Convalescent plasma associates with reduced mortality and improved clinical trajectory in patients hospitalized with COVID-19.

BACKGROUNDEvidence supporting convalescent plasma (CP), one of the first investigational treatments for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has been inconclusive, leading to conflicting recommendations. The primary objective was to perform a comparative effectiveness study of CP for all-cause, in-hospital mortality in patients with COVID-19.METHODSThe multicenter, electronic health records-based, retrospective study included 44,770 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in one of 176 HCA Healthcare-affiliated community hospitals.

Outcomes of COVID-19 in hospitalized solid organ transplant recipients compared to a matched cohort of non-transplant patients at a national healthcare system in the United States.

Data describing outcomes of solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are variable, and the association between SOT status and mortality remains unclear. In this study, we compare clinical outcomes of SOT recipients hospitalized with COVID-19 between March 10, and September 1, 2020, to a matched cohort of non-SOT recipients at a national healthcare system in the United States (US). From a population of 43 461 hospitalized COVID-19-positive patients, we created a coarsened exact matched cohort of 4035 patients including 128 SOT recipients and 3907 weighted matched non-SOT controls.

The critical need for academic health centers to assess the training, support, and career development requirements of clinical research coordinators: recommendations from the Clinical and Translational Science Award Research Coordinator Taskforce.

Clinical Research Coordinators (CRCs) are a vital component of the clinical research enterprise providing a pivotal role in human subject protection through the numerous activities and responsibilities assigned to them. In 2006, the National Institutes of Health's National Center for Research resources (NCRR) implemented the Clinical and Translational Science Awards program (CTSA) to advance biomedical research. As a part of this endeavor, many workgroups were formed among the Consortium to support translational research.

Support for investigator-initiated clinical research involving investigational drugs or devices: the Clinical and Translational Science Award experience.

Purpose: Investigator-initiated research involving investigational drugs and devices is key to improving health. However, this requires the investigator to serve as a "sponsor-investigator," which can be complex and overwhelming. The Investigational New Drug/Investigational Device Exemption (IND/IDE) Taskforce of the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) consortium carried out a survey to examine how academic health centers (AHCs) assist sponsor-investigators with regulatory responsibilities.