NIH, Regenstrief will serve as the national project’s Honest Data Broker, using specialized technologies and processes to create more complete and informative data sets. Specifically, the Honest Data Broker will handle requests for data and manage a process referred to as “privacy-preserving record linkage” (PPRL) using technologies and approaches that help ensure N3C data are shared safely, securely and privately, all in compliance with HIPAA standards.
— Regenstrief Institute: November 9, 2020
The Ambitious Effort to Piece Together America's Fragmented Health Data
From the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, epidemiologist Melissa Haendel knew that the United States was going to have a data problem. There didn’t seem to be a national strategy to control the virus, and cases were springing up in sporadic hotspots around the country. The solution Haendel and CD2H landed on sounds simple: a centralized, anonymous database of health records from people who tested positive for COVID-19.
— The Verge, Nicole Wetsman: October 19, 2020
MMCRI Joins National COVID Data Research Collaborative
Maine Medical Center’s Research Institute (MMCRI) has received a $203,000 grant sub-award from West Virginia University for a National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) initiative to create a centralized national data platform that scientists can use to study COVID-19 and identify potential treatments.
— Maine Health, Caroline Cornish: October 19, 2020
UK Joins National Data Collaborative for COVID-19 Research
The University of Kentucky' Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) is partnering with the National Center for Advancing Translational Science (NCATS), the National Center for Data to Health, and around 60 other clinical institutions affiliated with the NCATS Clinical and Translational Science Awards Program to leverage big data in the fight against COVID-19.
— University of Kentucky, Mallory Powell: July 8, 2020
Manifesting and empowering data sharing for COVID-19 and beyond
Two favorite quotes are at the top of my mind this month: "Much is known, but unfortunately in different heads." and "Be the change you want to see in the world." The first quote reminds us that the answers to the most complex questions require bringing together puzzle pieces held by different people — and that the more diverse those people are, the more complex the questions we can answer.
— NCATS, Christopher P. Austin, MD: June 30, 2020
Scripps Research joins national effort to develop medical record analytics to improve COVID-19 patient outcomes
Data scientists at Scripps Research are applying their extensive expertise in informatics to a nationwide effort to enable the research community to access and analyze medical record data from patients diagnosed with COVID-19. The rich data stored in electronic medical records may offer clues to better care for those diagnosed with coronavirus disease.
— Scripps Research Institute: June 25, 2020
OSU helping to drive National Institutes of Health effort to harness analytics in COVID-19 fight
Oregon State University is helping the National Institutes of Health to harness the power of big data in the fight against COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.
— Oregon State University Newsroom: June 22, 2020
NIH launches platform for nationwide coronavirus patient data
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced Monday a new “centralized, secure enclave” of medical record data from coronavirus patients diagnosed nationwide. The analytics platform is part of a new effort called the National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C), to help scientists analyze data to understand the disease and develop treatments, according to a press release.
— Fox News, Kayla Rivas: June 16, 2020
NIH launches national database to collect medical information from Covid-19 patients
The National Institutes of Health has launched a national database to collect medical information on coronavirus patients in the United States. This effort aims to transform clinical information into knowledge urgently needed to study COVID-19, including health risk factors that indicate better or worse outcomes of the disease, and identify potentially effective treatments.
— CNN, Shelby Lin Erdman: June 15, 2020
NIH launches analytics platform to harness nationwide COVID-19 patient data to speed treatments
The National Institutes of Health has launched a centralized, secure enclave to store and study vast amounts of medical record data from people diagnosed with coronavirus disease across the country. It is part of an effort, called the National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C), to help scientists analyze these data to understand the disease and develop treatments. This effort aims to transform clinical information into knowledge urgently needed to study COVID-19, including health risk factors that indicate better or worse outcomes of the disease, and identify potentially effective treatments.
— NIH: June 15, 2020
Gathering big data to accelerate the COVID-19 fight
Scientists creating secure, central database of electronic health records from coronavirus patients
— OHSU, Franny White: May 26, 2020