Top news stories from AMA Morning Rounds®: Week of Aug. 24, 2020

Read AMA Morning Rounds®’ most popular stories in medicine and public health from the week of Aug. 24, 2020 – Aug. 28, 2020.

The Wall Street Journal (8/23, A1, Burton, Marcus, Subscription Publication) reports the FDA authorized the use of convalescent plasma for the treatment of patients with severe COVID-19.

The New York Times (8/23, A1, Lafraniere, Fink, Thomas, Haberman) reports, “No randomized trials of the sort researchers consider most robust have yet shown benefit from convalescent plasma.” However, the FDA “said the data it had so far, including more than a dozen published studies, showed that ‘it is reasonable to believe’ that the treatment ‘may be effective in lessening the severity or shortening the length of COVID-19 illness in some hospitalized patients,’ in particular those who receive it early.”

Reuters (8/23, Bose, Roston) reports, “So far, 70,000 patients have been treated using blood plasma, the FDA said.” The “patients who benefited the most from this treatment are those under 80 years old and who were not on a respirator, the agency said.”

CNN (8/24, Lamotte) reports, “There is no safe level of caffeine for a developing fetus, so women who are pregnant or considering pregnancy should abstain from coffee and other caffeine-containing products entirely, according to the author of a new review of literature” published in BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine. The review examined “37 observational studies on the link between caffeine and pregnancy outcomes and found ‘maternal caffeine consumption is reliably associated with miscarriage, stillbirth, low birth weight and/or small for gestational age, childhood acute leukaemia and childhood overweight and obesity.’”

HealthDay (8/24, Mundell) reports, “Of the 42 separate findings in the observational studies, 32 found that caffeine significantly increased the risk of a negative pregnancy outcome, while 10 others found either no associations or inconclusive associations.” HealthDay adds, “Of the 17 findings from the meta-analyses, 14 concluded that caffeine was associated with an increased risk for four adverse pregnancy outcomes: miscarriage, stillbirth, low birth weight and/or small for gestational age, and childhood acute leukemia.”

The New York Times (8/25, Wu) reports the CDC “quietly modified its coronavirus testing guidelines this week to exclude people who do not have symptoms of COVID-19 – even if they have been recently exposed to the virus.” Some “questioned the revision, pointing to the importance of identifying infections in the small window immediately before the onset of symptoms, when many individuals appear to be most contagious.”

Reuters (8/26, O'Donnell, Roy) reports the CDC “said this week that people exposed to COVID-19 but not symptomatic may not need to be tested, shocking doctors and politicians and prompting accusations the guidance was politically motivated.” The advice “marks a reversal of the agency’s previous position recommending testing for all close contacts of people diagnosed with COVID-19.” The president of the American Medical Association, “said the advice could accelerate the spread of the virus.” AMA President Susan R. Bailey, M.D., said in a statement: “Suggesting that people without symptoms, who have known exposure to COVID-positive individuals, do not need testing is a recipe for community spread and more spikes in coronavirus.”

Editor’s Note: Read Dr. Bailey’s full statement.

NBC News (8/27, Edwards) reports the CDC “appears to have backtracked on [coronavirus] testing guidance.” CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield said in a statement that “all close contacts of confirmed or probable COVID-19 patients” should consider getting tested. Earlier this week, the CDC’s recommendation that asymptomatic people not be tested faced criticism from physician groups and others.

Forbes (8/27, McEvoy) reports that the AMA was among the groups that criticized the CDC’s guidance earlier this week. AMA President Susan R. Bailey, M.D., said in a statement, “Months into this pandemic, we know COVID-19 is spread by asymptomatic people. Suggesting that people without symptoms, who have known exposure to COVID-positive individuals, do not need testing is a recipe for community spread and more spikes in coronavirus.”

Editor’s Note: Read Dr. Bailey’s full statement.

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