Featured articles from the journal CHEST®, July 2021

Glenview, Ill. – Published monthly, the journal CHEST® features peer-reviewed, cutting-edge original research in chest medicine: Pulmonary, critical care, sleep medicine and related disciplines. Journal topics include asthma, chest infections, COPD, critical care, diffuse lung disease, education and clinical practice,…

Study points to remotely supervised exercise classes as best option during lockdown

Based on data for 344 volunteers, Brazilian researchers compared the physical and mental health benefits of workouts led in person by a fitness instructor, unsupervised online sessions, and classes supervised remotely via video call

Association between COVID-19 exposure, self-reported compliance with public health guidelines among essential employees at an institution of higher education

What The Study Did: This study at an institution of higher education in Colorado evaluated the association between self-reported protective behaviors and how common SARS-CoV-2 infection was among essential in-person employees during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic…

COVID-19-related immigration concerns among Latinx immigrants in US

What The Study Did: T hese results suggest that substantial proportions of Latinx immigrants have immigration concerns about engaging in COVID-19-related testing, treatment and contact tracing. Authors: Carol L. Galletly, J.D., Ph.D., Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, i s…

Exploring gap between excess mortality, COVID-19 deaths in 67 countries

What The Study Did: N ational health care systems have different capacities to correctly identify people who died of COVID-19. Researchers in this study analyzed the gap between excess mortality and  COVID-19 confirmed mortality in 67 countries to determine the…

Primary care payment model, telemedicine use for Medicare Advantage during pandemic

What The Study Did: The association between primary care payment models and the use of telemedicine for Medicare Advantage enrollees during the COVID-19 pandemic was examined in this study. Authors: Brian W. Powers, M.D., M.B.A., of Humana Inc. in Louisville,…

Association of remdesivir treatment with survival, length of hospital stay among US veterans hospitalized with COVID-19

What The Study Did: I n this observational study using data from the Veterans Health Administration for 2,344 U.S. veterans hospitalized with COVID-19, remdesivir treatment was associated with prolonged hospitalization but wasn’t associated with improved survival. Authors: Michael E. Ohl,…

Sociodemographic characteristics, inequities associated with access to in-person, remote elementary schooling during pandemic in New York State

What The Study Did: Among the few New York state public school districts providing full-time in-person elementary school instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic, most districts served predominately white students, rural/suburban students and children who were not disadvantaged (children who were…

Effect of physician-delivered COVID-19 public health messages on adults’ knowledge, beliefs, practices related to COVID-19

What The Study Did: In this randomized clinical trial, a physician messaging campaign was effective in increasing COVID-19 knowledge, information-seeking and self-reported protective behaviors among diverse groups. Authors: Esther Duflo, Ph.D., of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, is…

Symptoms of depression, anxiety among women experiencing homelessness/unstable housing during pandemic

What The Study Did: About half the women experiencing homelessness and unstable housing who were surveyed experienced symptoms of depression or anxiety or both during the pandemic and, in addition to unmet subsistence needs and social isolation, these symptoms were…

Association of socioeconomic characteristics with disparities in COVID-19 outcomes in Japan

What The Study Did: This study found an unequal pattern of COVID-19 outcomes that was associated with the socioeconomic circumstances in regions of Japan, suggesting that these disparities in COVID-19 outcomes aren’t unique to the United States and Europe. Authors:…

Study assesses the prevalence of mental illness during the pandemic among folks aged 50-80

The study was conducted in the city of São Paulo, with over 2,000 participants who were active or retired staff of the University of São Paulo and enrolled in the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brazil).

Changes in care delivery during COVID-19

What The Study Did: Researchers characterized clinical content of ambulatory care among office-based compared with telemedicine visits in the United States before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Authors: G. Caleb Alexander, M.D., M.S., of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of…

Engineered cells successfully treat cardiovascular and pulmonary disease

Scientists at UC San Francisco have shown that gene-edited cellular therapeutics can be used to successfully treat cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases, potentially paving the way for developing less expensive cellular therapies to treat diseases for which there are currently few viable options.

Seroprevalence, risk factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection in health care workers in Italy early in pandemic

What The Study Did: This study in the Lombardy region of Italy examined the association of different health care professional categories and operational units, including in-hospital wards and outpatient facilities, with the seroprevalence of positive IgG antibody tests for SARS-CoV-2…