Just my experience. Not aware of studies of "controlled vs uncontrolled" HTN and covid. Seems "HTN" diagnosis more prevalent in covid affected in RPCTs etc.
Marcus Aurelius said:https://www.al.com/news/2020/11/covid-vaccine-wont-stop-current-wave-of-alabama-cases-hospitalizations-soar.htmlGumby said:
Also if OP is in Alabama, hospitalizations there are down 33% from the summer peak.
"The number of patients hospitalized statewide with coronavirus has been rising for the last month. In Jefferson County, that number has increased by 76 percent since Oct. 1."
That from UAB today.
Fitch said:I'm confused - the chart in the link shows today as a new daily record of total hospitalized, having passed through the previous peak count two days ago.Gumby said:
Nationwide, hospitalizations are still below the summer peak. Our ICUs in VA are at their lowest levels since the start of the pandemic. Seems like some regional outbreaks are occurring.
Definitely something to keep an eye on. Regional restrictions may be necessary but in VA we are down over 33% since the summer peak and we've been open the whole time. Lockdown makes no sense here.
https://covidtracking.com/data/charts/us-currently-hospitalized
Agreed on the regional outbreaks.
https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/article/41/22/2058/5851436Marcus Aurelius said:
Just my experience. Not aware of studies of "controlled vs uncontrolled" HTN and covid. Seems "HTN" diagnosis more prevalent in covid affected in RPCTs etc.
VKint said:
4 of my patients tested + this afternoon. So far all doing well but one is old and one obese so we will stay in close touch. (Actually all are old but in my practice old is a relative thing)
I would love to give them something that actually prevents hospitalization. Vitamin D evidence is sketchy at best. Sure, advise it but no evidence it actually prevents hospitalization. HCQ is finally no longer a discussion point. So many wasted hours. Zpack early? No evidence. Steroids? RECOVERY trial to my reading showed steroids early were not beneficial, maybe a detriment. They definitely help when Marcus and company are seeing you.
Correction - while typing this got another notification of a +test result. (Now 6 since 1:30 and it is now 4:30)
Anyway, fortunately the majority of these people that have tested + today will be fine and have no significant issues long term.
Vaccine is the real answer to keeping people out of the hospital. For many reasons a huge percentage of the population has given up on any mitigation efforts.
Marcus Aurelius said:No. Sorry misread your question. We've had 3 spikes of it here. March. July. Nov. Nov seems to be the worst.Aggie95 said:
are you saying someone had covid 3 times?
I have not seen a repeat infection pt so far.
So why is your area being hit multiple times, with multiple rounds of spikes and places like Collin County here in TX where I live hasn't had 1 spike? Serious question. What are your thoughts on that Doctor? Is it population density? Average education level of population? Income level? Population demo (Collin with younger residents as an example)? Is there an underlying reason some populations see major spikes multiple times while other haven't seen one yet if ever (God willing of course)?Marcus Aurelius said:
Yeah. 3. March. July. Now.
Honestly, as a personal trainer, it's boils down to our decisions we make. In terms of what we decide to eat, choosing not to train at all (walking a great start but NOT the end game-you don't have to train for a marathon or a powerlifting contest or be a tri athlete or body builder but you MUST add intensity and have a training program that is measurable and is designed to help you reach your ultimate goal and they are cheap and readily available as is online coaching and even very good resources on plate forms such as youtube). It's amazed me that more people who are obese haven't tried hard to get control of their health since March. I get it. It's not easy and we all have an attitude of "it won't get me, it'll get someone else, I'm fine" but seriously, if we focused a lot harder on getting ourselves into better shape and eating either a little bit less or eating more of the good stuff we need, a lot of this issue with the virus would be significantly eliminated.merc said:
It would seem like a wake up call to take general health more seriously. I've seen the idea of it being more of a syndemic than a pandemic being thrown around. I've no evidence either way but it makes a bit of sense to me. Obesity was a problem before this thing showed up and it seems to prey on it and the underlying effects of it. A bit off target(is it?) maybe butour processed food industry is one of the most dangerous things we have going and it seems to just skate right along. Anyway, there is way more complexity here than just this virus showing up is what I'm getting at I guess.
P.U.T.U said:
Collin county is mostly suburban with white collar jobs where a large majority can work from home and socially distance.
This. And we gather quite often. As in our neighborhood, birthday parties for the kids, inside and out, and never with masks. Not just me. Most that I know in the area. You'd think there would be a few mini spikes and yet, no. Most gyms don't require masks and few wear them. Movie theaters and restaurants may require entry but you can take them off once sitting. Soccer is maskless as are most kids sports I have seen. So are there other factors at play. Given the demographics of the area, are people in Collin County just more "healthy" overall, better able to afford better nutrition and counter measures like zinc or Vit D rich food and vitamins? There are a good mix racially too. Whites, AA, Hispanics and Asians/Indian. It could very well boil down to income, no doubt, but honestly, I do not feel our income level (not that high at all mind you) has afforded us a way to avoid the virus. Maybe my health insurance is better, don't know. But that would only take effect once I got the virus. I do think that a lot of stories we hear of those who are healthy passing away are people who just didn't get the proper treatment early enough. It's understandable that a healthy younger person might think they can just fight this off and not seek help. But those cases are rear and are situations of already being positive. But its the lack of positive cases or at least lack of reported cases in Collin and other communities around the country vs other places and is intriguing to me personally. Maybe we are just overall younger and healthier and just get it and fight through it or don't even know we have it. Honestly, I had a sinus/head cold last week. Biggest issue was drainage and a stopped up nose. No sore throat. Energy levels high or normal and even my lifts at the gym were great (biggest sign that I am ill is fatigue while training and a performance drop). Probably wasn't Covid but I never went to get tested. Maybe many around me don't either?DFWTLR said:P.U.T.U said:
Collin county is mostly suburban with white collar jobs where a large majority can work from home and socially distance.
True, however Collin Co has had less restrictions than Dallas, the resteraunts, bars, and gyms seem to be operating relatively normal and have been for quite some time.
I recall seeing studies saying our care of hospitalized patients has improved, but that means people staying in the hospital rather than dying and could and will exacerbate in capacity shortages.culdeus said:This narrative seems a little stretched. Seems like younger people are getting it making it appear the death rate is falling on a broad level. It's hard to gather if let's say 65+ rate of hospital/death is better. Certainly it looked that way for awhile, but what could also be true is that it wasn't enough of an improvement to avoid over-run of hospitals which is by and large what is happening in the mid-size regional hospital districts in Texas.Capitol Ag said:We don't know that they are having to make a live/die call at this point. It sounds like overall, the treatment currently given has reduced the likelihood of death significantly. Obviously, this is very regional and local the way things pop up. One area can be exploding and a close area near there can have no issues at all. Hopefully a vaccine is introduced soon enough to help those most at risk.culdeus said:
It's crazy how the attitudes for this changed so quickly.
Went from people sort of caring, to people literally not giving a single crap.
I don't have any idea what a world looks like with full hospitals and this bearing down, I would hate to think we are denying care and I would hate to think a Dr. has to make a live/die call. What a mess.
Good luck Doc. We are all thinking and praying for you and your staff.
This. This was what I was referring to. Not trying to start a "narrative" as was suggested in the prior reply, just stating what even doctors on this board and reports have stated. We are better at treating this and fewer are dying b/c of it.BiochemAg97 said:I recall seeing studies saying our care of hospitalized patients has improved, but that means people staying in the hospital rather than dying and could and will exacerbate in capacity shortages.culdeus said:This narrative seems a little stretched. Seems like younger people are getting it making it appear the death rate is falling on a broad level. It's hard to gather if let's say 65+ rate of hospital/death is better. Certainly it looked that way for awhile, but what could also be true is that it wasn't enough of an improvement to avoid over-run of hospitals which is by and large what is happening in the mid-size regional hospital districts in Texas.Capitol Ag said:We don't know that they are having to make a live/die call at this point. It sounds like overall, the treatment currently given has reduced the likelihood of death significantly. Obviously, this is very regional and local the way things pop up. One area can be exploding and a close area near there can have no issues at all. Hopefully a vaccine is introduced soon enough to help those most at risk.culdeus said:
It's crazy how the attitudes for this changed so quickly.
Went from people sort of caring, to people literally not giving a single crap.
I don't have any idea what a world looks like with full hospitals and this bearing down, I would hate to think we are denying care and I would hate to think a Dr. has to make a live/die call. What a mess.
Good luck Doc. We are all thinking and praying for you and your staff.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-03132-4VKint said:
4 of my patients tested + this afternoon. So far all doing well but one is old and one obese so we will stay in close touch. (Actually all are old but in my practice old is a relative thing)
I would love to give them something that actually prevents hospitalization. Vitamin D evidence is sketchy at best. Sure, advise it but no evidence it actually prevents hospitalization. HCQ is finally no longer a discussion point. So many wasted hours. Zpack early? No evidence. Steroids? RECOVERY trial to my reading showed steroids early were not beneficial, maybe a detriment. They definitely help when Marcus and company are seeing you.
Correction - while typing this got another notification of a +test result. (Now 6 since 1:30 and it is now 4:30)
Anyway, fortunately the majority of these people that have tested + today will be fine and have no significant issues long term.
Vaccine is the real answer to keeping people out of the hospital. For many reasons a huge percentage of the population has given up on any mitigation efforts.
No that is fine. Just take some extra at the time of diagnosis. Get your level checked next blood draw and shoot for a level over 55.Gumby said:
Thanks for posting this. My wife and i have been taking everything you suggested since it was first posted and have been COVID free. We are currently taking 5,000 IU of Vitamin D. Should we increase that level as a normal daily dose?
I still write it some but not as much as previously.OldArmy71 said:
Dr. Rev, are you no longer prescribing Hydroxy? Thanks.
That's a pretty stupid policy decision.ramblin_ag02 said:
We're seeing it here in rural North Texas in a big way. It's just been scattered cases until November. We've shut down schools and have a steady trickly of hospitalized COVID patients. The scariest thing for us is the difficulty to transfer. We can handle basic stuff, but we don't have an ICU or respiratory therapists. So anyone that gets sicker should be somewhere else. All the regional centers are refusing COVID patients. Some idiot in Austin decided that having >15% COVID on a hospital census means they have to shut down elective procedures. So all the big hospitals are holding that line to keep revenue coming in. I can't blame them, but that leaves small rural hospitals and patients in the lurch when someone really needs an ICU
Aggie95 said:
so even controlled HTN (with medication) is still a significant risk factor for hospitalization/sever infection?
Ugh. Hate to hear this. Bad decision for their education. Do you think it would do much to lesson the numbers?ramblin_ag02 said:
We're seeing it here in rural North Texas in a big way. It's just been scattered cases until November. We've shut down schools and have a steady trickly of hospitalized COVID patients. The scariest thing for us is the difficulty to transfer. We can handle basic stuff, but we don't have an ICU or respiratory therapists. So anyone that gets sicker should be somewhere else. All the regional centers are refusing COVID patients. Some idiot in Austin decided that having >15% COVID on a hospital census means they have to shut down elective procedures. So all the big hospitals are holding that line to keep revenue coming in. I can't blame them, but that leaves small rural hospitals and patients in the lurch when someone really needs an ICU
After looking more at the state by state data, it looks like the Midwest states + MT, ND, SD, OK, AR are the ones that are currently experiencing record hospitalizations. East Coast, West Coast, and South are well below the peak hospitalization levels.Fitch said:
Gotcha. Yeah, that's strange it would be different across platforms.
Were the schools driving the spread of COVID or was there some other source? Halloween?ramblin_ag02 said:
No clue. Whole grades were under quarantine, so at some point it just didn't make sense to have school open. And this is super Red, Trump-loving rural Texas
VKint said:
ID neighbor of mine is getting ground down. Numbers are horrifying. Is your hospital requiring ID for all COVID cases or getting called for a lot more VAP in addition to usual nosocomial infections?