Here Is A Brief Overview On The Case Management Of COVID-19

The world has been crippled with the COVID-19 outbreak. This is mostly down to the fact that we have no defences against the illness since it is a novel strain of the corona virus. There is no research, no therapeutics, no vaccines and lastly no guidelines for case management of COVID-19. This means that for the first couple of months, health workers had to adopt an ad hoc approach. They were treating symptoms as they appeared and waiting for researchers to tell them how to fight the illness. Fortunately, substantial progress has been made from that time until now. Virologists and scientist have made good headway – a couple of drugs have been identified for severe cases and a handful of vaccines have been tried on human with positive results. In the meanwhile, doctors on the ground have also been given more specific guideline and better instructions for case management of COVID-19. This article will go over some of these basic treatment protocols. rn1. Mild Cases Many patients only experience mild symptoms. These patients with mild conditions, especially those who do not experience viral pneumonia and hypoxia, can mostly manage their treatment at home. Whether or not the patient requires inpatient/outpatient care will vary on a case-by-case basis. Generally, hospitalization might be required on the clinical presentation of more severe symptoms, if there is a requirement of supportive care, and if the individual is unable to properly self-isolate at home. Some individuals are considered as high risk (people above 65 years of age, those who have chronic heart disease, heart conditions, etc.) need to be monitored carefully. They should be provided with better care should their condition worsen. rn2. Severe Cases Case management of COVID-19 patients with severe symptoms is a little different. They will require supportive management for common symptoms such as clinical presentation of pneumonia, extremely low blood-oxygen levels, septic shock, etc. Such severe cases require intensive care and access to ventilators to help their breathing. rn3. Cases With Hypercoagulability Hypercoagulability is a medical term for a state in which there is an increased tendency of blood clotting. Case management of COVID-19 patients with hypercoagulability often revolves around the prevention of venous and arterial thrombosis of blood vessels. What’s worrying here is that the pathogenesis of COVID-19 that cause hypercoagulability are still unknown. What this means is that, the data available to inform frontline workers about prophylaxis or treatment of venous thromboembolism is sparse. The good news is that virologists are making progress. They are at it day and night trying to come up with answers. If you are a frontline worker, you will have to keep yourself updated with the latest training materials on case management of COVID-19 patients. There are several online platforms that are uploading extremely helpful and reliable courses, webinar and guidelines almost every day. This information can prove vital to the control of the virus. We hope this article has been helpful. Our prayers are always with healthcare workers. We thank you for your brave service. Good luck and all the best!