According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the week ending November 30, 2024, there has been a rate of 0.8 hospitalizations per 100,000 people, and this shows a good downward trend over the last few weeks.1
Although the number of hospitalizations have decreased significantly since the beginning of the pandemic, there are waves where incidence rates increase and a number of people who are contracting severe cases of COVID-19 need to be hospitalized.
During the height of the pandemic and before the development of vaccines and therapies, there were therapeutic limitations and patients could be put on mechanical ventilation or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).
COVID-19 Therapy Roundtable Panel
- Tina Tan, MD, professor of Pediatrics, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University
- Scott Roberts, MD, associate medical director of Infection Prevention, Yale School of Medicine
- James Wilson, DO, FACP, FAWM, CTropMed, critical care physician in private practice
- Michael Curulewski, PharmD, BCPS, BCIDP, BCGP infectious diseases and antimicrobial stewardship pharmacist, Endeavor health, Northwest Community Hospital
ECMO was utilized more frequently in a time when there was not other treatments. And in some select cases, James Wilson, DO, FACP, FAWM, CTropMed, says ECMO did show some benefit, and there might be some select situations where it might be warranted but overall he says treatment protocols have changed considerably since 2020.
“If they’re breathing at 40 times a minute for more than an hour, you’re going to have to do it [ECMO],” Wilson. “But now we have modalities to treat those patients.”
One of the treatments that emerged was remdesivir for inpatients with severe COVID-19.
“I triage COVID between requiring oxygen and not requiring oxygen,” said Scott Roberts, MD, associate medical director of Infection Prevention, Yale School of Medicine. “And then once you become severe enough to require it, we really start remdesivir as soon as we can in the inpatient setting. And we know from many studies at this point there are reductions in mortality in those who do receive remdesivir. We use it for all really severe patients.”
This is episode 2 of our 4-part series. Check back for future episodes.
