Journal of wound care
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Journal of wound care · May 2020
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy in preventing mechanical ventilation in COVID-19 patients: a retrospective case series.
A pandemic afflicts the entire world. The highly contagious SARS-CoV-2 virus originated in Wuhan, China in late 2019 and rapidly spread across the entire globe. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)has infected more than two million people worldwide, causing over 160,000 deaths. Patients with COVID-19 disease present with a wide array of symptoms, ranging from mild flu-like complaints to life threatening pulmonary and cardiac complications. Older people and patients with underlying disease have an increased risk of developing severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) requiring mechanical ventilation. Once intubated, mortality increases exponentially. A number of pharmacologic regimens, including hydroxychloroquine-azithromycin, antiviral therapy (eg, remdesevir), and anti-IL-6 agents (e.g., toclizumab), have been highlighted by investigators over the course of the pandemic, based on the therapy's potential to interrupt the viral life-cycle of SARS-CoV-2 or preventing cytokine storm. At present, there have been no conclusive series of reproducible randomised clinical trials demonstrating the efficacy of any one drug or therapy for COVID-19. ⋯ This small sample of patients exhibited dramatic improvement with HBOT. Most importantly, HBOT potentially prevented the need for mechanical ventilation. Larger studies are likely to define the role of HBOT in the treatment of this novel disease.
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Journal of wound care · May 2020
Case ReportsThe management of paediatric burns with Burns and Wounds ointment and burdock leaves: a case series.
In the Amish community, natural therapies, such as Burns and Wounds (B&W) ointment and burdock leaves, are preferred over modern medicine when treating burn wounds. The primary aim of this case series is to highlight the use and clinical outcomes of this treatment for paediatric Amish patients. ⋯ Managing burn wounds with B&W ointment and burdock leaves should be considered as an additional option for wound care in select cases. However, the efficacy of this therapy is limited and standard-of-care modern medical burn treatments should remain an option for these patients. It is critically important to build a mutually respectful relationship with Amish patients' community leaders, as this allows open communication and collaboration in patient care and increases the likelihood that Amish guardians will bring their children to a hospital when necessary.