Traditional medicine, plasma injection or even corticosteroids, in the main hospital in Shanghai, which welcomes patients contaminated by the new coronavirus, a cocktail of treatments to combat the disease is used.
The prospect of a COVID-19 pneumonia vaccine is still far away. Doctors, both in China and elsewhere, are forced to use other methods in hopes of curing patients. This is the case of the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, the most populous city in China (24 million inhabitants).
The yellow structure, built during the SARS epidemic (2002-2003), has expanded in recent weeks to cope with the influx of patients. But his doctors recognize him, the coronavirus, which already infected more than 72,000 people in China – of which almost 1,900 mortally – is pushing the health system to its limit.
“Welcoming so many serious cases at the same time is a great challenge,” says Lu Hongzhou, deputy director of the hospital, during a visit organized by the authorities for the press.
Very good effect
To date, Shanghai recorded 333 infected people, including one dead. The Public Health Clinical Center hosted 96% of them, and currently has 184 patients, while the rest is cured.
To treat them, the hospital uses, among other things, antiviral medications, corticosteroids (anti-inflammatories), and uses traditional Chinese medicine. “We have personalized treatments for patients with serious illnesses, since each person’s health status is different,” Lu Hongzhou emphasizes.
According to him, two patients who had not responded to antiviral medications received a traditional Chinese medicine (MTC) treatment and improved their conditions. “Combining Western and Chinese medicine has a very good effect,” he congratulates, stressing that 90% of his patients are treated with MTC, at least in part.
However, his colleague Shen Yinzhong, director of medical services, stresses that the hospital must perform “more clinical tests to ensure its safety and efficacy.”
Plasma
Like other hospitals, the Shanghai establishment also injects blood plasma from expanding. It is supposed to contain antibodies that reduce the viral load of those severely affected.
“We are convinced that this method can be very effective,” says Lu Hongzhou in the halls of his establishment, where specialists from other hospital structures joined the healthcare team, which can no longer take vacations.
The doctors and nurses who care for the sick wear full suits. However, journalists were not allowed to see patients to avoid a risk of infection.
To protect the staff, dozens of rooms were subjected to “negative pressure”, a ventilation system that allows the air to enter but not leave. “The harmful drops exhaled by the patients are aspirated and filtered,” explains Lu. The objective is to prevent the escape of infectious agents.
– .
