More than 6,000 patients who underwent endoscopy at 18 NHS hospitals since the start of pandemic have been tested and none contracted COVID as a result of the procedure, a study involving clinicians from Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) NHS Foundation Trust has found. Clinicians hope the findings will persuade people that it is safe to … Read more
News for COVID-19
Oxford study reveals medium-term impact of COVID-19
Initial findings from a study looking at the longer-term impact of COVID-19 has found that a large proportion COVID-19 patients discharged from hospital were still experiencing symptoms of breathlessness, fatigue, anxiety and depression two to three months after contracting the virus. The University of Oxford scientists carrying out the C-MORE study have also detected abnormalities … Read more
Prof Sarah Walker receives OBE
Professor Sarah Walker, the Oxford BRC’s Co-theme Lead for Antimicrobial Resistance and Modernising Microbiology, is to receive an OBE. Prof Walker, Professor of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology at the University of Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Medicine, was recognised for services to academia and the COVID-19 response. She is the chief investigator and academic lead for … Read more
Hydroxychloroquine does not benefit hospitalised COVID-19 patients, RECOVERY Trial finds
Oxford scientists have confirmed that there is no clinical benefit from using hydroxychloroquine on COVID-19 patients in hospital. The findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Hydroxychloroquine was one of the potential COVID-19 treatments being studied as part of the RECOVERY Trial, the world’s biggest trial looking at whether existing treatments can tackle … Read more
Hospitalised COVID-19 patients ‘younger and healthier than flu patients’
Patients hospitalised with COVID-19 were more likely male, younger and – in the US and Spain – had fewer comorbidities and lower medication use than hospitalized influenza patients according to a study published by the Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics (OHDSI) community. This global network study, which included more than 34,000 COVID-19 patients from … Read more
Patients with cirrhosis at increased risk of death from COVID-19, study finds
An international study led by researchers at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has shown that patients with cirrhosis are at increased risk of dying as a result of COVID-19. The study, published in the Journal of Hepatology, found that mortality from COVID-19 was particularly high among patients with more advanced cirrhosis (called Childs-Pugh B … Read more
New trial on use of anti-TNF drugs to treat Covid-19 in care homes
Researchers at the University of Oxford are starting a new study to explore the effectiveness of a common arthritis drug, adalimumab, as a treatment for patients with COVID-19 in the community, especially care homes. Recent studies of patients with COVID-19 have shown that patients already taking anti-tumour necrosis factor drugs for inflammatory arthritis and inflammatory … Read more
Evaluation of LamPORE rapid Covid-19 tests show high levels of diagnostic sensitivity
Scientists from the University of Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Medicine have today published their evaluation of LamPORE, a novel diagnostic platform for detecting SARS-CoV-2 RNA. This technology, which combines loop-mediated isothermal amplification with nanopore sequencing, has the potential to analyse thousands of samples per day on a single instrument. The full evaluation paper was published … Read more
Oxford assay excels in comparison of SARS-CoV-2 antibody tests
New research shows that, in a head-to-head comparison of five tests used to detect SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, an assay developed by an academic partnership led by the University of Oxford and one manufactured by Siemens had the most accurate results. The study comparing these ‘immunoassays’ has been published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, as part of … Read more
‘Awake proning’ associated with improved COVID-19 clinical outcomes
A study by Oxford respiratory researchers has found that putting COVID-19 patients in a prone position can lead to improved outcomes. The findings of this retrospective study, supported by the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, were published in an article by BMJ Open Respiratory Research. Outcomes for patients with COVID-19 who require mechanical ventilation are … Read more
RECOVERY Trial to test ‘antibody cocktail’
The RECOVERY Trial, the world’s largest randomised trial to find effective COVID-19 treatments, will evaluate the impact of an anti-viral antibody cocktail developed to tackle the virus. The announcement was made on 14 September by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and the University of Oxford, which is leading the RECOVERY (Randomised Evaluation of COVid-19 thERapY) Trial. The trial, … Read more
Persistent immune memory of COVID-19 found in recovered patient T cells
Oxford University researchers have found that infection with COVID-19 produces a robust T cell response, including inducing T cell ‘memory’ to potentially fight future infections. The results, published in Nature Immunology, are a joint effort from the Oxford COVID-19 immunology group, led by the Medical Research Council Human Immunology Unit at the MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine … Read more
Low-dose corticosteroids found to reduce mortality in patients with severe COVID-19
Oxford patients, clinicians and researchers have contributed important data to new global research which shows that corticosteroids can significantly improve outcomes for severely ill patients with COVID-19. Four research papers published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reinforce evidence that these inexpensive and widely available drugs improve outcomes for the most … Read more
Hydroxychloroquine study finds increased cardiovascular risk with azithromycin
The combination of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and azithromycin (AZM) has been linked to significant cardiovascular risks, including mortality, in the largest safety study ever performed on both HCQ and HCQ+AZM. This network study, led by the Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics (OHDSI) community, was published in Lancet Rheumatology. The study was supported by the NIHR … Read more
Paper outlines management of post-acute COVID-19 in primary care
A new article published in the BMJ has mapped out what is known and what is still unknown about ‘long COVID’, where patients COVID-19 patients continue to experience symptoms many weeks after contracting the virus. The article, co-authored by the NIHR Oxford BRC’s Theme Lead for Partnerships for Health, Wealth and Innovation, Prof Trish Greenhalgh, … Read more
Common heart medication does not increase risk of COVID-19 hospitalisation
A study by Oxford researchers, supported by the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), found that ACE inhibitors and ARBs – both common treatments for high blood pressure and heart failure – are not generally linked to an increased risk of severe COVID-19 disease or an increased likelihood of being admitted to intensive care. However, … Read more
Oxford University and ZOE partner on COVID-19 treatment trials
The University of Oxford has joined forces with the COVID Symptom Study app to widen access to two clinical trials of potential treatments for COVID-19. The two trials include the STOIC trial, which is supported by the NIHR Oxford BRC. Run by the University’s Nuffield Department of Medicine (NDM), it is aiming to learn if … Read more
Mild COVID-19 symptoms might not result in positive antibody test, research finds
Oxford researchers have found that COVID-19 antibody tests might not give a positive result if people have only had mild symptoms, like loss of taste and smell. Microbiology and data experts from the Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Oxford made the initial findings, published as a pre-print, as part … Read more
AI test identifies COVID-19 within an hour in emergency departments
University of Oxford scientists specialising in infectious disease and clinical machine learning have developed an artificial intelligence test that can rapidly screen for COVID-19 in patients arriving in emergency departments. The initial findings of the ‘CURIAL’ AI test, which has been supported by the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), appeared in a preprint paper. The test … Read more
Thousands miss out on life-saving heart attack treatment due to COVID-19 pandemic
Researchers at the University of Oxford have published new research that shows that by the end of May there had been about 5,000 fewer hospital admissions with heart attack in 2020 than would be expected, suggesting that many patients have missed out on lifesaving treatment. The research showed that the number of admissions to hospital … Read more