New Covid-19 crisis hits ICUs as more patients need dialysis

[bluewater]

Source: CNN

Emergency room doctors say they are running into a new crisis as they struggle to treat patients with Covid-19 -- a shortage of dialysis machines and supplies.
They say they are overwhelmed, not only because patients are going into kidney failure, but also because the body's intense reaction to the virus is often causing their blood to clot too much, and the clots are literally clogging up the dialysis filters.
It's part of the new syndrome that doctors are seeing in Covid-19 patients. They are not dying from the pneumonia that has been one of the defining symptoms of serious Covid-19 disease, but from other systemic effects on their hearts and other organs.

What exactly are 'underlying conditions?' And why people with them may experience more serious illness from coronavirus
"It's taken everyone by surprise because it is acting so different from everything else," said Dr. Sam Parnia, a critical care specialist at New York University Langone Medical Center.

"They are not dying because they can't get enough oxygen. They are actually dying because of other complications and it is predominately due to blood clots."

And these blood clots are clogging up the filters used to clean the blood during dialysis, Parnia and other doctors told CNN. Intensive care units are already struggling to get enough dialysis equipment and staff to care for Covid-19 patients and the crisis is made worse because they go through so many supplies. "There aren't enough filters," Parnia told CNN.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/17/health/coronavirus-kidney-dialysis-need/index.html

[iemitsu]

1. Some 1st world country.

The only thing we seem to have in abundance is a bloviating gas bag's corruption.

[IronLionZion]

4. I'm sure the private sector will find a very efficient solution to this problem

to max out their profits at astronomical prices

[iemitsu]

6. Capitalists see opportunity

in a crisis.

[IronLionZion]

8. I'm sure companies will make more dialysis machines

at opportunistic prices for those who can pay for it

[iemitsu]

9. You got it.

[sheshe2]

2. The news keeps getting worse. nt

[bronxiteforever]

10. +1 what you said.

[liberalmuse]

3. Collectively, Americans are in such poor shape

That the underlying conditions are killing us before it can even get to pneumonia. We have our greedy, for-profit healthcare system to thank for that (and of course, the GOP).

[woodsprite]

5. Major infections can cause disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC)

That’s what my mom died from years ago. Sometimes if they can find and fix the root cause, patients can get better. We even had a Johns Hopkins blood specialist working on her case and they couldn’t figure it out. It came to the pony that her body was breaking down, leaking lymph, and she was aware and helped us make the decision to discontinue the IVs that were keeping her alive.

[Bluepinky]

13. So sorry. But your mom sounds like she was a brave woman.

That’s good she was awake and able to make decisions about her care. She knew when she had had enough.

So many patients in ICUs are not able to participate in their own care, so family members are forced to make decisions for them. They frequently want their loved one to remain “full code” for too long, leading to an unnecessarily long and agonizing death. Or the person survives, but with a poor quality of life and functional status.

[progree]

7. Let's open up the economy and see how much worse the C19 death toll can get --Trumpsters

Last edited Fri Apr 17, 2020, 06:36 PM - Edit history (1)

or as my parents used to say, "I'll give you something to cry about"

Protesters plan 'Freedom Rally' in Wisconsin after governor extends stay-at-home order, The Hill, 4/17/20

Protesters are planning a “Freedom Rally” in Wisconsin following the governor’s extension of a stay-at-home order, marking the latest public backlash to state efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The demonstration, led by ReOpen Wisconsin and Wisconsinites Against Excessive Quarantine, is scheduled for April 24, the day the governor's initial order was slated to expire.

More:https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142472994

And this a day or two after the pathetic fuckwads had their little Michigan demonstration

[Frustratedlady]

11. What doesn't this virus do? Good grief!

I feel so sorry for the victims and angry toward the protestors who think this is all a joke.

I was talking with a friend in Michigan about their governor and the horrible way Trump was treating her. She said she had heard an interview with one of the protestors. They asked him why he was standing close to others and not wearing a mask. He said he wasn't afraid of the virus as he was a Christian.

I wonder if he knows what all these patients are going through? He needs to be put in charge of bedpans, or some such.

[BigmanPigman]

12. "Probable deaths" needs to be a new category for each state

to report to the CDC like NYC is doing.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/us-data/

[DeminPennswoods]

14. Having watched

both parents pass away, this is how the body dies, a cascading effect of organ failure that ultimately results death.

[Demsrule86]

15. My brother had a huge blood clot in his lung...he was treated as if it was a regular blood clot and

on oxygen. He survived. And is now home under quarantine. He did not need the ventilator but who knows what is ahead.

[riversedge]

16. so, they make it through the worst of the Respiratory problems, then their kidneys fail and

hospitals are short of dialysis filters to clean the blood. It just gets worse. And all this as Trump's ego is feeling sad. damn.