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 ... READ MORE
News for Translational Data Science
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 ... READ MORE
Eight BRC projects get RCF funding
Eight Oxford BRC proposals, many covering a number of themes, have been awarded NIHR Research Capability Funding (RCF) funding to take forward key areas of research. The selected projects that will be supported include: Developing a research centre devoted to urgent and acute careThe ... 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 ... 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 ... 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 ... 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 ... 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 ... 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 ... READ MORE
Varying risk of COVID-19 to health workers revealed
A study at Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) NHS Foundation Trust has revealed the different levels of risk faced by healthcare workers dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. In a major collaboration with the University of Oxford, almost 10,000 staff were tested both for presence of the virus ... READ MORE
Breakthrough in RECOVERY COVID-19 drug treatment trial
A cheap and widely available steroid has been found to save lives of patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in a national trial being led by University of Oxford researchers. Dexamethasone was one of the drugs being tested as part of the RECOVERY trial, the world's biggest trial looking at whether ... READ MORE
Study sheds light on breast cancer risk after pre-invasive disease
Women who are diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (known as DCIS) during breast screening go on to experience higher risks of developing breast cancer and of death from breast cancer, compared with the general population, according to a study by Oxford researchers. DCIS is a disease where ... READ MORE
Large-scale COVID-19 infection and antibody test study launched
Some 20,000 households across England are being contacted to take part in the first wave of a major new government study to track the COVID-19 coronavirus in the general population. The study will help improve understanding around the current rate of infection and how many people are likely to ... READ MORE
Oxford-led research describes the safety profile and potential harms of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin
Over 300 researchers from the Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics (OHDSI) international community studied data from almost 1 million patients who have previously taken hydroxychloroquine. They declared hydroxychloroquine safe for short-term use, but urge caution in using it in ... READ MORE
GP practices urged to join COVID-19 research
Oxford researchers have launched a study to track the spread of COVID-19 in the population and develop a deeper understanding of the virus in general practice. The University of Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences (NDPCHS) and the Royal College of General Practitioners ... READ MORE
Oxford researchers to play key role in fight-back against COVID-19
Researchers supported by the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre will play a crucial role in tackling the current COVID-19 pandemic, ranging from the development of a new vaccine to developing the most effective drug treatments for people who have contracted the virus. A team from the ... READ MORE
Heart failure care must address patients’ broader health if survival rates are to improve
Oxford BRC-supported researchers have provided new evidence that might explain why the prognosis of heart failure patients has improved so little over the past decade. Findings show that a decline in cardiovascular deaths has been offset by an increase in the number of deaths from infections and ... READ MORE
Achieving Type 2 diabetes treatment targets would improve health and reduce healthcare costs
Improvements in health and reductions in healthcare costs could be achieved if blood glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol treatment targets were met. Researchers from the Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, assessed the long-term impact of achieving treatment ... READ MORE
Clinical data project leads to potential advance in understanding of chronic hepatitis B
Researchers and clinicians in Oxford have provided fresh insights into how some people with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) can be cleared of the disease, as part of a national initiative to better use NHS patient data to tackle emerging health issues. It is hoped that the research, the first study on ... READ MORE
Stroke deaths in England halved in ten years, study finds
Deaths from stroke in England halved in the first 10 years of the 21st Century, thanks to improved treatment, a study by Oxford BRC-funded researchers has found. However, the study, published in the BMJ, warned that there had been an increase in the number of people under the age of 55 who had ... READ MORE