Real-life Management Strategy of COVID-19 Patients in Bangladesh with No Death: An Observational and Cohort Study

• Published in: Euroasian journal of hepato-gastroenterology Vol. 10; no. 1; pp. 31 - 35
• Main Authors: Faizul Huq, Akm, Rahman, Md Fashiur, Islam, Md Azizul, Iqbal, Syed A, Rahman, Azizur, Abdullah, Syed Abul Hassan Md, Al Mahtab, Mamun, Akbar, Sheikh Mf
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: India Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers 01.01.2020
• Subjects: Original; COVID-19; Bangladesh; Zero mortality; Management
• ISSN: 2231-5047; 2231-5128
• DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10018-1316

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has been declared as pandemic by World Health Organization (WHO) with increasing morbidity (more than 4.6 million patients) and mortality (300,000 deaths). The world-wide target of management COVID-19 is to reduce complications with available management options; this become highly variable from country to country and even within different regions of the same country. This observational prospective study represents a single center study in which all patients in this cohort received almost similar medicines and care. All patients in this cohort ( : 32) were positive for SARS-CoV-2 by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with variable presenting symptoms. The management strategy included Standard of Care (SoC) and administration of hydroxychloroquine and doxycycline. Out of 32 patients, 9 patients also received favipiravir. All patients were followed until they were discharged after negativity of SARS-CoV-2 confirmed by PCR on two consecutive occasions taken within 2 days. No death has been recorded in this cohort of 32 patients within the study period. The average hospital staying duration was 13.9 days with a range of 8-21 days. All patients were discharged with improvement of subjective symptoms and SARS-CoV-2 negativity. The vital signs (pulse, blood pressure) as well as and levels of electrolyte and blood counts were within normal and acceptable ranges at the time of discharge. The study presented here provide and evidence of a real-life situation of management of limited numbers of COVID-19 patients at a tertiary center of Bangladesh. This study inspires optimism that proper diagnosis, establishment of effective inclusion and exclusion criteria, ensuring application of proper SoC with drugs available in Bangladesh may be a practical option for management of COVID-19 in the country. Huq AKMF, Rahman MF, Islam MA, Real-life Management Strategy of COVID-19 Patients in Bangladesh with No Death: An Observational and Cohort Study. Euroasian J Hepato-Gastroenterol 2020;10(1):31-35.