Articles from our partner journals are listed here.
Articles in Swiss Medical Weekly
Ashcroft P, Huisman JS, Lehtinen S, Bouman JA, Althaus CL, Regoes RR, Bonhoeffer S
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20336
Infectiousness begins significantly earlier than thought, although the proportion of presymptomatic infections remains unchanged. Thus presymptomatic infections are spread over a longer time period before symptom onset than previously thought, which can have significant ramifications for contact tracing efforts.
Karnakov P, Arampatzis G, Kičić I, Wermelinger F, Wälchli D, Papadimitriou C, Koumoutsakos P
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20313
The authors present an online tool for the data-driven inference and quantification of uncertainties for the reproduction number, as well as the time points of interventions for 51 European countries. The results quantify the rate of the disease’s spread before and after interventions and provide a metric for the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions in different countries.
von Wyl V, Bonhoeffer S, Bugnion E, Puhan MA, Salathé M, Stadler T, Troncoso C, Vayena E, Low N
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20324
It is likely that there is only a limited time window for the optimisation of the proximity tracing app and promotion of substantial population uptake. It will be all the more important that research programmes allow data-driven, evidence-based optimisations, and information for the public about the benefits, harms and costs of proximity tracing apps.
Gregoriano C, Koch D, Haubitz S, Conen A, Fux CA, Mueller B, Bernasconi L, Hammerer-Lercher A, Oberle M, Burgermeister S, Reiter H, Kutz A, Schuetz P
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20316
This analysis provides insights into the first consecutively hospitalised patients with confirmed COVID-19 at a Swiss tertiary care hospital during the initial period of the pandemic. Markers of disease progression such as inflammatory markers, markers for shock and impaired respiratory function provided the most prognostic information regarding severe COVID-19 progression in this sample.
Pellaud C, Grandmaison G, Hoa Phong PHT, Baumberger M, Carrel G, Ksouri H, Erard V, Chuard C, Hayoz D, Sridharan G
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20314
The authors report the first cohort of Swiss patients hospitalised with COVID-19. Thirty days after onset of the symptoms, 60% had returned home. Among them, 63% still presented symptoms.
Petermann M, Wyler D
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20307
The effective reproductive number Rt of COVID-19 is determined indirectly from data that are only incompletely known. Approaches based on reconstructing these data by sampling time lags from suitable distributions introduce noise effects that can result in distorted estimates of Rt. This, in turn, may lead to misleading interpretations of the efficacy of the various measures taken to limit COVID-19 transmission.
Rigamonti E, Salera D, Gheorghiu AC, Fratila C, Gianella P
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20312
The importance of differential diagnostics in clinical practice should be a given, especially during times of pandemic. The novel coronavirus infection introduced new guidelines for and approaches to the investigation of immunocompromised patients, so it is especially important not to forget the basis of differential diagnosis, to and adopt a thorough approach when assessing these complex patients.
Beretta A
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20315
Researchers in Italy have not only identified new unexpected liaisons between old cytokines and the new coronavirus that open the way to the use in COVID-19 of drugs already approved for other diseases, but they have also provided valuable indications on how to better prepare ourselves to face a possible second wave of infection.
Rosca A, Krones T, Biller-Andorno N
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20268
Shared decision making is a key concept in the process of working towards high-quality, patient-centred care for all patient populations. It is relevant not only for current care decisions, but also for advance care planning, and it is needed particularly during times of crisis such as we are seeing currently with COVID-19.
Fontana P, Casini A, Robert-Ebadi H, Glauser F, Righini M, Blondon M
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20301
Venous thromboembolism very commonly complicates the clinical course of inpatients with COVID-19, despite thromboprophylaxis. The risk appears highest among critically ill inpatients. Many questions remain unresolved, as delineated by the heterogeneity of national and international guidelines.
Fechner C, Strobel K, Treumann T, Sonderegger B, Azzola A, Fornaro J, Schrading S, Roos JE
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20304
The authors describe the first clinical experiences with 55 COVID-19 patients in Central Switzerland. They provide an illustrative and schematic description of typical COVID-19 imaging features and suggest that imaging plays an important role in the clinical work-up of suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients.
Çınar HU, İnce Ö, Çelik B, Saltabaş F, Özbek M
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20302
The case presented here represents an “incidental” sampling of a lung infected with SARS-CoV-2, as a result of surgery for lung cancer at a time when the lung infection did not produce symptoms. This gave the opportunity to examine the pathology of COVID-19 pneumonia during the incubation period.
Lemaitre JC, Perez-Saez J, Azman AS, Rinaldo A, Fellay J
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20295
Current estimates of time-varying R0 in Switzerland well below one are promising. However, as of 24 April 2020, at least 96% of the Swiss population remains susceptible to SARS-CoV-2. These results warrant a cautious relaxation of social distance practices and close monitoring of changes in both the basic and effective reproduction numbers.
Breakey N, Escher R
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20293
The authors present the case of a patient who was diagnosed with a pulmonary thrombotic complication during inpatient care for COVID-19. The haemostasis parameters, including increased levels of von Willebrand factor and factor VIII, point towards a relevant involvement of endothelial cells in patients with severe COVID-19.
Vokinger KN, Nittas V, Witt CM, Fabrikant SI, von Wyl V
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20282
Building on an existing trustworthiness checklist for digital health applications, the authors searched the literature and developed a framework to guide the assessment of smartphone and web-based applications that aim to contribute to controlling the current epidemic or mitigating its effects.
Nittas V, von Wyl V
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20284
Disrupted healthcare systems and the need for physical distancing seem to open a window of opportunity for a broader exposure to telehealth solutions, many of which might have the potential to improve care long after the pandemic passes.
Roth JA, Ballouz T, Kouyos RD, Battegay M
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20281
Decisions for or against off-label treatment need to be based on clearly defined selection and treatment criteria, a strong biological rationale, a critical appraisal of prior evidence, and the estimated harm-benefit ratio.
Zhao C, Tepekule B, Criscuolo NG, Wendel Garcia PD, Hilty MP, RISC-19-ICU consortium Investigators in Switzerland, Fumeaux T, Van Boeckel T
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20277
In Switzerland, the COVID-19 epidemic is progressively slowing down owing to “social distancing” measures introduced by the Federal Council on 16 March 2020. However, the gradual ease of these measures may initiate a second epidemic wave, the length and intensity of which are difficult to anticipate. The authors introduce icumonitoring.ch, a platform providing hospital-level projections for ICU occupancy.
Scire J, Nadeau S, Vaughan T, Brupbacher G, Fuchs S, Sommer J, Koch KN, Misteli R, Mundorff L, Götz T, Eichenberger T, Quinto C, Savic M, Meienberg A, Burkard T, Mayr M, Meier CA, Widmer A, Kuehl R, Egli A, Hirsch HH, Bassetti S, Nickel CH, Rentsch KS, Kübler W, Bingisser R, Battegay M, Tschudin-Sutter S, Stadler T
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20271
The reproductive number in Switzerland was between 1.5 and 2 during the first third of March, and has consistently decreased to around 1. After the announcement of the latest strict measure on 20 March 2020, namely that gatherings of more than five people in public spaces are prohibited, the reproductive number dropped significantly below 1; the authors of this study estimate the reproductive number to be between 0.6 and 0.8 in the first third of April.
Lapadula G
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20265
Although pre-clinical data are still scarce and results from clinical trials currently underway are awaited, remdesivir has been and is still used in many patients for the treatment of forms of COVID-19 of differing severity, as part of compassionate use or expanded access programmes. Despite these premises, the recent publication in a prestigious journal of the first case-series of COVID-19 patients treated with remdesivir under a compassionate use programme has been welcomed with considerable scepticism, if not open hostility.
Nickel CH, Rueegg M, Pargger H, Bingisser R
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20269
Three aspects are of utmost importance: first, determination of frailty status (and not just the patient’s age), second, balancing of benefits and harms while considering the most likely outcome taking comorbidity into account, and third, shared decision-making focusing on the individual’s goals of care.
Intson K, Kumar S, Botta A, Neckles R, Leung C, Jawaid A
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20262
A recent open-label study claimed that hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin represent promising new options for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2. This re-analysis reveals severe limitations in the methodology of this study, including ambiguous inclusion/exclusion of participant data and inconsistent analysis techniques, and yielded nonsignificant differences between control and treatment groups across any treatment days.
Marando M, Tamburello A
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20264
During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic different treatments are being explored and tested, in the absence of official management protocols. Some show initial promise, many have been tried out without sound biological bases. Plasma and H-IVIG of recovered patients are a tried and tested approach that could prove helpful in the short term.
Brandenberger JR, Baauw A, Kruse A, Ritz N
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20263
Self-isolation in refugee camps is impossible: you cannot stay at home if you have no home. It is now crucial that the unique needs of the refugee and migrant population are included in the global response to COVID-19.
Stürchler D
Op-ed
Conventional coronaviruses have circulated in humans since the mid-1960s. They must be differentiated from the new coronavirus COVID-19.
Canova V, Lederer Schläpfer H, Piso RJ, Droll A, Fenner L, Hoffmann T, Hoffmann M
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20257
The current protective measures for healthcare workers, including strict adherence to basic standard hygiene and facemasks, offer considerable protection during short periods of contact with symptomatic COVID-19 cases by diminishing the risk of direct and indirect transmission.
Qanadli SD, Zech CJ, Monnard E, Binkert C, Denys A, Pfammater T
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20261
Given the importance of continuum in providing services and exigence of protecting health care professionals during this period, the Swiss Society of Vascular and Interventional Radiology (SSVIR) is releasing guidance for interventional radiologists as preparedness to manage COVID-19 patients, the workflow of non-COVID-19 patients and optimize interactions with other healthcare professionals.
Negro F
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20249
The pathogenesis of COVID-19 is currently believed to proceed via both directly cytotoxic and immune-mediated mechanisms. An additional mechanism facilitating viral cell entry and subsequent damage may involve the so-called antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE).
Sanchez-Mazas A
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20248
Little is known at the moment about specific immune mechanisms that would work against SARS-CoV-2, although such knowledge is expected to play a vital role. In this context, a particular focus has to be given to the human leucocyte antigen system that governs our adaptive immunity.
Spezzani V, Piunno A, Iselin HU
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20246
The findings presented here suggest that the course of COVID-19 is not necessarily ominous in the presence of a compromised immune response and tend to reinforce the emerging therapeutic concepts of a controlled mitigation of the immune cascade following SARS CoV-2 infection.
Casini A, Alberio L, Angelillo-Scherrer A, Fontana P, Gerber B, Graf L, Hegemann I, Korte W, Kremer Hovinga J, Lecompte T, Martinez M, Nagler M, Studt JD, Tsakiris D, Wuillemin W, Asmis L
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20247
Based on the available literature and published recommendations from international societies, the Working Party on Hemostasis (Swiss Society of Hematology) has prepared recommendations for pharmacological thromboprophylaxis in COVID-19 patients in the acute setting.
Peloso A, Moeckli B, Oldani G, Triponez F, Toso C
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20241
At first sight, surgery appears to be only peripherally affected by the COVID.19 pandemic. However, the surgical department plays a key role in the response to this crisis. This article aims to provide a blueprint for a general surgery department’s response to this current pandemic crisis and also future events of similar magnitude.
Ngyen HA
Op-ed
An association between vitamin D level and COVID-19, particularly among senior adults, should be studied.
Gharebaghi R, Heidary F
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20242
Like many other countries around the world, Iran is contending with the COVID-19 epidemic, but with the additional burden of international sanctions on supplies of medicines and medical equipment.
Suter P
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20230
A set of guidelines concerning ethical, medical and social aspects of triage decisions, as well as of other related problems of the COVID-19 pandemic: In all cases, decisions must be based on sound, transparent and understandable rules.
Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20229
If insufficient resources are available, rationing decisions will become necessary, placing considerable burdens on medical staff. This makes it all the more important that uniform criteria for ICU admission and continued occupancy should be applied throughout Switzerland.
Swiss Society of Intensive Care Medicine
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20227
The Swiss Society of Intensive Care Medicine (SSIM) has elaborated detailed and coherent guidelines defining the criteria for admission to the ICU in situations of bed shortage.
Borasio GD, Gamondi C, Obrist M, Jox R, for the COVID-19 task force of palliative ch
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20233
Due to the current development around the COVID-19 pandemic, palliative ch has created a Task Force to provide recommendations for health professionals on the treatment of palliative care patients in the various settings ‒ inpatient and outpatient.
Kunz R, Minder M
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20235
The current pandemic and the publication of the SAMS Guidelines “COVID-19 pandemic: triage for intensive-care treatment under resource scarcity” have prompted the Association for Geriatric Palliative Medicine to prepare these recommendations for practice.
Nickel CH, Bingisser R
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20231
To understand the new and sometimes puzzling clinical presentations emerging in the current COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to have at hand concepts such as “mimics and chameleons”.
Salathé M, Althaus CL, Neher R, Stringhini S, Hodcroft E, Fellay J, Zwahlen M, Senti G, Battegay M, Wilder-Smith A, Eckerle I, Egger M, Low N
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20225
A liberal approach to testing for SARS-CoV-2 in Switzerland is needed as part of the package of control measures.
Neher RA, Dyrdak R, Druelle V, Hodcroft EB, Albert J
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20224
The authors explore how seasonal variation in transmissibility could modulate a SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The likely aggregated effect of seasonal variation, infection control measures, and transmission rate variation is a prolonged pandemic wave with lower prevalence at any given time, thereby providing a window of opportunity for better preparation of health care systems.
Bischof E, Chen G, Ferretti MT
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20216
The change in diagnostic criteria for COVID-19 diagnosis in Hubei province caused a shift in the numbers of total cases overnight. The aim of this article is to explain the rationale for the choice of the new criteria and the meaning of the new data, from the perspective of the authors based in Shanghai, China, struck by the level of panic and emotional distress in many people that has been generated by the new data.
Hodcroft EB
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20212
In this article all publicly available information about the primarily UK/France cluster is consolidated, providing a complete and accessible summary of the cases and their connections.
Battegay M, Kuehl R, Tschudin-Sutter S, Hirsch HH, Widmer AF, Neher RA
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20203
It is tempting to estimate the case fatality rate by dividing the number of known deaths by the number of confirmed cases. The resulting number, however, does not represent the true case fatality rate and might be off by orders of magnitude.
