The number of COVID-19 patients at The University of Kansas Health System remains steady today.11 people with the active virus are being treated, up from nine yesterday. Of those patients, two are in the ICU, down from three yesterday. Both of those patients are on ventilators, up from one yesterday. Seven other patients are still hospitalized because of COVID-19 but are out of the acute infection phase, down from 11 yesterday. That’s a total of 18 patients, down from 20 yesterday. HaysMed has two active patients and one recovering patient, the same as yesterday. Doctors say they are pleasantly surprised with the current numbers, both here and in the U.S.
On today’s Morning Media Update, we looked at whether there is a connection between COVID-19 and strokes. Dr. Colleen Lechtenberg, neurologist and director of The Advanced Comprehensive Stroke Center and Dr. Matt Jones, Internal Medicine, helped explain why this is a complicated question that worries many neurologists.
Dr. Lechtenberg notes that she and her colleagues are seeing a fair number of patients in the long haulers clinic with neurological problems such as brain fog, headache, fatigue and malaise. She has also heard reports of some long haul patients whose symptoms have improved after getting the vaccine. She was stunned to find out that during the height of the pandemic, one in every five stroke activations at the health system was for a patient ultimately diagnosed with COVID-19. She says “COVID-19 played a major role in strokes during the peak time of the pandemic.” She’s glad to see that number has definitely dropped off. She warns that during a pandemic or not, a stroke is a challenge with two million brain cells dying every minute. Time is everything in trying to reverse the symptoms with interventions such as TPA, a clot-busting drug. She explains most hospitals can administer that first-line treatment, but only comprehensive stroke centers, like The University of Kansas Health System, can offer the next level of treatment. Her best advice is to get vaccinated and to seek medical care immediately at the first sign of a stroke, outlined in this video.
Dr. Jones cares for a lot of stroke patients and says not only is it important to recognize the early symptoms, it’s more important to prevent strokes in the first place. He has what he calls the Simple Seven ways to do that. 1) Stop smoking. 2) Eat a healthy diet. 3) Exercise daily. 4) Understand BMI (body mass index.) 5) Control blood pressure. 6) Keep cholesterol low. 7) Control blood sugars. He also says e-cigarettes and vaping, far from being a safer alternative to regular cigarettes, are designed to get tobacco and nicotine into your body at a much higher rate. He stressed that despite how they are marketed, those devices are not recommended for people trying to quit smoking.
Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of Infection Prevention and Control at The University of Kansas Health System, noted new reports showing vaccinated healthcare workers who are routinely exposed to COVID-19 patients have shown up to 94 percent effectiveness in resisting the disease. He also thinks we need to be watchful for the latest virus mutation coming from India, which seems to be spreading. He says churchgoers will be a whole lot safer when vaccinated and until they are, they need to keep wearing masks and keep socially distancing while worshiping. He continues to urge everyone 12 and older to get vaccinated and says there’s no shortage of vaccine, just a shortage of arms.
Steve Stites, MD, chief medical officer at The University of Kansas Health System, said medical marijuana has the same risks as any other kind of smoking because a foreign substance is being inhaled. He said the same is true of cigar smoking, even for those who say they don’t inhale, because cigars can cause throat and mouth cancer. He also wonders if it’s too soon to have full attendance at Royals games. He believes for someone who’s vaccinated it’s not too soon. But it’s another story for those who have not, and they need to wear a mask. He notes it’s hard to know the community rate of infection because testing is down so much. While he says it’s a good sign that hospitalizations are down, we should watch the data for another month and if it remains good, he’s all for heading to the K.
Thursday, May 20 at 8:00 a.m. is the next Morning Media Update. Remember COVID toes? Add hair loss, skin rashes and undiagnosed skin cancers to the list of conditions Dr. Anand Rajpara says he's seeing in his patients. He’s medical director of dermatology here at the health system and KC Care Director of the Free Dermatology clinic.
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