Overwhelmed Italian hospitals & Virus info

source:
https://threader.app/thread/1237142891077697538
https://twitter.com/jasonvanschoor/status/1237142891077697538
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jason_Van_Schoor2
From a well respected friend and intensivist/A&E consultant who is currently in northern Italy:
1/ ‘I feel the pressure to give you a quick personal update about what is happening in Italy, and also give some quick direct advice about what you should do.

2/ First, Lumbardy is the most developed region in Italy and it has a extraordinary good healthcare, I have worked in Italy, UK and Aus and don’t make the mistake to think that what is happening is happening in a 3rd world country.

3/ The current situation is difficult to imagine and numbers do not explain things at all. Our hospitals are overwhelmed by Covid-19, they are running 200% capacity

4/ We’ve stopped all routine, all ORs have been converted to ITUs and they are now diverting or not treating all other emergencies like trauma or strokes. There are hundreds of pts with severe resp failure and many of them do not have access to anything above a reservoir mask.

5/ Patients above 65 or younger with comorbidities are not even assessed by ITU, I am not saying not tubed, I’m saying not assessed and no ITU staff attends when they arrest. Staff are working as much as they can but they are starting to get sick and are emotionally overwhelmed.

6/ My friends call me in tears because they see people dying in front of them and they con only offer some oxygen. Ortho and pathologists are being given a leaflet and sent to see patients on NIV. PLEASE STOP, READ THIS AGAIN AND THINK.

7/ We have seen the same pattern in different areas a week apart, and there is no reason that in a few weeks it won’t be the same everywhere, this is the pattern:

8/ 1)A few positive cases, first mild measures, people are told to avoid ED but still hang out in groups, everyone says not to panick
2)Some moderate resp failures and a few severe ones that need tube, but regular access to ED is significantly reduced so everything looks great

9/ 3)Tons of patients with moderate resp failure, that overtime deteriorate to saturate ICUs first, then NIVs, then CPAP hoods, then even O2.
4)Staff gets sick so it gets difficult to cover for shifts, mortality spikes also from all other causes that can’t be treated properly.

10/ Everything about how to treat them is online but the only things that will make a difference are: do not be afraid of massively strict measures to keep people safe,

11/ if governments won’t do this at least keep your family safe, your loved ones with history of cancer or diabetes or any transplant will not be tubed if they need it even if they are young. By safe I mean YOU do not attend them and YOU decide who does and YOU teach them how to.

12/ Another typical attitude is read and listen to people saying things like this and think “that’s bad dude” and then go out for dinner because you think you’ll be safe.

13/ We have seen it, you won’t be if you don’t take it seriously. I really hope it won’t be as bad as here but prepare.


You can follow @jasonvanschoor.

Fabry t
I live in northern Italy, in the epicentre if this emergency and I would like to report an open letter I wrote some days ago to my dear friends who live abroad (since then the situation has dramatically worsen):
Today I want to do something useful for all my virtual friends who live outside Italy.
Never in my life I would have imagined of writing such a post but I think it’s essential to spread our experience as much as we can.
I live in northern Italy, in the Lombardy region (the most affected area by corona virus).
In these quarantine days I constantly follow the situation here but also abroad to understand how it has been managed by other countries.
I see a lot of confusion from governments that perhaps haven’t fully understood the power of this virus. In my opinion, not enough is being done. I would really like that our mistakes in underestimating the virus could be a strong warning about what should and shouldn’t be done.

Everything started on February 21st (right..only 20 days ago) with the first case in northern Italy; since then numbers have grown dramatically.
The first biggest mistake was the lack of quarantine procedures at the very first outbreak: in fact the first lockdown was only focused on some northern villages in the surrounding areas. I think the main reason was to avoid hitting the economy in one of the most productive Italian areas. Unfortunately this measure was inadequate.

A few days later became clear that the virus was spreading across the northern regions so authorities started to take new measures: schools, pubs, night bars, gyms closure, sport and public events cancellation but only in the North. People were still allowed to move around the country and to meet in other places like bars, restaurants, malls, parks...
Despite the increasing number of cases, most of us weren’t totally aware of the danger and thought that cleaning surfaces and washing constantly hands was enough. We continued our social life without understanding a very simple but important fact:
CORONA VIRUS DOESN’T HAVE LEGS, WE ARE ITS LEGS.

We all understood the terrible extent of this phenomenon last week, when hospital operators from the north wrote a dramatic but realistic letter to our government, a huge cry for help that no one could ignore: hospitals in the north are collapsing, intensive care units aren’t enough for everyone, the availability of machines for artificial ventilation is decreasing fast. More patients arrive than they can accommodate. Doctors and nurses are constantly exposed and have started getting sick (we are talking about one of the best health systems in the world).
They implored our government to take drastic measures to slow down the infection and give them the time to take care of patients properly without having to choose who to treat and who to let go (extreme triage protocols).
As a consequence our government has finally decided to take the strongest measure: the complete lockdown of Italy.
Since last Wednesday people can’t travel outside their village or leave their home unless they have emergencies. We are no longer allowed to assemble both publicly and privately, funerals and weddings have been cancelled, bars, restaurants, malls, shops, parks have been closed. The imperative now is to STAY AT HOME (no meeting with relatives, friends, colleagues...), strong sanctions are now taken against rules violators.
Unfortunately our government left open the industrial sector and many workers are still exposed, but I hope they will decide for the complete closure in the next days.
It isn’t a simple flu people! It is true that young and healthy people are less exposed and could go through it "easily" (even though in the northern area the average age of positive patients who need hospital care is decreasing) but we MUST preserve weaker people which aren’t necessarily only the elderly but also all the people with some kind of health-related issues.

This quarantine is not a joke, I miss my family (grandma, mum, sister..) but we have to be responsible and have social conscience and think about the huge sacrifice of our doctors and nurses who are risking their own life in extremely tiring and long shifts. They are giving the country the most admirable sacrifice. We all owe it to them.

Sorry, I know my post is very long but even if only one person has read it, it won’t be wasted.
I’m not an expert but a simple citizen who wants to warn other people out there.
If you would like you can share this simple post to your friends.
PLEASE, stay safe ❤️

http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v16n14.shtml
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, Feb 28, 2020

Vitamin C and COVID-19 Coronavirus
by Damien Downing, MBBS, MRSB and Gert Schuitemaker, PhD
(OMNS February 28, 2020) There is only one existing treatment for the new coronavirus: vitamin C.

Vitamin C supports your immune system.
Vitamin C helps to kill the virus and reduces the symptoms of infection.
It's not a COVID "cure," but nothing is.
It might just save your life, though, and will definitely reduce the severity of the infection.

If someone tells you it's not proven, consider two things:

Nothing is proven to work against COVID-19, because it is a new virus.
Vitamin C has worked against every single virus including influenzas, pneumonia, and even poliomyelitis.
What to do
If you do nothing else, start taking vitamin C right away; at least 3 grams a day, spread right across the day. That's a 1,000 milligram capsule every 8 hours, or a level teaspoon of powder dissolved in a pint or so of water, drank all through the day.

If you're smart and motivated, do all the other things recommended in our previous release Vitamin C Protects Against Coronavirus (http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v16n04.shtml)

When and if you catch a bug that might be COVID-19, simply increase your vitamin C intake: a rounded teaspoon (that's 4 to 5 grams) in water (which helps to keep you hydrated) every 3 or 4 hours. And keep on taking it.

Do you consult a doctor? Do you self-isolate? Yes and yes. Of course you do; that's your duty to others.

Vitamin C and the other measures are what you do for yourself.

These links provide a large number of references to back up our above statements:
*SNIP*
SIGNED:
Ilyès Baghli, M.D. (Algeria)
Ian Brighthope, M.D. (Australia)
Helen Saul Case, M.S. (USA)
Richard Cheng, M.D., Ph.D. (USA)
Gilbert Henri Crussol, D.M.D. (Spain)
Carolyn Dean, M.D., N.D. (USA)
Damien Downing, MBBS, MRSB (United Kingdom)
Michael Ellis, M.D. (Australia)
Martin P. Gallagher, M.D., D.C. (USA)
Michael J. Gonzalez, N.M.D., D.Sc., Ph.D.
(Puerto Rico)
William B. Grant, Ph.D. (USA)
Tonya S. Heyman, M.D. (USA)
Suzanne Humphries, M.D. (USA)
Ron Hunninghake, M.D. (USA)
Robert E. Jenkins, D.C. (USA)
Bo H. Jonsson, M.D., Ph.D. (Sweden)
Jeffrey J. Kotulski, D.O. (USA)
Peter H. Lauda, M.D. (Austria)
Thomas Levy, M.D., J.D. (USA)
Homer Lim, M.D. (Philippines)
Stuart Lindsey, Pharm.D. (USA) Victor A. Marcial-Vega, M.D. (Puerto Rico)
Charles C. Mary, Jr., M.D. (USA)
Mignonne Mary, M.D. (USA)
Jun Matsuyama, M.D., Ph.D. (Japan)
Jorge R. Miranda-Massari, Pharm.D.
(Puerto Rico)
Karin Munsterhjelm-Ahumada, M.D. (Finland)
Tahar Naili, M.D. (Algeria)
W. Todd Penberthy, Ph.D. (USA)
Dag Viljen Poleszynski, Ph.D. (Norway)
Datuk Selvam Rengasamy, MBBS (Malaysia)
Jeffrey A. Ruterbusch, D.O. (USA)
Andrew W. Saul Ph.D. (USA)
Gert E. Schuitemaker, Ph.D. (Netherlands)
Robert G. Smith, Ph.D. (USA)
Thomas L. Taxman, M.D. (USA)
Jagan Nathan Vamanan, M.D. (India)
Garry Vickar, MD (USA)
Ken Walker, M.D. (Canada)
Atsuo Yanagisawa, M.D., Ph.D. (Japan)
Anne Zauderer, D.C. (USA)

Jump back to quoted post20 Mar 2020, 06:00 AMSturmtigerCobra

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