An ongoing dialogue on HIV/AIDS, infectious diseases,
June 28th, 2020
Is COVID-19 Different in People with HIV?
From the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, one of most common questions I’ve received has been whether COVID-19 has different clinical manifestations in people with HIV. Would it be more lethal since people with HIV have impaired immune systems? Or milder since some of the damage in severe cases is immunologically mediated? Or would it […]
June 21st, 2020
Dexamethasone Improves Survival in COVID-19 — Why This Should Be Practice Changing Even Before the Paper is Published
When the news broke last week that the dexamethasone component of the RECOVERY randomized clinical trial was halted because those receiving the drug were significantly more likely to survive, I posted the following: – Very welcome news, dex is cheap, widely available!– Demonstrates the power of RCTs vs obs studies, which were conflicting– How will […]
June 7th, 2020
Hydroxychloroquine Not Effective in Preventing COVID-19 — In Praise of a Negative Clinical Trial
The headlines might read, Malaria Drug Ineffective in Preventing COVID-19 — but that doesn’t do justice to a remarkable clinical trial, just published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine. Led by Dr. David Boulware at the University of Minnesota, the study asked this question: Does hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) prevent the development of COVID-19 in […]
Paul E. Sax, MD
Associate Editor
NEJM Clinician
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