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

Register to Attend the CADTH 2020 Virtual Symposium: November 9 and 10, 2020

• Register before November 8, 2020.
• We have an impressive line up of speakers to discuss health technology assessment, which will include new content on COVID-19 topics.

Reports

Ongoing Trials for Drugs in the Prevention and Treatment of COVID-19

• This report provides information on ongoing randomized controlled trials of drugs being investigated to treat or prevent COVID-19.
• It will be updated every two weeks.
• Ongoing trials of vaccines and plasma-based therapies are addressed in separate CADTH reports.

Synopsis for the Resumption of Colorectal and Cervical Cancer Screening during the COVID-19 pandemic

• Non-urgent cancer treatment procedures were delayed or postponed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is considerable concern that when screening programs do resume, there may be a backlog of screen-positive patients who may be diagnosed at more advanced stages of disease.
• CADTH undertook a literature search of scientific evidence, clinical guidelines, recommendations, national standards, and guideline groups that were directly relevant to what jurisdictions, Canadian or international, are doing for the resumption of cancer screening services during COVID-19.
• This report is a customized summary of the results of a literature search related to the resumption of cancer screening services during COVID-19 and may have limited application beyond this context. It provides a snapshot of the evidence at the time of the searches.

Synopsis of Reference Search Results for Topics in Long-Term Care

• The COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging for those living and working in long-term care (LTC) facilities. There has been uncertainty related to managing visitors to LTC, the psychological and social impact of isolation for LTC residents, and how best to support LTC staff during this pandemic.
• To help support health care decision-makers facing these issues, CADTH undertook a series of literature searches.
• These reports are customized summaries of the results of a literature search related to topics in LTC and, while they may have a limited application beyond this context, they provide a snapshot of the evidence at the time of the searches.

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:

SARS-CoV-2 Neutralizing Antibodies

On October 28, 2020, preliminary results were announced from a US study investigating REGN-COV2 for the treatment of COVID-19 in outpatients who are symptomatic or asymptomatic.

Remdesivir

On October 22, 2020, the US FDA approved the use of remdesivir in adults and pediatric patients 12 years and older for the treatment of COVID-19 requiring hospitalization.

Convalescent Plasma

On October 20, 2020, the results of a randomized controlled trial of convalescent plasma in the management of moderate COVID-19 (PLACID) 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.