Weekly COVID-19 Update

CADTH is committed to supporting Canada’s health care decision-makers through this challenging and uncertain time.

Our COVID-19 evidence portal contains the latest COVID-19 information from CADTH and other respected organizations. Content is updated daily to reflect the rapidly changing and growing state of the international scientific evidence related to this disease.

The following is a summary of the most recent information posted to our COVID-19 portal.

Events

Registration is Now Open — CADTH 2020 Virtual Symposium: November 9th and 10th, 2020

• In this age of uncertainty, do decision-makers have the evidence they need to make informed health care decisions? Come join the discussion.
• We have an impressive line up of speakers and we will be featuring a mix of plenary, oral, and panel sessions, which will include new content on COVID-19 topics.
• Register before November 8th, 2020.

Webinar: Open Science — COVID-19 and Beyond: October 27, 2020

There is still time to register for this no-cost talk about the many scientific publishing shifts happening in connection with the pandemic. Speakers include Leslie Weir (Librarian and Archivist of Canada; Chair, Open Science Roadmap Advisory Committee) and Dr. Margaret Sampson (Manager of Library Services, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario).

Reports

Optimization of N95 Respirator Masks During Supply Shortages — Round-up

• A shortage of N95 respirator masks is being experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Various strategies are being explored and suggested to increase the availability of N95 masks in this time of shortage, including the extended use of N95 respirator masks, the use of the masks past their shelf lives, methods for sterilizing and reusing N95 masks, and more.
• This report summarizes current recommendations and will be updated regularly as additional guidance becomes available.

Systemic Corticosteroids for the Management of COVID-19: A Review of Clinical Effectiveness

• There are currently multiple management strategies for COVID-19, including the use of corticosteroids.
• Preliminary results have found that corticosteroids may lower mortality among severe and critical COVID-19 cases, and is recommended for use by those on respiratory support.
• CADTH has conducted a review to summarize the current clinical evidence on systemic corticosteroids for the management of COVID-19.

Rapid Point-of-Care Antigen Testing for SARS-CoV-2 Infection

• This newsletter explores recent developments in testing for COVID-19.
• Testing for COVID-19 infection is important to stopping the spread of the virus.
• There is also a need for tests that can quickly provide results.
• Evidence related to rapid point-of-care antigen testing — such as current practice, availability in Canada, cost, and safety — are summarized in this publication.

COVID-19 News

Visit our news page to stay on top of all of the emerging information we are monitoring and updating. Here’s the latest news:

• Intravenous Immune Globulin
  On October 21, 2020 the results of a randomized controlled trial were published evaluating intravenous immune globulin for the treatment of patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19.
• Tocilizumab
  On October 20, 2020, two randomized controlled trials (RCT) of tocilizumab for the treatment of COVID-19 were published, and on October 21, a third RCT was published.
• Remdesivir
  On October 9, 2020, final results of the phase III, adaptive, international, double-blind, placebo-controlled Adaptive COVID-19 Treatment Trial (ACTT-1) (N = 1, 062) were published.

CADTH Literature Searching Tools

To help conduct your COVID-19–related literature searches, see our COVID-19 Search Strings and our COVID-19 Grey Literature Resources.

Additional Resources

CADTH is pleased to showcase additional COVID-19 resources from our partner organizations, as well as from the Canadian federal, provincial, and territorial governments’ health jurisdictions:

• Pan-Canadian Health Organizations
• Federal, Provincial, and Territorial Information

CAN’T FIND WHAT YOU NEED? LET US KNOW

Canadian ministries and departments of health, publicly funded organizations responsible for health service delivery, and clinical society stakeholders are encouraged to submit a request or contact their CADTH Liaison Officer. We’re here to help.

The CADTH Weekly COVID-19 Update is intended to keep you informed about the latest information posted on the CADTH COVID-19 portal. You’re receiving this update because you’ve subscribed to our CADTH e-alert system