Clinical observation and management of COVID-19 patients

• Published in: Emerging microbes & infections Vol. 9; no. 1; pp. 687 - 690
• Main Authors: Li, Taisheng, Lu, Hongzhou, Zhang, Wenhong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Taylor & Francis 01.01.2020; Taylor & Francis Ltd; Taylor & Francis Group
• Subjects: Antiviral Agents - therapeutic use; antiviral drugs; Betacoronavirus; China; Clinical management; Clinical Trials as Topic; coronavirus; Coronavirus Infections - drug therapy; Coronavirus Infections - mortality; Coronavirus Infections - physiopathology; Coronavirus Infections - therapy; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 Drug Treatment; Critical Illness; Disease Progression; Female; Glucocorticoids - therapeutic use; Humans; Male; Medicine, Chinese Traditional; Pandemics; Patient Care Management; Patient Care Team; Pneumonia, Viral - drug therapy; Pneumonia, Viral - mortality; Pneumonia, Viral - physiopathology; Pneumonia, Viral - therapy; SARS; SARS-CoV-2; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Thrombophilia - physiopathology; Thrombophilia - therapy; China; antiviral drugs; SARS; coronavirus; SARS-CoV-2; Clinical management
• DOI: 10.1080/22221751.2020.1741327
• ISSN: 2222-1751

Three leading infectious disease experts in China were invited to share their bedside observations in the management of COVID-19 patients. Professor Taisheng Li was sent to Wuhan to provide frontline medical care. He depicts the clinical course of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Furthermore, he observes the significant abnormality of coagulation function and proposes that the early intravenous immunoglobulin and low molecular weight heparin anticoagulation therapy are very important. Professor Hongzhou Lu, a leader in China to try various anti-viral drugs, expresses concern on the quality of the ongoing clinical trials as most trials are small in scale and repetitive in nature, and emphasizes the importance of the quick publication of clinical trial results. Regarding the traditional Chinese medicine, Professor Lu suggests to develop a creative evaluation system because of the complicated chemical compositions. Professor Wenhong Zhang is responsible for Shanghai's overall clinical management of the COVID-19 cases. He introduces the team approach to manage COVID-19 patients. For severe or critically ill patients, in addition to the respiratory supportive treatment, timely multiorgan evaluation and treatment is very crucial. The medical decisions and interventions are carefully tailored to the unique characteristics of each patient.