{"id":16710,"date":"2020-05-09T17:25:53","date_gmt":"2020-05-09T12:25:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/umang.pk\/?p=16710"},"modified":"2020-05-09T17:25:53","modified_gmt":"2020-05-09T12:25:53","slug":"coronavirus-truth-vs-myths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/umang.pk\/ur\/2020\/05\/09\/coronavirus-truth-vs-myths\/","title":{"rendered":"Coronavirus Truth vs. Myths 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Corona virus is a family of viruses that usually cause colds and upper respiratory symptoms. It is spread mainly through respiratory drops, coughing and sneezing, but can be spread by touching the face (especially the eyes) with recently exposed hands. Symptoms occur 2-14 days after exposure, with about 80% of patients showing few symptoms.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-16027\" src=\"http:\/\/umang.pk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/UK-announces-fund-for-Pakistan-in-fight-against-coronavirus.jpg\" alt=\"Coronavirus Truth vs. Myths 2020\" width=\"800\" height=\"480\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">With the rapid spread of news and misinformation, many myths about COVID-19 are spreading. The EPM Board of Directors has compiled a list of the myths that people spread faster than viruses and the reality of their impact. See the full list of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Coronavirus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Coronavirus family<\/a> by wikipedia.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">Facts among an outbreak of fears and rumors<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/x_C2Er74MDE\" width=\"760\" height=\"366\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Everyone\u2019s talking about \u2013 and wondering about \u2013 Coronavirus truth or false (COVID-19). Here are the answers to some common assertions, to better educate your patients, families, and colleagues.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>MYTH 1: COVID is a respiratory illness. Patients present with coughing, fever and dyspnea<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">TRUTH: Partially true. While COVID patients most commonly develop respiratory symptoms, the symptoms of a COVID infection can vary widely. Almost half of COVID patients have nausea, vomiting or diarrhea some time during their illness and 7 of 204 COVID patients in one Chinese study had solely GI symptoms. In addition, COVID patients with GI symptoms tended to have worse outcomes.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">One-third of COVID patients have a loss of smell as a presenting symptom and often have mild to no respiratory symptoms. A small percentage of COVID patients have conjunctivitis as a presenting symptom and coronavirus has been isolated in human tears.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Don\u2019t rely on an absence of typical symptoms to rule out coronavirus. COVID symptoms can be anything but typical.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>MYTH 2: SARS-CoV-2 will be picked up on current respiratory antigen panels<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">TRUTH: False! Typical respiratory pathogen panels test for influenza, pertussis, chlamydia, human metapneumovirus, rhinovirus, RSV, and several subtypes of coronavirus (including 229E, HKU1, NL63, and OC43) but not SARS-CoV-2. Panels may be updated in the future to include novel coronavirus testing.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>MYTH 3: N-95 masks will help protect average people from contracting the disease<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">TRUTH: The CDC is recommending people NOT wear N-95 masks in public. It\u2019s true that a properly fitted N-95 mask, sealed around the chin, mouth and nose can block about 95% of airborne particles from being inhaled. That\u2019s probably going to cut down on COVID transmissions in controlled, limited healthcare encounters.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">But fitting and sealing the mask properly takes work. Staff needs to take breaks and take the mask off frequently. Wearing an N-95 mask for long periods of time, and frequently adjusting it with potentially contaminated fingers may well negate any protective effect.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>MYTH 4: I have to shave my beard now to take care of COVID patients<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">TRUTH: PAPR (powered air-purifying respirator) ought to be available to you in your ED \u2014 a lot of hospitals stocked up during the Ebola epidemic of 2014. The sequence to secure the rechargeable battery to your person, then properly donning the head covering, is more elaborate than an N95 respirator and the level of protection is actually higher (PAPRs\u2019 HEPA is capable of filtering 99.97% of 3 micron diameter particles).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, if you want to wear an N-95 mask, the CDC\u2019s blog says that proper fitting may permit you to keep the moustache or the soul patch, but will require that you lose the neck beard.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>MYTH 5: I should stockpile masks and take antibiotics<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">TRUTH: Neither of these actions will help. Antibiotics have no effect on viruses.To limit the spread of COVID, prevention is important. Wash your hands. Cough or sneeze into your arm or into a tissue, not into your hands. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth, which makes it more likely to spread germs. Avoid contact with other sick people. Think \u201csocial isolation.\u201d Clean objects before touching them (like shopping cart handles, door handles, your car\u2019s steering wheel, and computer keyboards).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">That being said, a 42 patient nonrandomized trial in France showed hydroxychloroquine plus Zithromax significantly reduced the viral load in COVID patients. At six days, 100% of patients with the two drug combination had negative SARS-CoV-2 PCR titers compared to 57.1% of patients with hydroxychloroquine alone and 12.5% of control patients. So those requests for Z-packs may become more common.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">On the other hand, an Arizona man died and his wife is in critical condition after they ingested chloroquine from a fish tank cleaning kit in order to try to prevent COVID infections. Wait for larger clinical trials before ingesting cleaning chemicals.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">While hoarding toilet paper may become the new norm, hoarding and taking antibiotics probably won\u2019t help.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>MYTH 6: I can catch Coronavirus from my dog,<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">TRUTH: Possible, but unlikely. However, a Chinese scientist and epidemiologist working on the Coronavirus said that mammal to mammal transmission is possible. In addition, the one case of Coronavirus was documented in a Pomeranian dog from Hong Kong. Just to be on the safe side, don\u2019t go kissing your animals on the lips. Oh, and vets recommend against masks for dogs, even though puppy PPE is becoming commonplace in China.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>MYTH 7: It isn\u2019t safe to go to spaces where people with coronavirus have occupied<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">TRUTH: While we still don\u2019t know how long it takes for coronavirus to clear from the air in a room, CDC studies on other pathogens show that clearance rate of airborne pathogens from the air in a room is, in part, determined by air flow rate \u2014 or how many \u201cair changes per hour\u201d occur in that room.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The more ventilation that occurs, the less time it takes to remove airborne pathogens. For 99% of an airborne contaminant to be removed from a room, it takes 28 minutes of ventilation if there is the equivalent of 10 air changes in the room per hour. It takes more than two hours (138 minutes) to remove 99% of airborne pathogens if there are only two air changes in the room per hour. Keep this in mind when you\u2019re sitting in the ED waiting room \u2026 or riding the subway.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\">What else can we do as EM physicians?<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Know that hospitals have been working on infectious disease-related surge capacity issues for 20 years. It\u2019s time to involve your hospital administration, dust off the playbook, making sure there\u2019s a way to prioritize your negative pressure rooms and discuss resource allocation.<br \/>\nGet to know your county and state public health officials and refer patients to health department web sites. They can help divert patients, provide appropriate discharge instructions, and facilitate protocol development.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Protect your staff. Make sure everyone knows how to don\/doff properly. *Please reference the CDC link below for guidance on the donning and doffing process and share it with your teams.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Primary source: https:\/\/epmonthly.com\/article\/debunking-coronavirus-myths-vs-truth\/<br \/>\nOther References:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Gautret et al. (2020) Hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin as a treatment of COVID\u201019: results of an open\u2010label non\u2010randomized clinical trial. International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents \u2013 In Press 17 March 2020 \u2013 DOI : 10.1016\/j.ijantimicag.2020.105949<\/p>\n<p>[mks_tabs nav=&#8221;vertical&#8221;]<br \/>\n[mks_tab_item title=&#8221;Other resources of Corona Virus:&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">https:\/\/www.phoenixnewtimes.com\/news\/covid-19-remedy-touted-by-trump-kills-arizona-man-wife-critical-11460391<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">https:\/\/jamanetwork.com\/journals\/jama\/fullarticle\/2762386<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">http:\/\/www.cidrap.umn.edu\/news-perspective\/2020\/02\/study-72000-covid-19-patients-finds-23-death-rate<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/coronavirus\/2019-ncov\/hcp\/identify-assess-flowchart.html (FLOW CHART for patient workup)<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/coronavirus\/2019-nCoV\/hcp\/clinical-criteria.html<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/coronavirus\/2019-ncov\/hcp\/respirator-use-faq.html<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC4456839\/<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">http:\/\/www.cidrap.umn.edu\/news-perspective\/2020\/02\/unmasked-experts-explain-necessary-respiratory-protection-covid-19<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/ncbddd\/hemophilia\/documents\/familyemergencykitchecklist.pdf<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/infectioncontrol\/guidelines\/environmental\/appendix\/air.html#tableb1<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">https:\/\/www.who.int\/emergencies\/diseases\/novel-coronavirus-2019\/advice-for-public\/myth-busters<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">https:\/\/people.com\/pets\/can-pets-contract-coronavirus-vet-advice-dog-face-masks\/<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">https:\/\/www.chinadaily.com.cn\/a\/202001\/30\/WS5e3274a4a310128217273b43.html<\/span><br \/>\n[\/mks_tab_item]<br \/>\n[\/mks_tabs]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Corona virus is a family of viruses that usually cause colds and upper respiratory symptoms. It is spread mainly through respiratory drops, coughing and sneezing, but can be spread by touching the face (especially the eyes) with recently exposed hands. Symptoms occur 2-14 days after exposure, with about 80% of patients showing few symptoms. With [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16027,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/umang.pk\/ur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16710","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/umang.pk\/ur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/umang.pk\/ur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umang.pk\/ur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umang.pk\/ur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16710"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/umang.pk\/ur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16710\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umang.pk\/ur\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/umang.pk\/ur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umang.pk\/ur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umang.pk\/ur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}