As the COVID-19 pandemic escalates, teams around the world are now advocating for a new approach to monitoring transmission: tapping into cellphone location data to track infection spread and warn people who may have been exposed. Here we present data collected in Israel through this approach so far and discuss the privacy concerns, alternatives and different ‘flavors’ of cellphone surveillance. We also propose safeguards needed to minimize the risk for civil rights.

Knowledge of the outcomes of critically ill patients is crucial for health and government officials who are planning how to address local outbreaks. The factors associated with outcomes of critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) who required treatment in an intensive care unit (ICU) are yet to be determined. Methods: This was a retrospective registry-based case series of patients with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 who were referred for ICU admission and treated in the ICUs of the 13 participating centers in Israel between 5 March and 27 April 2020. Demographic and clinical data including clinical management were collected and subjected to a multivariable analysis; primary outcome was mortality. Results: This study included 156 patients (median age = 72 years (range = 22–97 years)); 69% (108 of 156) were male. Eighty-nine percent (139 of 156) of patients had at least one comorbidity. One hundred three patients (66%) required invasive mechanical ventilation. As of 8 May 2020, the median length of stay in the ICU was 10 days (range = 0–37 days). The overall mortality rate was 56%; a multivariable regression model revealed that increasing age (OR = 1.08 for each year of age, 95%CI = 1.03–1.13), the presence of sepsis (OR = 1.08 for each year of age, 95%CI = 1.03–1.13), and a shorter ICU stay(OR = 0.90 for each day, 95% CI = 0.84–0.96) were independent prognostic factors. Conclusions: In our case series, we found lower mortality rates than those in exhausted health systems. The results of our multivariable model suggest that further evaluation is needed of antiviral and antibacterial agents in the treatment of sepsis and secondary infection.

Background Sepsis, a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, characterized by metabolic and hemodynamic changes that can lead to multi-organ failure, and death. The evaluation of a patient's condition is routinely performed by several objective criteria. The compensatory reserve measurement (CRM) represents a new paradigm that measures the total of all physiological compensatory mechanisms, using noninvasive photoplethysmography to read changes in arterial waveforms. The present study aim was to evaluate the applicability and the predictive value of the CRM during sepsis. Methods Data was prospectively collected from patients hospitalized in department of Surgery due to different inflammatory illnesses. All subjects were evaluated with, hemodynamic, laboratory measurements and CRM throughout hospitalization. Results Of 100 subjects enrolled, 84 patients were not septic. The remaining 16 patients were in sepsis (SOFA score > 2), six of whom were in septic shock and four died. When Non-septic patients were compared to septic patients, statistical differences were found in CRP level (P<0.0005), SOFA score (p<0.0005) and CRM (p<0.0001). Other parameters did not show any difference between groups. The area under the ROC (AUROC) curve for CRM was 1, significantly higher than the AUROC for HR (0.78), systolic blood pressure (0.67), q-SOFA (0.81) and respiratory rate (0.56). Conclusions Clinical criteria, imaging and laboratory features used to identify a septic patient, are sub-optimal. This demonstrates the need for a monitoring device capable of detecting rapidly, constantly and simply the sum condition of the ill patient. We have shown that CRM was able to distinguish between severe septic and non-septic patients early in the course of hospitalization and was significantly more sensitive than the conventional diagnostic tools. Such capability to assess the septic patients, or even to triage these patients will surely aid treatment of sepsis. Level of Evidence II Indicate study type Care Management