Brandon Vaughn from Pine Knot, Kentucky is critically ill from COVID and on ECMO b/c his lungs are permanently damaged from the virus. Without a double-lung transplant he won't survive. He is 17. lex18.com/news/coronavir…
ECMO stands for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. The ECMO machine pumps and oxygenates a patient's blood outside the body, allowing the heart and lungs to rest. It's often a bridge to lung transplant.
As patients awaiting lung transplantation become sicker, ECMO enables them to remain active and participating in physical therapy to prepare for the rigors of surgery
If Brandon is fortunate to receive a lung transplant, then he will have to take more than a dozen medications for the rest of his life to prevent organ rejection and infections. #TheySurvivedCovid
Some of the medications may include:
Immunosuppressants such as prednisone, CellCept (mycophenolate mofetil), and Prograf (tacrolimus).
Anti-infection medications such as Mepron (atovaquone), Valcyte (valganciclovir), and Diflucan (fluconazole).
Mepron is an antibiotic that prevents and treats Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia, a serious lung infection.
Valcyte is an antiviral that prevents and treats cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. It may be replaced by acyclovir, another antiviral.
Diflucan is an antifungal that prevents and treats fungal infections.
🧵One of the great UNKNOWNS about the Omicron variant is the impact on children 4 weeks AFTER infection.
Before #Omicron 6,431 children in the U.S. were hospitalized for multi-system inflammatory syndrome (MISC) due to COVID & 55 of those kids died. Kids with MISC are SICK & require ICU care, often with blood pressure support, steroids, blood thinners, and sometimes life support
MISC is an inflammatory reaction in the body that develops about 4 weeks after infection with COVID. Each rise in COVID infection has been followed by an increase in #MISC 4 weeks later. covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tra…
This article published in June 2021 discussed two NIH-supported studies confirming SARS-CoV-2 can target and impair the body’s insulin-producing cells.
Type 1 diabetes occurs when beta cells in the pancreas don’t secrete enough insulin to allow the body to metabolize food optimally after a meal. As a result of this insulin insufficiency, blood glucose levels go up, the hallmark of diabetes.
13 month old Piper from Cleveland, Tennessee was co-infected with COVID-19 and rhinovirus. As a result, she developed seizures and "at one point she stopped breathing." #TheySurvivedCovidnews4sanantonio.com/news/nation-wo…
After an EXPENSIVE hospitalization, consisting of several tests, including an MRI, Piper returned home on New Years Eve.
Meanwhile, at a time when the omicron variant is surging, Tennessee health officials say they will no longer provide daily COVID-19 data releases starting this week.
Vaccines protect against severe illness. Data from 374 hospitalized COVID patients at Spectrum Health in Michigan. 99 patients are currently in the ICU. Of those, 90% are unvaccinated. Vaccinated = 2 dose Pfizer/Moderna or 1 dose J&J. #GetBoostedNow
Vaccinated patients with breakthrough hospitalizations are, on average, 8 years older (64 vs. 56) and have an average of 5 co-morbidities compared to 2 for unvaccinated patients.
Dayton Children’s Hospital in Ohio is sounding the alarm as they’re experiencing the HIGHEST number of children hospitalized to date. dayton247now.com/news/local/you…
There are currently 24 children hospitalized with COVID-19 at Dayton Children’s -- that’s 20 more than they saw in December 2021.
“We are experiencing a surge like we've ever had. All of our children's hospitals are experiencing this same problem, which is huge numbers of pediatric patients being admitted” said Dr. Adam Mezoff, chief medical officer at Dayton Children’s Hospital.
This is a reminder that a THREE-vaccine regimen is highly protective against HOSPITALIZATION, whereas high quality MASKS, such as KN95s are highly protective against INFECTION. Both are required to protect against COVID.
You can further lower your viral exposure by decreasing time spent in crowded spaces, both indoor and outdoor.
CAVEAT: The majority of COVID-19 breakthrough hospitalizations are people over the age of 65, followed by people who are immunosuppressed such as transplant recipients. These groups must remain vigilant at all times, especially during this unprecedented Omicron surge.