Another record number of COVID-19 patients at The University of Kansas Health System today, though the increase wasn’t as drastic as it’s been in the last week. 85 patients are hospitalized, up from 84 yesterday. 32 patients are in the ICU, up from 31 yesterday. 13 patients are on ventilators, up from 12 yesterday. 41 other patients are still hospitalized because of COVID-19 but are out of the acute infection phase, down from 42 yesterday. That’s a total of 126 patients, the same as yesterday. In addition, HaysMed has 30 total COVID-19 inpatients with 3 of those patients in the recovery phase, up from 27 yesterday.
On the Morning Media Update today we checked in on Anil Gharmalker. You may recall Anil caught COVID-19 in April, was on a ventilator and has been in and out of the hospital since. He was back in the hospital yesterday for another procedure related to his being on a ventilator. His Doctor, Shannon Kraft, talked about what it's like to be on a ventilator from a medical point of view.
Anil Gharmalker lives in a small Kansas community. He survived both COVID-19 and a stint on a ventilator, something not all patients do. He’s had complications from the ventilator, which are common, and has had a tracheotomy tube put in his throat to help him breathe. That has caused a big impact on his life, as he has to be extremely careful not to allow water in the tube. It also affects his ability to talk normally and he’s had to cut back on his work running a trucking business. He also suffers shortness of breath and fatigue. He warns mask deniers not to be complacent about COVID-19 like he was. He used to think it was only a big city problem and only affected the elderly and those seriously ill. He believed even if he caught the virus, it wouldn’t affect him because he was young and healthy. He says, “I used to give lip service to being careful. I wish I would have been more careful.” He adds COVID-19 didn’t care who he was or what he believed. It scares him to think that if enough people like him showed up at the hospital now, there would not be enough services to keep them alive.
Dr. Kraft says they are in a wait and see mode with Anil. She hopes for improvement and eventually removing the trach tube from his throat but says there’s no guarantee that will happen. She showed what an endotracheal tube looks like, which is what goes down a patient’s throat when they’re on a ventilator. She explained how it’s installed, how it works and said there are long-term risks and often complications, such as needing a trach tube like Anil. It often has a big impact on the quality of life for a patient with this kind of breathing tube in place. Her best advice for avoiding a ventilator is be nice to everyone and wear a mask.
Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of infection prevention and control at The University of Kansas Health System, said unfortunately, there’s still a backlash and people demeaning others for wearing masks, and he calls that “backward thinking and not keeping up with science or wanting to acknowledge what’s going on.” He said in any small gathering, even a group of four, it’s very possible a least one has the virus without knowing it. When it comes to schools, he says the classrooms themselves are safe, it’s what the students do outside of class that’s the problem. He noted the upcoming vaccines are proving to be 90 to 95 percent effective, which is much better than the annual flu vaccine.
Steve Stites, MD, chief medical officer at The University of Kansas Health system, had a grim assessment. As the numbers in the Kansas City area keep rising, he’s more and more concerned that a total lockdown may be the direction we have to go. He says beds are in short supply in the Metro area, and if we don’t follow the rules of infection prevention, things will get worse, especially after Thanksgiving. He believes lots of people inside houses for the holiday will turn into superspreading events. He reminds us, “Help is almost here, and we need people to still be good to get to the other side.”
Thursday, November 19 at 8:00 a.m. is the next Morning Media Update. We’ll have the latest on the AstraZeneca Phase 3 Trial. We will be live with a mobile van that is going to some of the harder hit areas of the community and talk about how we are enrolling those communities. Dr. Mario Castro with KU Medical Center is back, along with Dr. Barbara Pahud (pa-HUDE ... rhymes with dude) from Children's Mercy and Dr. Mark Steele, Executive Chief Clinical Officer, Truman Medical Centers/University Health.
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