CMAAO IMA HCFI COVID Myths Busters 3

CMAAO IMA HCFI COVID Myths Busters 3

Dr KK Aggarwal

President CMAAO, HCFI and Past National President IMA

Ten seconds self check for corona

False. A recent viral coronavirus "simple self-check test," which medical experts say is completely inaccurate.

Written on what appears to be the iPhone notes app, the three-part post falsely claims that people can find out whether they have coronavirus simply by holding their breath for more than 10 seconds. If they can hold their breath without coughing, the test claims they don't have the virus.

The post, which began circulating Twitter, Facebook, and emails last week, was falsely credited to a member of the "Stanford Hospital board." Stanford Health Care spokeswoman Lisa Kim told CNN the "dangerous" post is not affiliated with Stanford Medicine and "contains inaccurate information."

All surfaces need equal disinfection in hospitals

American Hospital Association said that while frequent cleaning is standard, hospitals should give special attention to "high-touch surfaces such as in-room phones, TV/nurse calls, light switches and cords, handles, drawer pulls, bed rails, tray tables and bathroom fixtures."

Chloroquine is a must in corona infection

Could the old generic malaria drug hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil, Sanofi-Aventis, among others), which is also used for the treatment of rheumatic disease, be an essential treatment for COVID-19?

This hypothesis, put forward by some, including Professor Didier Raoult of the IHU Méditerranée Infection in Marseille, was dismissed by other eminent infectious disease specialists and dismissed as fake news recently by the Ministry of Health.

Yet it resurfaced with the presentation on YouTube by Prof Raoult of positive results in a non-randomised, unblinded trial of 24 patients.

This follows encouraging in vitro results obtained by a Chinese team led by Xueting Yao, from Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China, which were published online by the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases on March 9th. However, the data were deemed insufficient by the infection community to recommend the compound as a treatment.

Moreover, chloroquine is not listed among the four treatments studied as part of the recently launched European clinical trial piloted by Inserm, which includes 3200 severe hospitalised patients, including 800 French patients.

Chloroquine was ruled out due to the risk of interactions with other medications for common comorbidities in infected patients, and because of possible adverse effects in patients undergoing resuscitation.

Antibacterial soap have an advantage

They have no added benefit.

Stock up on vitamin C

No.  Even in the cases of colds or flus, vitamin C hasn’t shown a consistent benefit. 

There is no evidence that supplements like zinc, green tea and echinacea are beneficial to prevent coronavirus.

Everyone should wear masks

No.  At present, we advise against healthy, symptom-free members of the general public wearing masks; hospital workers and those caring for infected patients are a different story.

Surgical masks are not intended to prevent us from getting a viral infection. Most of them are too loose to be effective. They can prevent an infected person from transmitting the disease. They are important for patients, not the public.

Wear gloves when touching common surfaces like elevator buttons and subway poles

May be. Wearing gloves may not be effective in preventing the spread of the virus, eventually, the gloves themselves become contaminated. Also most gloves have minute holes. Just simple hand washing with soap and water is the most time-tested and the most effective intervention.

Get your flu shot.

Yes, but not for coronavirus.  Getting a flu shot is “absolutely helpful” for ensuring good health in general.

Tocilizumab, is a new corona drug

China is using a Roche Holding AG arthritis drug to treat some coronavirus patients in severe conditions.

Tocilizumab, sold by the Swiss pharma giant under the trade name Actemra, can be prescribed to coronavirus patients who show serious lung damage and show elevated level of Interleukin 6, which could indicate inflammation or immunological diseases, the National Health Commission said in the latest version of its treatment guidelines published online. Actemra can help contain inflammation related to Interleukin 6, according to Roche.

In Home quarantine I am in a house arrest?

No. Instructions for contacts being home quarantined

The home quarantined person should:

1.     Stay in a well-ventilated single-room preferably with an attached/separate toilet. If another family member needs to stay in the same room, it’s advisable to maintain a distance of at least 1 meter between the two.

2.     Needs to stay away from elderly people, pregnant women, children and persons with co-morbidities within the household.

3.     Restrict his/her movement within the house.

4.     Under no circumstances attend any social/religious gathering e.g. wedding, condolences, etc.