A professor of pharmacy
at University of Toronto sent this clearly worded update to his family.
For this pandemic there’s a greater chance of survival for those getting
infected 3 months later, like June 2020, than those who got infected 3 months
earlier, say February 2020. The reason for this is that Doctors and scientists
know more about COVID-19 now than 3 months ago, and hence are able to treat
patients better. I will list *5 important things* that we know now that we
didn’t know in February 2020 for your understanding.
1. COVID-19 was initially thought to cause deaths due to *pneumonia- a lung
infection*- and so Ventilators were thought to be the best way to treat sick
patients who couldn’t breathe. *Now we are realizing that the virus causes
blood clots in the blood vessels of the lungs* and other parts of the body; and
this causes the reduced oxygenation. Now we know that just providing oxygen by
ventilators will not help, but we have to prevent and dissolve the micro clots
in the lungs. This is why we are using drugs like *Aspirin and Heparin (blood
thinners that prevent clotting) as protocol in treatment regimens in June
2020.*
2. Previously patients used to drop dead on the road, or even before reaching a
hospital, due to reduced oxygen in their blood - OXYGEN SATURATION. This was
because of *HAPPY HYPOXIA*- where even though the oxygen saturation was
gradually reducing the COVID-19, patients did not have symptoms until it became
critically less, like sometimes even 70%. **Normally we become breathless if
oxygen saturation reduces below 90%. **This breathlessness is not triggered in
Covid patients, and so we were getting the sick patients very late to the
hospitals, in February 2020. Now, since knowing about happy hypoxia, we are
monitoring oxygen saturation of all covid patients *with a simple home use
pulse oximeter and getting them to hospital if their oxygen saturation drops to
93% or less*. This gives more time for doctors to correct the oxygen deficiency
in the blood and a better survival chance in June 2020.
3. We did not have drugs to fight the corona virus in February 2020. We were
only treating the complications caused by it... hypoxia. Hence most patients
became severely infected.
**Now we have 2 important medicines: FAVIPIRAVIR & REMDESIVIR**
These are ANTIVIRALS that can kill the corona virus. By using
these two medicines we can prevent patients from becoming severely infected and
therefore cure them BEFORE THEY GO TO HYPOXIA. This knowledge we have in JUNE
2020... not in February 2020.
4. Many Covid-19 patients die not just because of the virus, but also due the
patient’s own immune system responding In an exaggerated manner called
*CYTOKINE STORM*. This stormy strong immune response not only kills the virus
but also kills the patients. In February 2020, we didn’t know how to prevent it
from happening. Now in June 2020, we know that *easily available medicines
called Steroids,* that doctors around the world have been using for almost 80
years, *can be used to prevent the cytokine storm in some patients*.
5. Now we also know that people with hypoxia became better just by making them
lie down on their belly - known as prone position. Apart from this, a few days ago,
Israeli scientists have discovered that a chemical known as Alpha Defensin,
produced by the patients White blood cells, can cause the micro clots in blood
vessels of the lungs; and this could possibly be prevented by a drug called
Colchicine, used over many decades in the treatment of Gout.
So now we know that patients have a better chance at surviving the COVID-19
infection, in June 2020, than in February 2020, for sure.
Going forward, there’s nothing to panic about Covid-19 - if we remember that a person
who gets infected later, has a better chance at survival, than one who
got infected early.
Let’s continue to follow precautions, wear masks and practise social
distancing.
