The number of COVID patients at The University of Kansas Health System is holding steady today. 27 with the active virus are being treated, the same as yesterday. Seven of those patients are in the ICU, the same as yesterday. Five are on ventilators, up from three yesterday. 14 other patients are still hospitalized because of COVID but are out of the acute infection phase, up from 13 yesterday. That’s a total of 41 patients, up from 40 yesterday.
On today’s Morning Medical Update, sleep is precious no matter when and how you're able to get it. But COVID has caused a lot of people to lose valuable shut eye. Dr. Damien Stevens, a pulmonologist and sleep expert at The University of Kansas Health System, joined with advice on how to cope. He also discussed an important recall of CPAP machines affecting a lot of patients and what to do if you have one.
Before discussing today’s topic, Steve Stites, MD, chief medical officer at The University of Kansas Health System and Matt Shoemaker, MD, an infectious disease physician, had the latest on the omicron variant. It’s now confirmed in the U.S., brought to California by a traveler from South Africa where it originated. They pointed out that the country was very transparent with the world about the variant, which has helped give everyone a big head start on what to expect. But they wonder whether closing the borders will have much effect as the virus is already spreading. They did stress that the current vaccines should be effective against the omicron variant. They also looked at vaccination rates in Kansas, which are up to 66 percent of the population having at least one dose. They showed a map of the hotspots around the state, which are currently in the west and heading east.
Dr. Stevens had a lot to say about sleep, mainly, “There’s nothing good that happens with sleep when it relates to COVID.” It’s caused much anxiety which has led to either too much or too little sleep, what he calls, “a pandemic of insomnia.” Without proper treatment, he says sleep deprivation can have long-term consequences like heart problems and mental health issues. He sees patients every day who are not getting enough sleep and how it even affects their behavior with family and coworkers. He says anything less than five hours of sleep leads to a severe decline in functioning. He stressed it’s not just the quantity of sleep but the quality that matters and calls the lack of sleep a public health crisis.
Dr. Stevens also discussed sleep apnea, a topic important to many people, especially those who use a CPAP machine to help them get a good night’s sleep. One of the biggest machine makers, Phillips Respironics, has had a major recall of its devices due to flaw which could cause a harmful gas to be emitted. He suggests contacting the manufacturer to get on the list for a replacement. He described the symptoms of sleep apnea and why overweight people are more likely to have it, though some who are not, like Dr. Stites, have it too. He said naps are OK, as long as they don’t last too long. That could cause you to lose sleep overnight. Too much alcohol or caffeine is also a big problem in the evening. For women, childbirth and menopause are the two events that have the biggest effect on sleep His advice is to take care of yourself and take a break from social media before bedtime.
Friday, December 3 at 8:00 a.m. is the next Morning Medical Update. Dr. Stevens agreed to come back to help answer all of the sleep questions we couldn’t get to today. We'll also get to your follow up Friday questions, and talk about the omicron variant now that it's been confirmed here in the US. Plus, the community blood center is reaching out and needs all of our help. How you can give the best gift ever this season and it won't cost you a thing!
NOTE: Journalists should rejoin the Morning Medical Update at 8am as doctors are growing too busy again for individual interview requests. Please bring questions or send to medicalnewsnetwork@kumc.edu until further notice. Thanks for all you do and helping to keep the community safe with your reporting.
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