A closer look at coronavirus treatments

A closer look at coronavirus treatments

Week.

New tonight - we are learning more about coronavirus treatments used in north alabama hospitals.

Several of these treatments are still being researched -- but one huntsville doctor says she's seen them work.

Waay31's megan reyna joins us live outside huntsville hospital tonight..

She breaks down those options, megan?

Right behind me in huntsville hospital, doctors have a list of approved coronavirus treatments but only for those who are actually hospitalized and very ill.

Now -- that doesn't mean each treatment is 100 percent effective.

What i learned from doctor hafsa siddiqui is they are still learning a lot about these options.

Early on in this pandemic -- siddiqui says hydroxychloro quine was used widely.

It's an immunosuppresi ve drug.

However -- some studies have shown its not as effective as originally thought.

But it is still approved for hospital use.

Remdesivir is an anti-viral treatment.

Siddiqui says it has a "favorable" effective level.

She says a study by gilead shows it can reduce a stay in the hospital by four days.

Dexamethasone is a steroid treatment.

Siddiqui says this is used for patients on a ventilator.

And then there's convalescent plasma therapy.

It uses blood from people who have recovered from coronavirus.

Just last month the f-d-a issued emergency use of this therapy -- so it, too, is in use at huntsville hospital.

Siddiqui emphasizes that all these treatments i just explained are only for those hospitalized with coronavirus.

"the treatment that we implement on the patient are reserved for severely sick patient and we define that as somebody breathing very fast, more than 30 times a minute, oxygen levels in the blood are less than 93 percent and requiring oxygen.

They are sick enough to be in the hospital."

Now of course many people with coronavirus will not be hospitalized.

If you have covid and are showing symptoms -- your treatment may include some pain relievers like ibuprofin... cough syrup... lots of fluids... and rest.

For those in the hospital -- siddiqui says the key is for doctors to use treatments early on.

Tonight, there are 64 patients with coronavirus inside this hospital.

Of those -- 15 are in the i-c-u and 9 are on ventilators.

Reporting live in hsv mr waay 31 news