COVID-19 FAQ

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Not all patients with COVID-19 require hospital admission. Patients whose clinical presentation warrants in-patient clinical management for supportive medical care should be admitted to the hospital under appropriate isolation precautions. Some patients with initial mild clinical presentation may worsen in the second week of illness. The decision to monitor these patients in the inpatient or outpatient setting should be made on a case-by-case basis. This decision will depend not only on the clinical presentation, but also on the patient’s ability to engage in self-monitoring, the feasibility of safe isolation at home, and the risk of transmission in the patient’s home environment.

Not all patients with COVID-19 will require medical supportive care. Clinical management for hospitalized patients with COVID-19 is focused on supportive care for complications, including supplemental oxygen and advanced organ support for respiratory failure, septic shock, and multi-organ failure. Empiric testing and treatment for other viral or bacterial etiologies may be warranted. Corticosteroids are not routinely recommended for treatment of viral pneumonia or ARDS, due to the potential for prolonging viral replication, as has been observed with MERS coronavirus and influenza. Corticosteroids should be avoided unless they are indicated for another reason (e.g., COPD

There is currently no FDA-approved post-exposure prophylaxis for people who may have been exposed to COVID-19.

The immune response, including duration of immunity, to SARS-CoV-2 infection is not yet understood. Patients with MERS-CoV are unlikely to be re-infected shortly after they recover, but it is not yet known whether similar immune protection will be observed for patients with COVID-19.

SARS-CoV-2 RNA has been detected in upper and lower respiratory tract specimens, and SARS-CoV-2 virus has been isolated from upper respiratory tract specimens and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. SARS-CoV-2 RNA has been detected in blood and stool specimens, and SARS-CoV-2 virus has been isolated in cell culture from the stool of some patients, including a patient with pneumonia 15 days after symptom onset. The duration of SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection in upper and lower respiratory tract specimens and in extrapulmonary specimens is not yet known but may be several weeks or longer. Duration of several week or longer has been observed in cases of MERS-CoV or SARS-CoV infection. While viable, infectious SARS-CoV has been isolated from respiratory, blood, urine, and stool specimens, viable, infectious MERS-CoV has only been isolated from respiratory tract specimens. It is not yet known whether other non-respiratory body fluids from an infected person including vomit, urine, breast milk, or semen can contain viable, infectious SARS-CoV-2.

The onset and duration of viral shedding and the period of infectiousness for COVID-19 are not yet known. It is possible that SARS-CoV-2 RNA may be detectable in the upper or lower respiratory tract for weeks after illness onset, similar to infections with MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV. However, detection of viral RNA does not necessarily mean that infectious virus is present. There are reports of asymptomatic infections (detection of virus with no development of symptoms) and pre-symptomatic infections (detection of virus prior to development of symptoms) with SARS-CoV-2, but their role in transmission is not yet known. Based on existing literature, the incubation period (the time from exposure to development of symptoms) of SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses (e.g. MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV) ranges from 2–14 days

Patients can be infected with more than one virus at the same time. Coinfections with other respiratory viruses in people with COVID-19 have been reported. Therefore, identifying infection with one respiratory virus does not exclude SARS-CoV-2 virus infection.

Lower respiratory tract samples (e.g. endotracheal aspirate, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid or sputum) should be collected whenever possible. If patient does not have signs or symptoms of lower respiratory tract infection or lower tract specimens are not possible or clinically indicated, obtain a nasopharyngeal swab.

According to the USA CDC currently THERE IS NO scientific evidence establishing a link between NSAIDs (e.g., ibuprofen, naproxen) and worsening of COVID‑19.

There are currently no antiviral drugs approved by FDA to treat COVID-19

The available data are currently insufficient to clearly identify risk factors for severe clinical outcomes. Based on limited data that are available for COVID-19 patients, and data from related coronaviruses such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and MERS-CoV, people who may be at risk for more severe outcomes include older adults and persons who have certain underlying chronic medical conditions. Those underlying chronic conditions include chronic lung disease, moderate to severe asthma, cardiac disease with complications, diabetes, or immunocompromising conditions.

Currently, those at greatest risk of infection are persons who have had prolonged, unprotected close contact with a patient with symptomatic, confirmed COVID-19 and those who live in or have recently been to areas with sustained transmission.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has named the disease associated with SARS-CoV-2 infections as “COVID-19”.In COVID-19, ‘CO’ stands for ‘corona,’ ‘VI’ for ‘virus,’ and ‘D’ for disease.

The SARS-CoV was transmitted from civet cats to humans in 2002 in China and MERS-CoV from dromedary camels to humans in 2012 in Saudi Arabia. Also, the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). had some link to the seafood and animal market in Wuhan, China.

Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases, such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV).

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COVID-19 FAQ