#What doctors have learned about fighting COVID-19

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Staff from La Paz hospital take a minute of silence to remember Joaquin Diaz, the hospital’s chief of surgery who died of COVID-19, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Madrid, Spain.
Reuters

In the six months since an entirely new coronavirus began spreading around the world, doctors and hospitals have learned a lot about how to treat patients with COVID-19, the potentially deadly disease caused by the virus.

What doctors have learned about fighting COVID-19:

• Patients are at increased risk of blood clots, and blood thinning agents can help.
•  “Proning” – putting patients on their stomachs to relieve pressure on the lungs – can stave off the need for mechanical ventilation.
• Besides the respiratory system and lungs, the coronavirus can attack many other organs, including the heart, liver, kidneys, and brain.
• The most promising treatments so far seem to be the anti-viral remdesivir; dexamethasone, a steroid to treat the body’s inflammatory response to COVID-19; and plasma donated by patients who have antibodies to the disease.
• More widespread testing and quicker results helps relieve pressure on hospitals.
• Information-sharing among health professionals worldwide is crucial.
• Prevention is critical. Doctors are relying on the public to do their part with good hygiene, masks and social distancing.

Some of the biggest unknowns:

• Exactly which treatments will work for which patients.
• How quickly some treatments will gain widespread distribution, especially remdesivir.
• How long it will take for COVID-19 patients to recover.
• The long-term effects of the infection.