Open Mics With Dr Stites Exploring Brain Gut Interactions After Covid

Morning Rounds – Update on Top Headlines

Dr. Bryan Beaver, emergency medicine physician, The University of Kansas Health System
With high heat in the area, there is an uptick in heat exhaustion and heat stroke patients.
When someone is confused or delirious, that is heat stroke.
If someone is feeling heat exhaustion, they haven’t crossed over yet into that altered mental state.
Get out of the heat as soon as possible and start drinking fluids to get cooled down.
If someone is vomiting, they need to come into the emergency department immediately because they will not be able to stay hydrated.

Focus Topic

Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer, The University of Kansas Hospital
As it stands today, we don’t have a great way to diagnose long COVID – there is no widely accepted definition.
There are millions of patients living with long COVID symptoms.
Because of the prevalence of COVID, primary care physicians are doing a great job of recognizing more long COVID symptoms.
We need to be aware of seasonality and COVID and be prepared for a potential change in numbers when it gets cooler and more people head inside for gatherings.

Dr. Branden Comfort, internal medicine specialist, The University of Kansas Hospital
If patients develop symptoms after three months or longer since having COVID, we need to consider a long COVID diagnosis.
We also need to rule out other reasons for those symptoms.
Many patients describe a cyclical pattern of getting better then getting worse with long COVID.
The majority of patients with long COVID will improve over time.
Patients who are 65 and older tend to be more susceptible or have a higher chance of developing long COVID.

Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director, infection prevention & control, The University of Kansas Health System
With the number of people infected by COVID, we are seeing long COVID in greater proportions.
Long COVID can put the body in a continued ongoing inflammatory state, meaning the body continues to fight the infection.
This can mean ongoing disruption in blood vessels, continued nerve disruption, and changes in the normal biome in the body.
Vaccination continues to be key and the CDC has announced a new program that helps uninsured and underinsured patients get vaccines for free.

Dr. Mollie Jackson, gastroenterologist, The University of Kansas Health System
When the COVID virus attacks, it can really affect the GI tract.
The GI tract is the “second brain” in the body and has its own nervous system.
The “gut-brain access” interacts with each other.
Everyone’s COVID experience is different, but certain underlying conditions like GERD might make some patients more susceptible to symptoms.
Seek evaluation for long COVID symptoms so doctors can try to help figure out the right treatment.

Author

Ariyani

Como educador, estou profundamente engajado no desenvolvimento dos estudantes em ambiente escolar, adotando métodos pedagógicos que valorizam conexões genuínas e são movidos por inovação e fervor. É minha vocação guiar os alunos na jornada de se tornarem uma geração notável, empregando estratégias de ensino amplamente aclamadas por prestigiadas instituições acadêmicas ao redor do globo - events.zulekhahospitals.com