Author: emkfoundation
A&Edepartment
Home Based Isolation and Care Guidelines for Patients with COVID-19
Patients who are assessed by a Health Care Worker and meet all the criteria below will be considered for home-based isolation and care:
- Laboratory confirmed COVID-19
- Asymptomatic patients or patients with mild symptoms of COVID-19
- Absence of comorbidities
- Access to a suitable space for home-based isolation and care
Emergency Medical Care: The Neglected Disease in Kenya
On 23rd July 2020, the Emergency Medicine Kenya (EMK) Foundation presented this report to The Senate Standing Committee on Health, The Republic of Kenya that summarises the current practice of emergency medical care in Kenya and identifies priority actions for use by policymakers and other stakeholders as a roadmap toward strengthening emergency care in the country.
Survey says 90 per cent of hospitals countrywide lack piped oxygen
Giving Oxygen to COVID-19 Patients in Kenya
As the COVID‐19 pandemic continues to unfold here in Kenya, more and more patients are requiring oxygen. To increase the capacity of healthcare facilities to provide oxygen to more patients, we have installed Oxygen Gas Manifolds in the emergency departments at the county referral hospitals in Machakos, Kiambu (COVID-19 isolation centre) and Kajiado counties and at the Alupe Sub-County Hospital COVID-19 isolation centre in Busia county. These are the hardest hit counties at the moment and we continue to seek additional support to support more facilities.
The Recovery Trial: Effect of Dexamethasone in Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19 – Preliminary Report
The findings of this well done randomized controlled trial indicate that in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia, that dexamethasone improves 28d mortality compared to placebo in patients requiring invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) (NNT = 8.5) and those patients requiring oxygen therapy (NNT = 29). There was no benefit to patients not requiring oxygenation support and even a signal for harm. It is important to remember this is a preprint, preliminary report, which is better than a press release. At this time, in patients requiring any oxygen therapy, HFNC, NIV, IMV, or ECMO I would recommend dexamethasone until further evidence disproves this benefit.
2020 International Society of Hypertension Global Hypertension Practice Guidelines
In accordance with most major guidelines it is recommended that hypertension be diagnosed when a person’s systolic blood pressure (SBP) in the office or clinic is ≥140 mm Hg and/or their diastolic blood pressure (DBP) is ≥90 mm Hg following repeated examination.