With input from Dr Monica Vasudev

1501:   India’s second COVID-19 wave

The coronavirus pandemic is again surging across India. Confirmed cases have increased again. Over a two-week period, deaths increased by 82%.

Maharashtra is leading the fresh outbreak. Several districts have gone back into lockdown. Scientists are investigating if a new strain found in the state is more virulent. Ramping up vaccinations in India could have a global impact. India serves as a pivotal link in the vaccine supply chain: the country has either given away or sold tens of millions of doses of vaccines to other countries, even at a time when it struggles to vaccinate its own citizens. (NYT)

1502: Increasing the dose of prophylactic anticoagulation was found not to benefit critically ill COVID-19 patients in the INSPIRATION trial.

Intermediate-dose prophylaxis with enoxaparin led to a similar composite rate of venous or arterial thrombosis, treatment with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or mortality within 30 days as standard-dose prophylaxis. The higher dose of 1 mg/kg vs. the standard, flat 40 mg a day for all but the most obese patients, led to increase in major bleeding (2.5% vs 1.4%) and severe

thrombocytopenia (2.2% vs 0%), although there were small numbers of cases among the 600 patients included in the trial. (Medpage Today)

Dr KK Aggarwal

President CMAAO, HCFI and Past National President IMA