Efficacy of Tocilizumab in Patients Hospitalized with Covid-19.

Background: The efficacy of interleukin-6 receptor blockade in hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) who are not receiving mechanical ventilation is unclear.

Methods: We performed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving patients with confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, hyperinflammatory states, and at least two of the following signs: fever (body temperature >38°C), pulmonary infiltrates, or the need for supplemental oxygen in order to maintain an oxygen saturation greater than 92%. Patients were randomly assigned in a 2:1 ratio to receive standard care plus a single dose of either tocilizumab (8 mg per kilogram of body weight) or placebo.

Jamestown Canyon virus in Massachusetts: clinical case series and vector screening.

Jamestown Canyon virus (JCV) is a neuroinvasive arbovirus that is found throughout North America and increasingly recognized as a public health concern. From 2004 to 2012, an average of 1.7 confirmed cases were reported annually in the United States, whereas from 2013 to 2018 this figure increased over seventeen-fold to 29.

Infectious diseases consultation lowers mortality from Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia.

Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (SAB) is a lethal and increasingly common infection in hospitalized patients. We assessed the impact of infectious diseases consultation (IDC) on clinical management and hospital mortality of SAB in 240 hospitalized patients in a retrospective cohort study. Patients who received IDC were older than those who did not (57.