ABSTRACT
Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) presents as a mild infection in up to 84% of cases out of which 10% progress to more severe disease requiring hospitalization and 33% to 69% progress to long haulers. The real-world data on the use of anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 spike neutralizing monoclonal antibodies, namely casirivimab and imdevimab, as well as bamlanivimab for mild Covid-19 is limited. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study on patients who received casirivimab and imdevimab or bamlanivimab for the treatment of mild Covid-19. Results Three hundred forty patients were included in the study with the mean age of the cohort 54.7 +/- 17.5 years, and 36.5% of them were men. Thirty-day outcomes revealed that 300 (88.2%) patients were followed up to 30 days, out of which 243 patients (71.5%) were asymptomatic at 30 days, 57 patients (16.7%) had symptoms at 30 days out of which 9 patients (2.6%) had an ED visit or were admitted because of the worsening of Covid-19 in 30 days and 3 patients (0.9%) died. Conclusions Our study suggests that early infusion with monoclonal antibodies may decrease the development of long haulers. Further studies with randomized-controlled trials are needed to understand more about monoclonal antibodies in the prevention of long-term sequelae especially in the setting of ongoing viral mutations.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: After COVID-19 rendered in-person meetings for national societies impossible in the spring of 2020, the leadership of the Association of Program Directors in Surgery (APDS) innovated via a virtual format in order to hold its national meeting. DESIGN: APDS leadership pre-emptively considered factors that would be important to attendees including cost, value, time, professional commitments, education, sharing of relevant and current information, and networking. SETTING: The meeting was conducted using a variety of virtual formats including a web portal for entry, pre-ecorded poster and oral presentations on the APDS website, interactive panels via a web conferencing platform, and livestreaming. PARTICIPANTS: There were 298 registrants for the national meeting of the APDS, and 59 participants in the New Program Directors Workshop. The registrants and participants comprised medical students, residents, associate program directors, program directors, and others involved in surgical education nationally. RESULTS: There was no significant difference detected for high levels of participant satisfaction between 2019 and 2020 for the following items: overall program rating, topics and content meeting stated objectives, relevant content to educational needs, educational format conducive to learning, and agreement that the program will improve competence, performance, communication skills, patient outcomes, or processes of care/healthcare system performance. CONCLUSIONS: A virtual format for a national society meeting can provide education, engagement, and community, and the lessons learned by the APDS in the process can be used by other societies for utilization and further improvement.