Doc, I appreciate your giving clarity to this thing. I know you're beyond busy. I have a question and am hoping if you see this post you can shed a little light on it.
I'm reading where tPA has shown some promise in those with advanced COVID-19 by breaking up pulmonary clots and also small clots in the aveoli. Apparently COVID pts are hypercoagulable and are clotting off their IVs, as well as having kidney and heart failure. A 2001 study showed promise in this area and I believe there is a compassionate use study underway. As an ER doc, I assume you've had experience with lytics for MI and stroke. I know it's damned expensive, but nearly every ER should have it on hand. Any thoughts regarding tPA as advanced COVID therapy?
Thanks again.
cf
cf... as far as I am aware, this question is low on the list of priorities for clinicians dealing with COVID patients. Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) is our biggest worry, and once it sets in we don't have any tools to fight it, other than changing our ventilator settings. lt's a fancy term to denote the end-of-life process for any lung disease or injury... a few people survive it, most don't.
Anticoagulants and thrombolytic meds do not have a significant role in treatment of COVID at this point, to my knowledge.
