(COVID/ETC CONTENT HERE) China Locks Down 11 Million in Wuhan,

I listened to that live also. Anyone else? Real world not living up to the models so far, which is good. Perhaps the media and left too invested now to even mention this?

Dr. Birx: Coronavirus Data Doesn't Match The Doomsday Media Predictions

White House coronavirus task force member Dr. Deborah Birx warned the public not to panic when they hear about models and projections of the pandemic's spread.

"Models are models," she said. "When people start talking about 20% of a population getting infected, it's very scary, but we don't have data that matches that based on our experience."

She said the media should not "make the implication that when they need a hospital bed it's not going to be there, or a ventilator, it's not going to be there, we don't have evidence of that."

"It's our job collectively to assure the American people," she also said. "There is no model right now -- no reality on the ground where we can see that 60% to 70% of Americans are going to get infected in the next eight to 12 weeks. I want to be clear about that."

Cont:

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/vi...analysis.html?

Originally Posted by WillBrink

I listened to that live also. Anyone else? Real world not living up to the models so far, which is good. Perhaps the media and left too invested now to even mention this?

Dr. Birx: Coronavirus Data Doesn't Match The Doomsday Media Predictions

White House coronavirus task force member Dr. Deborah Birx warned the public not to panic when they hear about models and projections of the pandemic's spread.

"Models are models," she said. "When people start talking about 20% of a population getting infected, it's very scary, but we don't have data that matches that based on our experience."

She said the media should not "make the implication that when they need a hospital bed it's not going to be there, or a ventilator, it's not going to be there, we don't have evidence of that."

"It's our job collectively to assure the American people," she also said. "There is no model right now -- no reality on the ground where we can see that 60% to 70% of Americans are going to get infected in the next eight to 12 weeks. I want to be clear about that."

Cont:

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/vi...analysis.html?

I read that, and I have a couple thoughts. My first one was, uh oh. Remember the scene from that movie where somebody says don't panic, and everyone starts to panic? I think she's trying to tell us to not panic. I think just as that one model from England was the worst case scenario, I think she is trying to portray the best case scenario. And generally I think I'm okay with that.

But here's the other dirty little secret. Even if the CFR is super low, and we only see half the cases she thinks, the reality is we're seeing more patients in the ICUs, and we will continue to do so. While it will be better for the economy and everyone overall, that is sure going to slam the hospitals.

Originally Posted by Arik

How would they know what their sats are like while sitting at home?

You can buy a pulse oximeter at Walgreen's or CVS, no doubt on Amazon too. Not a bad idea to get one. Just remember you get what you pay for.....they have $30 ones and some run up around $100 and anywhere in-between.

If you get one keep in mind it's called a pulse oximeter for a reason: it gives a heart rate as well as an oxygen saturation level. Before you freak over a 65% sat manually check your pulse and see if it is within a few beats of what you're counting. The pulse needs to be within a few beats in order to rely on the oxygen saturation level reading. I had a patient come to me once with his broke-dick, bargain basement pulse ox and was frantic that his sat was like 70%. I looked at the pulse ox and said "Do you really think your heat rate is 30?" I checked it manually and his HR was >100. I put him on my pulse ox (hospital table-top model with a nice pleth tracing, excellent for ascertaining validity of the reading) and it was in the low 90's. He was a COPD patient so I told him to relax and instructed him to do the above method and see if the HR are close on the little pulse ox and what he is getting manually.

Originally Posted by BFS

Arik,
You can buy pulse oximeters over the counter at CVS, they are cheap, theyre the type that clamps on to your finger and uses a photosensor.
Are these consumer units accurate, ABNAK?

That's how they all operate, even the hospital ones which are part of an elaborate ICU monitor.

From my experience they are decent, much much better than nothing and well worth the price. Like I mentioned in the previous post, just make sure your pulse matches what is on the pulse ox within a few beats.

Originally Posted by FromMyColdDeadHand

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/coronavirus/

Look at these numbers. The Chinese govt is lying to us.

If I squint at these numbers and based on what I understand about Italy and Spain, it looks like about 100,000 deaths in the US. Total swag.

If you weren’t in one of these high-risk groups, but we see that there are a fair number admissions for people outside of those groups, if you had access at home to medical 02, would you use some of that to keeps your stats up rather than go to the hospital? Asking for a friend.

If you were not a COPD patient and your sats were dropping (below 93% I think I saw for healthy people) then you just might be in that 15-20% that need hospitalized. With this crap if a healthy guy dropped to 93% I'd watch it like a hawk. If it kept dropping (I would definitely say by 90%) I'd be making the advance notice call as I got into the car.

Originally Posted by ABNAK

If you were not a COPD patient and your sats were dropping (below 93% I think I saw for healthy people) then you just might be in that 15-20% that need hospitalized. With this crap if a healthy guy dropped to 93% I'd watch it like a hawk. If it kept dropping (I would definitely say by 90%) I'd be making the advance notice call as I got into the car.

I’m down to 95 and starting to get anxious myself. If I hit 93 I’m heading to the hospital. I’ve never coughed so much in my life. I think I may have broken a rib.

Originally Posted by Heavyweight

I’m down to 95 and starting to get anxious myself. If I hit 93 I’m heading to the hospital. I’ve never coughed so much in my life. I think I may have broken a rib.

Yeah dude, if it goes that low head in. From what I hear the "downward spiral" happens rather quickly so be prophylactic and get admitted.

Really hope we hear good news from you.

*you're an MD so I'm surely not preaching but I read an article today that said even with non-intubated patients it helps to lay prone. If they put you on O2 roll on over baby!

Originally Posted by ABNAK

If you were not a COPD patient and your sats were dropping (below 93% I think I saw for healthy people) then you just might be in that 15-20% that need hospitalized. With this crap if a healthy guy dropped to 93% I'd watch it like a hawk. If it kept dropping (I would definitely say by 90%) I'd be making the advance notice call as I got into the car.

Originally Posted by Heavyweight

I’m down to 95 and starting to get anxious myself. If I hit 93 I’m heading to the hospital. I’ve never coughed so much in my life. I think I may have broken a rib.

Now wait a minute, I was in the low 80s (primary care and at special class). I was not at deaths door or anything. My primary gave me some kind of misty stuff to breathe gave me a bottle of O2 and called ahead to the tent city. I was holding 92-94 at 3 liters per minute(?). They talked a good game about keeping me but let me roll out as long as I was doing home O2. I don't have a monitor, my AO is sold out. I am currently running at a 2 kind of part time. I only have issues when I have a deep clearing cough. Obviously you guys are WAY more knowledgeable than I, your numbers are just a lot higher than my personal experience. ?

I get you on the rib thing though. I have experienced broken ribs and I would have sworn that I broke one coughing. But, they took x-rays of my lungs and I very highly doubt they would have missed that.

This has been the hardest hitting, fastest moving who flung goo that I have ever had. I mean from a "tickle cough" to 104+ hallucinagenic fever (but I am pretty sure the smurf astronauts were real) in about 18-20 hours with onset of pneumonia (bronchial with one lower lobe ?) First time primary sent me to ER. Within another 24 hours fever broken, coughing like I inhaled a swarm of freaking locusts, and apparently a bit under inflated. Second trip to ER from primary. All this and I have a positive type A, inconclusive / negative for covid (the only reason they are even talking about the covid is due to the speed and intensity, I have no reason to believe that I have/had the actual boogeybug. ). However through all of that, I never had any sense from myself or the docs that I had a really serious, gonna need some serious remedial training on staying alive, type of problem.

So be careful out there. Apparently seasonal flu this year can equate with a south side of Chicago mugging. If this is getting of easy I feel for you that get it bad.

Originally Posted by ABNAK

Yeah dude, if it goes that low head in. From what I hear the "downward spiral" happens rather quickly so be prophylactic and get admitted.

Really hope we hear good news from you.

*you're an MD so I'm surely not preaching but I read an article today that said even with non-intubated patients it helps to lay prone. If they put you on O2 roll on over baby!

There is so much I don’t know about COVID19. Preach away....

You’re one hundred percent right on lying prone. We’ve been doing it for a while with ventilated patients with other severe respiratory infections. The only problem I have with it is that the tracheal tubes are constantly getting blocked. What I didn’t know was that there is benefit for non-intubated patients. So thanks Abnak. That was news to me.

Originally Posted by Heavyweight

There is so much I don’t know about COVID19. Preach away....

You’re one hundred percent right on lying prone. We’ve been doing it for a while with ventilated patients with other severe respiratory infections. The only problem I have with it is that the tracheal tubes are constantly getting blocked. What I didn’t know was that there is benefit for non-intubated patients. So thanks Abnak. That was news to me.

Well if you think about it the theory still applies be it intubated or not. Obviously more effective while intubated (ventilation-wise what isn't?) but simply have the patient roll onto their belly. I'm not a stomach sleeper so it wouldn't be real comfortable to me but if I knew I was sick and needing supplemental O2? Rollin' over brutha!