April 11, 2022 – iEXPOSED.us Blog

The Covid situation is quiet at present. Tuesday/Wed. counts should be helpful. Apparently, there are many mild cases and not many tests are being done. I will minimize reports unless otherwise indicated.

BA.2 LINEAGE REPORT (COVID COUNTS WORLDWIDE)

LOCAL COUNTS:

Cardiovascular Disease Even After Mild COVID-19 Is Real

(J. Harris: A readable, well-written case history which makes me want to get another booster.)

FROM JAMA

Systemic Corticosteroid Use for COVID-19 in US Outpatient Settings From April 2020 to August 2021

”…Despite NIH recommendations, increasing numbers of nonhospitalized patients with COVID-19 were prescribed systemic corticosteroids, often on the day of diagnosis. Use appeared to be more prominent in the South and was not restricted to older patients. Limitations of the study included inability to capture date of symptom onset and indication for use, and potential for misclassifying mild to moderate COVID-19 disease due to overburdened resources and limited ability to accurately capture elements to define disease severity, including oxygen use. Given the increasing use of corticosteroids through August 2021, the potential safety signal,2,5,6 and the lack of efficacy data in patients with mild to moderate COVID-19,1 it is critical that prescribers consider the NIH guidelines in the therapeutic management of nonhospitalized patients with COVID-19.”

Antibiotic Prescriptions Associated With COVID-19 Outpatient Visits Among Medicare Beneficiaries, April 2020 to April 2021

”…During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, 30% of outpatient visits for COVID-19 among Medicare beneficiaries were linked to an antibiotic prescription, 50.7% of which were for azithromycin. Randomized clinical trials demonstrated no benefit of azithromycin in treating COVID-19,3,4 and its use for the disease has been linked to antimicrobial resistance.5 The largest number of visits and highest rates of antibiotic prescribing were observed in the ED, perhaps reflecting acuity of care, and urgent care centers had the highest rate of azithromycin prescribing. Telehealth visits had the second highest antibiotic prescribing rate and were close in volume to office visits, emphasizing the importance of optimizing antibiotic prescribing practices in this setting. Antibiotic prescribing occurred at a higher rate for non-Hispanic White beneficiaries than for those from other racial and ethnic groups. Although described in pediatrics, this racial difference has not been well characterized in older adults and warrants further evaluation because it may indicate more services are being provided to White beneficiaries, even if not indicated.6..”

LASTLY: