Emergency Medicine in Pakistan

All about Emergency Medicine

Clinical related questions:

What is HYPERTRIAGE?

 

Hypertriage or Hyper-triage is a term that is used by the emergency department of Shifa International for a specific entity. It is meant to do a modified disaster triage at the door of the hospital or the Emergency Department to broadly distinguish suspected COVID-19 patients from otherwise non-suspected patients.

The idea was to expose less number of healthcare workers while trying to provide care for all patients in timely fashion. The suspected COVID-19 patients will go to red zone or COVID area (as designed per hospital protocol) while the non-COVID suspected were taken into green zone or non-COVID zone.

This way the Emergency Department saved PPE’s as well as made sure to provide appropriate care for the patients coming to the emergency Department.

This term has never been used before, and provided great benefit to the healthcare workers in COVID times.

What are the precautions for the COVID-19. Novel Corona virus.

 

If your doctor has diagnosed you with viral Respiratory Tract Infection.

 

One of the causes could be Novel Corona virus. Following is the basic information you need to know about your sickness and corona virus:

 

The virus is named as COVID-19, or the 2019 novel corona virus. It belongs to a group of viruses called as Beta coronavirus. It was first identified in Wuhan, Hubei, China. Other viruses of the same family include MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) of 2012 and SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) of 2003. Initially, the infection is said to be transmitted from bats to humans and then from humans to humans.

 

The information about this virus is still lacking and only a few facts are known. These include:

  1. There is a very low risk of getting infected without coming in contact with the virus.
  2. The infection spreads through body fluids, particularly through sneezing and coughing and also through stool
  3. It is possible that a person has a virus, but is not sick or not sick yet and transmit it to others (asymptomatic transmission).
  4. Cases of COVID-19 will be increasing, similar to MERS and SARS, so we need to be very careful
  5. There is currently no vaccine for COVID-19.
  6. Prevention is the greatest asset

 

What are the Signs and Symptoms of COVID-19?

  • Mild to severe respiratory illness

–           Fever

–           Cough

–           Difficulty breathing

 

What constitutes as Exposure?

–           Being 6 feet or 2 meters close to a person with infection of COVID-19 or being in the same room or area with diagnosed patient of COVID-19.

 

If you are not sick but wanted to prevent the spread of COVID-19:

–           Wash your hands thoroughly with soap preferably alcohol-based soap and water for 20 seconds or an alcohol based sanitizer with 60% alcohol if soap and water are not available

–           Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unclean hands

–           Avoid close contact with people who are coughing, sneezing and have a fever

–           Wear mask when in public places

–           Use personal protection when coming in contact with people who may have 2019-nCoV infection

 

If you are sick and may have COVID-19 infection:

  • If you are sick, stay at home until recovered.
  • Wash your hands thoroughly with soap preferably alcohol-based soap and water for 20 minutes or an alcohol based sanitizer with 60% alcohol if soap and water is are not available.
  • Avoid going to places where other people can get exposed with the virus
  • Cover your mouth when coughing and nose when sneezing with a tissue and then dispose off the tissue immediately into a closed bin (bin with a lid/cover) and wash your hands with soap and water
  • Clean and disinfect the frequently touched objects and surfaces

–           Wear a face mask

–           If you have been prescribed medications, please continue taking them

–           Drink plenty of fluids and stay hydrated

–           Take plenty of rest and take only paracetamol for fever and body ache

 

If you develop following symptoms, then you need to come back to the hospital and get yourself checked:

  • High fever not coming down with the cold sponging and paracetamol
  • Having difficulty breathing
  • Severe cough or stubborn persistent cough that is not going away
  • Severe chest discomfort
  • Severe abdominal pain
  • Extreme weakness
  • Your blood pressure is down. Less than 90 mm of Hg systolic
  • Dizziness and nausea
  • Vomiting

 

Please make sure that you come with your mask on and let the triage staff know that you have been treated early with possibility of new corona virus, COVID-19.

 

There is no treatment for the corona virus yet, and all the treatments prescribed by Facebook or WhatsApp, Twitter, WeChat or any other social medial platform should be used very cautiously and at your own risk.