Introduction to Novel Coronavirus 19 (COVID-19), Its Impact and Treatments under Investigation

Document Type : Descriptive & Survey

Authors
A. Liu 1
P. Arora 2
M. Sareen 3
1 University of British Columbia
2 Open Learning Faculty , Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, BC, Canada.
3 Instructor, Okanagan Valley College of Massage Therapy, Vernon, BC, Canada.
10.29252/iem.6.2.143
Abstract
Aims: This study aimed to provide more information about the influence of Coronavirus Disease2019 (COVID-19) on infected individuals. The symptoms, conditions, and treatments used may be served as important clues to find out potential medications.

Materials & Methods: Various current papers were reviewed, and the findings were summarized. In addition, other diseases such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), which have similar causes or symptoms in patients, were investigated.

Findings: The most common symptoms in infected patients were fever (98%), dry cough (76%), and dyspnoea (55%). Mechanical ventilation was the main supportive treatment for ICU patients, and the mortality rate of patients with chronic diseases in the intensive care unit (ICU) was high (55%). The virus is highly contagious compared to the previous Betacoronaviruses causing epidemic, but its mortality rate is lower so that most of the infected patients studied had minor symptoms or were asymptomatic. Several treatments, such as antiviral agents and antimalarial drugs, are presently being proposed and tested, but none have yet been proven to be effective.

Conclusions: Seniors and patients with chronic diseases are at higher risk of COVID-19 induced severe consequences and mortality. Currently, supportive treatment is the mainstay for severely ill patients.

Keywords

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Infection Epidemiology and Microbiology
Volume 6, Issue 2
June 2020
Pages 143-151