Who is at risk of exposure for covid infection?
People living with covid patient,some one exposed to covid positive patient for more than 15 minutes, exposed to symptomatic patient, exposed to covid positive patient not wearing mask.
Who is at high risk of developing covid infection?
Elderly patients with comorbid conditions, immunocompromised patients, people with pre existing lung and cardiac conditions, cancer patients are at high risk of developing covid
Does all covid patients need to be admitted?
Patients with high temperature, high pulse, falling oxygen levels, breathlessness require admission.
Recently we are hearing a lot about 2 DG.what is it?
2Deoxy Glucose is a drug used in diagnostic tests in cancer patients. this drug has been developed by DRDO of India for the treatment of covid patients.it is absorbed by the cells and it inhibits glucose metabolism in the cell and virus and decreases the ability to replicate(multiply)fast.
It has been approved recently and it has been shown to produce good results in phase 3 trials.
It works well if it is given in first 10 days.it is given orally
The long term benefits and complications have to be observed.
What is plasma therapy and why is it not recommended anymore in treatment of covid patients?
The FDA granted emergency use authorization (EUA) on August 23, 2020 for use of convalescent plasma in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Convalescent plasma contains antibody-rich plasma products collected from eligible donors who have recovered from COVID-19.
The use of plasma from individuals who have recovered from COVID-19 has the potential to provide passive immunity through the transfer antibodies. Preliminary data from the largest observational study by the Mayo Clinic showed that hospitalized patients who were transfused within 3 days of diagnosis of COVID-19 had significantly lower 7- and 28-day mortality rates compared with patients transfused 4 or more days after the diagnosis.
The national task force of ICMR updates guidelines on treatment. these are only recommendations and they are not binding on treating doctors. the decision is made on the basis of clinical condition and clinical judgement
Trial conducted by ICMR on 400 patients called PLACID TRIAL did not show significant benefit of plama therapy. Similarly another study published by Lancet journal in may did not show much benefit on 5000 patients in uk
Currently ICMR dropped use of plasma in covid therapy.
what is the role of Remedisvir in treatment of covid.why is there so much hype around it?
In recent times we have seen sudden surge for Remedisvir. people started believing that it is a wonder drug in treatment of covid.it is an antiviral drug which showed good response in first covid wave. but its role as a single life saving drug is doubtful. most importantly the timing of administration is important.it is most useful if its given during viral replication phase.there are many other medications given along with remedisvir in treatment of covid.many times this drug has been over used and given to patients who might not require.with development of many new therapies the hype around this drug is slowly reducing.
what is the new cocktail therapy?
The new antiviral therapy involving casirivimab and imdevimab is developed by 2 pharma giants Roche & Regeneron.this is popularly known as Donald trump cocktail therapy as he was one of the first few patients to receive the therapy.this therapy involves 2 monoconal antibodies directed towards 2 subunits of spike proteins.it prevents viral replication and should be ideally given in first 10 days,.it is useful in moderate risk patients like patients with high Body mass index,uncontrolled diabetes,chronic kidney disease,coronary artery disesase, lung conditions, immunocompromised patients ,elderly patients with comorbid conditions
Recently we heard a senior physician talking about risk of cancer for covid patients who undergo CT scan.is it true?
this is a totally wrong assumption saying that single HRCT is equal to 400 xrays.
many people are worried after hearing that.HRCT is a very essential investigation in diagnosis and treatment of covid patients .it helps to know the condition of lung and response to treatment along with other parameters.During diagnostic radiology,the principles of As Low As Reasonabily Achieved(ALARA) are followed.HRCT uses low dose radiation which is well within permissible limits.however unnecessary CT scans need to be avoided.
Does smoking increases risk of covid?
smoking per se does not increase the risk of covid, but the habits of touching hands and mouth, smoking in groups increases the risk. Lungs have a lining called cilia on the surface, they act as brush and push off foreign particles.in smokers the lining gets thickened and infection fighting capacity of lungs is low. Its always advisable to avoid smoking to stay healthy.
There is a news that many residents of apartments in same community are getting infected.is it true?
it is true that appartments in the same vertical line are at high risk of developing covid infection.this phenomenon has been seen in several gated communities and called as vertical transmission.it could be probably from the seepage lines or from air transmission.