Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2022/03/covid-19-scan-mar-21-2022
COVID-19 Scan for Mar 21, 2022
Alcohol deaths and COVID-19; Benefit of repeat COVID antigen test
Filed Under:
COVID-19
Alcohol deaths increased during first year of COVID-19 pandemic
Alcohol-related deaths increased by 25% in the United States during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study in JAMA based on data from the National Center for Health Statistics.
Several studies have shown that alcohol use increased during the first month of COVID-19 lockdowns, but this study showed that deaths related to overconsumption of alcohol jumped from 2019 to 2020, from 78,927 to 99,017 [relative change, 25.5%]), as did the age-adjusted rate (from 27.3 to 34.4 per 100,000 [relative change, 25.9%]).
Alcohol-related deaths accounted for 2.8% of all deaths in 2019 and 3.0% in 2020. The findings echo previous studies on opioid use during the pandemic, which found that opioid overdose deaths increased 38% in 2020.
Though rates of alcohol-related deaths increased similarly among men and women, there were significant increases for people aged 35 to 44 years (from 22.9 to 32.0 per 100,000 [39.7%]) and 25 to 34 years (from 11.8 to 16.1 per 100 000 [37.0%]).
"The rate increase for alcohol-related deaths in 2020 outpaced the increase in all-cause mortality, which was 16.6%," the authors wrote. "Deaths involving alcohol reflect hidden tolls of the pandemic. Increased drinking to cope with pandemic-related stressors, shifting alcohol policies, and disrupted treatment access are all possible contributing factors."
Mar 18 JAMA study
Accuracy of second SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen test estimated at 94%
The estimated overall accuracy of a second COVID-19 rapid antigen test among asymptomatic New York City workers was 94% in a comparative effectiveness study published late last week in JAMA Network Open.
The study authors noted that while the gold-standard diagnostic test for COVID-19 is real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), rapid antigen tests are often used to screen asymptomatic populations because they produce results faster and are less expensive.
"Although rapid antigen tests have been criticized for poor sensitivity and specificity when screening asymptomatic patients, a knowledge gap still remains regarding the utility of these tests for screening," they wrote.
Led by a Weill Cornell Medicine researcher, the team tested 179,127 participants in a workplace screening program using Sofia2 SARS Antigen Fluorescent Immunoassay, LumiraDX, and BinaxNow tests at an international service company from November 2020 through October 2021. Median employee age was 36 years, and 58% were men.
Of the 179,127 antigen tests performed, 623 (0.35%) yielded positive results, of which 238 (38%) were confirmed to be positive through RT-qPCR, and 385 (62%) were found to be false-positive.
Among the 623 positive antigen test results, 569 (91%) were followed by a second such test. Of 224 pairs of consecutive antigen tests with positive results, RT-qPCR results were positive for 207 (92%). In the 345 cases with a first positive antigen test followed by a negative test, 328 (95%) were negative on RT-qPCR. Total estimated accuracy of a repeat antigen test was 94%.
"The results of this study demonstrated that when a repeated rapid antigen test was offered to participants of an employee screening program, the estimated accuracy increased from 38% to 92% for true-positive results as determined by RT-qPCR for SARS-CoV-2," the authors wrote.
A second antigen test may be useful for guiding COVID-19 interventions, the researchers said. "These findings may have important implications for how rapid antigen tests can be deployed for more accurate results, especially in a setting where the time to results is important and where widespread PCR testing may be cost prohibitive," they concluded.
Mar 18 JAMA Netw Open research letter
COVID-19 Scan for Mar 21, 2022
Alcohol deaths and COVID-19; Benefit of repeat COVID antigen test
Filed Under:
COVID-19
Alcohol deaths increased during first year of COVID-19 pandemic
Alcohol-related deaths increased by 25% in the United States during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study in JAMA based on data from the National Center for Health Statistics.
Several studies have shown that alcohol use increased during the first month of COVID-19 lockdowns, but this study showed that deaths related to overconsumption of alcohol jumped from 2019 to 2020, from 78,927 to 99,017 [relative change, 25.5%]), as did the age-adjusted rate (from 27.3 to 34.4 per 100,000 [relative change, 25.9%]).
Alcohol-related deaths accounted for 2.8% of all deaths in 2019 and 3.0% in 2020. The findings echo previous studies on opioid use during the pandemic, which found that opioid overdose deaths increased 38% in 2020.
Though rates of alcohol-related deaths increased similarly among men and women, there were significant increases for people aged 35 to 44 years (from 22.9 to 32.0 per 100,000 [39.7%]) and 25 to 34 years (from 11.8 to 16.1 per 100 000 [37.0%]).
"The rate increase for alcohol-related deaths in 2020 outpaced the increase in all-cause mortality, which was 16.6%," the authors wrote. "Deaths involving alcohol reflect hidden tolls of the pandemic. Increased drinking to cope with pandemic-related stressors, shifting alcohol policies, and disrupted treatment access are all possible contributing factors."
Mar 18 JAMA study
Accuracy of second SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen test estimated at 94%
The estimated overall accuracy of a second COVID-19 rapid antigen test among asymptomatic New York City workers was 94% in a comparative effectiveness study published late last week in JAMA Network Open.
The study authors noted that while the gold-standard diagnostic test for COVID-19 is real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), rapid antigen tests are often used to screen asymptomatic populations because they produce results faster and are less expensive.
"Although rapid antigen tests have been criticized for poor sensitivity and specificity when screening asymptomatic patients, a knowledge gap still remains regarding the utility of these tests for screening," they wrote.
Led by a Weill Cornell Medicine researcher, the team tested 179,127 participants in a workplace screening program using Sofia2 SARS Antigen Fluorescent Immunoassay, LumiraDX, and BinaxNow tests at an international service company from November 2020 through October 2021. Median employee age was 36 years, and 58% were men.
Of the 179,127 antigen tests performed, 623 (0.35%) yielded positive results, of which 238 (38%) were confirmed to be positive through RT-qPCR, and 385 (62%) were found to be false-positive.
Among the 623 positive antigen test results, 569 (91%) were followed by a second such test. Of 224 pairs of consecutive antigen tests with positive results, RT-qPCR results were positive for 207 (92%). In the 345 cases with a first positive antigen test followed by a negative test, 328 (95%) were negative on RT-qPCR. Total estimated accuracy of a repeat antigen test was 94%.
"The results of this study demonstrated that when a repeated rapid antigen test was offered to participants of an employee screening program, the estimated accuracy increased from 38% to 92% for true-positive results as determined by RT-qPCR for SARS-CoV-2," the authors wrote.
A second antigen test may be useful for guiding COVID-19 interventions, the researchers said. "These findings may have important implications for how rapid antigen tests can be deployed for more accurate results, especially in a setting where the time to results is important and where widespread PCR testing may be cost prohibitive," they concluded.
Mar 18 JAMA Netw Open research letter
