How to cure COVID-19?

Question

Hi doctor,

I have a friend who has been diagnosed with COVID-19. He is having some trouble breathing when he does any activity. His back hurts while sitting even without doing any activities. He has difficulty sleeping with pain in his back when he lays down. He can able to breathe when he usually sits. But doing any minor activities cause shortness of breath, high temperature, and he is taking some medications to bring the temperature down. He did an X-ray in a public hospital, and the prognosis was computed tomography (CT) signs of left-sided lower lobe polysegmental pneumonia. I wish to speak with someone who specializes in the field to help him because access to such doctors in this place is not affordable, and I would like to help him by finding out whether his x-ray looks promising or severe.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com. Thank you for the query. I can understand your concern. According to your statement, your friend has been suffering from back pain, shortness of breath during minor activities, and fever. According to your friend's recent HRCT (high resolution computed tomography) of chest, (attachment removed to protect patient identity) your friend has been suffering from COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pneumonia. Your friend's COVID-19 pneumonia may result as a complication or consequence of COVID-19 infection. At first, your friend's oxygen saturation level by pulse oximeter should be monitored routinely. If your friend's oxygen saturation level declines below 92%, then oxygen therapy must be needed and for that hospital admission is necessary. For your friend's COVID-19 pneumonia, antiviral medications should be started as it is a Viral Infection. Steroids like Dexamethasone can be started for subsiding the shortness of breath. Antihistamines, bronchodilators, leukotriene receptor antagonists like Montelukast can be added to the treatment regimen. Broad spectrum antibiotics like Azithromycin can be added to prevent the development of any secondary infection further. Some investigations like CBC (complete blood count), RBS (random blood sugar), D-dimer, ferritin, CRP (C-reactive protein) and some other tests may be needed to assess the present clinical condition. Take care. In case of any other query, ask me.