Lack of ‘guidelines’ to treat long COVID: docs
NEW YORK, Oct 12, (AP): A new survey from Sermo, a physician-first online community and leader in global HCP insights, found that the majority of physicians feel there is a lack of clinical guidelines to diagnose and treat long COVID in patients in their practices. The survey of more than 1,100 global physicians found that 86% felt there is a lack of clinical guidance on how to diagnose long COVID and 87% reported that they felt there is a lack of clinical guidance on how to treat long COVID in patients.
Long COVID is a pressing issue for many physicians. 62% of surveyed physicians reported that they are seeing an increase in Long COVID symptoms in patients in their practice and 71% reported seeing an increase in patients being concerned about long COVID. Physicians are also acutely aware of Long COVID’s potential effect on their patients for developing new health conditions as more than half (57%) of surveyed physicians are seeing patients in their practices newly diagnosed with another condition (autoimmune diseases, IBD, myocarditis, A-fib, etc.) following a COVID infection. Long COVID is also affecting patient mental health as 77% of surveyed physicians reported that they are seeing an increase in mental health issues with patients in their practices who are dealing with Long COVID.
Booster apathy is high among already vaccinated patients. While 87% of USbased surveyed physicians are recommending that patients get the new bivalent COVID booster; more than half (54%) of physicians report that patients who are already vaccinated are resistant to getting it. When asked why vaccinated patients were resistant to getting the new bivalent COVID booster, surveyed physicians reported the most common reason they hear from patients is that they will be infected regardless of being boosted (58%), followed by they are “over it” with pandemic fatigue (57%), and they are fearful they will feel unwell from the booster (48%).
Booster
Patients are also ready to take a chance on when they felt they need the new booster, as nearly a quarter (24%) of surveyed US-based physicians reported that patients expressed wanting to wait to get boosted until there is an increase in local cases.
Unclear guidelines were among other reasons physicians were hearing from already vaccinated patients in their practices on why they aren’t getting the new bivalent COVID booster:
“Long COVID is a secondary pandemic crisis challenging both physicians and patients alike,” says Claudia Martorell, MD MPH FACP, Sermo Medical Advisory Board member. “Long COVID’s complexities and lack of clinical guidelines on how to treat it is of increasing frustration to many physicians trying to help patients in their practices.”
In addition to facing booster resistance among already vaccinated patients, surveyed physicians reported that misinformation continues to persist among patients in their practices. Nearly half (48%) of US-based surveyed physicians reported hearing misinformation from patients about the new bivalent COVID booster. When asked what misinformation they were hearing most often from patients about the bivalent COVID booster, surveyed physicians reported they most often heard you don’t need a booster if you’ve already had Covid (68%) followed by the vaccine was rushed into development and there is a lack of clinical data (58%).
This survey was fielded as part of Sermo’s ongoing Barometer survey. The survey included more than 1,100 global physicians who were surveyed between Sept 22 - 26, 2022.
Sermo turns physician experience, expertise, and observations into actionable insights for the global healthcare community. Engaging with more than 1.3 million HCPs across 150 countries, the company provides physicians with a social platform and unique community that fosters impactful peer-topeer collaboration & discussions about issues that are important to them and their patients. Sermo offers on-demand access to physicians via a suite of proprietary technology to provide business intelligence that benefits pharmaceutical, healthcare partners, and the medical community at large. To learn more, visit www.sermo.com
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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico: A nonprofit organization on Tuesday called on Haiti’s government to release certain inmates amid a swift rise in cholera cases throughout the country’s severely crowded prison system and dwindling supplies of clean water.
Health through Walls, which provides medical care to prisoners in Haiti, noted that not only inmates are at risk, but also security guards, kitchen workers and health staff.
“Immediate action is necessary to avert more preventable deaths within the prisons,” the organization said. “The situation has not been more dire.”
The call comes as Haiti remains largely paralyzed by gangs and antigovernment protesters, leading to severe shortages of fuel, water and other basic supplies as the government calls for the immediate intervention of foreign troops.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price said Tuesday that the government is reviewing Haiti’s request for help in coordination with international partners.
“We strongly condemn all of those who stand in the way of the equitable and immediate distribution of much-needed humanitarian supplies,” he said. “This is a status quo that cannot persist, and we will continue to work and to speak with international partners on ways that we can facilitate the delivery of vital humanitarian assistance to the Haitian people, including critical medical support to address the cholera outbreak.”
US Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian Nichols was scheduled to fly to Haiti on Wednesday as part of an official two-day visit.
Overall, Haiti has reported at least 18 cholera deaths with more than 200 people hospitalized after announcing last week the first cholera deaths reported in three years. Since then, the number of cases has risen, particularly in prisons.
Medical staff working at the National Penitentiary in Portau-Prince, which is Haiti’s largest prison with more than 4,000 inmates, have reported at least 21 deaths and 147 hospitalizations from Oct. 4-11, said Michelle Karshan, co-founder of the nonprofit.
The cholera bacteria spreads easily and can cause severe diarrhea and dehydration that can be deadly.
Haiti’s 20 prisons hold roughly 11,000 inmates, and health advocates are extremely worried given that the occupancy rate in the country’s four main prisons exceeds more than 400%. In addition, inmates have long faced a major shortage of food, water and medical care, according to a recent United Nations report.
This year alone, more than 180 inmates have died of severe malnutrition, according to a letter from the United Nations’ secretary-general that has not been publicized but was shared with The Associated Press on Sunday.
The United Nations also noted in its report that there is only one doctor for more than 1,000 detainees, and that drug deliveries are “rare and limited.”
“Detainees are entirely dependent on the care provided by charitable organizations,” it said.
Health Through Walls asked Haiti’s Justice Minister to release inmates who are critically ill, malnourished or those who have served their time but have not gone to trial, among others.
“Pretrial detention continues to fill the prisons and is creating additional stress in the justice system during this crisis period when basic needs cannot be met,” the organization said.
More than 83% of inmates have not yet been tried, with some waiting nearly a decade for their first court appearance, according to the UN report.