Community Chat

[Marp2]

LOL Pit, I was expecting to struggle with this but wow. I don't know if it is because I only have a smattering of knowledge about the subject or if it more complexly written but it is one of the most difficult, detailed and documented papers I've yet encountered.

It is going to be a challenge but I will persevere even if it means getting an entirely new education.

[Marp2]

O/T again. What are your thoughts about the quick response teams proposed to get to hospitals with positive patients within a couple of hours? I know it will be a big help in the overall treatment process but isn't the biggest threat to healthcare workers the initial contact and while waiting for confirmed diagnosis? Will there be a dedicated liaison in constant contact until the teams arrive?

[pitdakota]

Marp, the content of the article is very complex. I am using brain cells that haven't been exercised in some time and think I am going to have to pull out my pathophysiology textbook as well. lol

Re: rapid response teams. No doubt a big concern is when a patient walks in to a health care setting and is not yet diagnosed. And the proportion of risk will depend on how symptomatic that patient is and what symptoms are occurring. For example, a patient with profuse vomiting would be a higher risk than a patient with fever and general malaise. Of course the goal is to get the patient in isolation immediately and for all health care workers to implement precautions.

A rapid response team would probably be of some really good assistance to the health care team that is going to have to take care of the patient after admission. How much it is needed I think depends on the hospital to which they are responding.

BTW...I participated in a national conference call today that had the medical experts from Emory University and University of Nebraska that talked about their experience treating the ebola patients. Great discussion.

All of those experts agreed that every hospital was going to have to prepare to deal with the arrival of a patient with some type of VHD. And not just today because of the epidemic of ebola in West Africa. Basic premise for this is that we are now a global community and cases of Marburg or Lassa Fever will present to us here in higher numbers than in the past.