Doctor: Ventilators alone don't help covid19 patients

WHILE there are calls for more and more ventilators to deal with covid19 patients, intensivist Dr Anthony Parkinson says he prefers to have the complete unit with cardiac monitors and three pumps to administer medication to patients.

Parkinson, who spoke at Saturday’s Health Ministry media briefing, said covid19 attacks more than the lungs, and patients on ventilators require total body care.

He said patients in need of ventilators are at the worst stage of the disease, and while the body is incapable of breathing on its own, other illnesses set in as a result, such as kidney failure and cardiovascular problems.

“People keep talking about ventilators, I don’t want a ventilator alone – I want an entire unit. When the cardiovascular system gets attacked...not just the lungs, the blood pressure drops and you will die by your heart stopping, not the lungs. That is why we need these pumps, to pump drugs into the system 24/7.”

The parallel health care system established to deal specifically with covid19 is equipped with 69 ventilators, none of which is currently in use. Parkinson said it is more the body fighting off the virus than modern medicine, and ventilators are used to aid the body as it learns how to fight off the virus.

Of the eight patientswho have died, five, he said, were on ventilators and all had co-morbidities such as hypertension and diabetes.

Parkinson said exercise seemed to boost the immune system and could help stave off the virus.

He said local remedies used for the common cold had not been scientifically proven to aid in fighting covid19. While he did not recommend taking them, he was not against it as long as it did not affect other medication being administered.

Commenting on life post-covid19 at Saturday’s briefing,Chief Medical Officer Dr Roshan Parasram said the measures now being taken should result in a decrease in other viral diseases such as gastroenteritis. He added that he expects that, post-covid19, people will maintain the hygienic measure now in place.