Background: As India was reeling under the relentless onslaught of the second wave of COVID -19, the hospitals were over-crowded and resources were inaccessible. Many COVID -19 positive patients had to stay at home and reach out to their family physicians for guidance. This gave us an opportunity to observe a group of patients in home quarantine. The challenge was daunting. We could not afford to allow these patients to deteriorate as hospital beds and oxygen support were not readily available. Therefore, we developed an innovative approach to monitor these patients and to intervene at the optimal time to avoid hospitalization. Based on objective biochemical tests like elevated CRP and clinical signs like persistent high-grade fever, we initiated early low dose steroids and antibiotics prior to the onset of hypoxia. None of the home quarantined patients deteriorated because of the timely medical intervention. These patients neither required oxygen support nor hospitalization. We therefore present our new treatment model for home quarantined COVID-19 patients along with our suggestions for implementing the model at the community level. Methods: 25 patients under home quarantine who contacted online for medical guidance underwent clinical and biochemical evaluation. CT radiological examination was done whenever indicated. Treatments were initiated under medical guidance based on the CRP values and clinical presentation. Results: Among the 25 patients, 40% of the patients (10/25) had mild symptoms with normal CRP. 24% of the patients (6/25) had mild symptoms with elevated CRP. 36% of patients (9/25) had elevated CRP with persistent high fever. All the 25 patients recovered over the next four weeks. Conclusion: We propose an early objective assessment of inflammatory markers like CRP prior to the onset of hypoxia during home quarantine and early, need-based intervention under medical guidance to avoid complications and hospitalization. Keywords: COVID-19; Home quarantine; C-Reactive Protein (CRP); D-Dimer, Early intervention prior to onset of hypoxia.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.