COVID-19 has the potential to become fatal for many people who become infected with the virus, particularly those with pre-existing conditions. However, recent research suggests that levels of a specific protein in a person’s blood could tell doctors whether a common treatment for coronavirus symptoms could help them, or be fatal. In a new study published in the Journal of hospital medicineResearchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, New York found that high levels of C-reactive protein (PCR) in a person’s blood increase the likelihood that steroid treatment is a beneficial part of their recovery plan. .
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New research published in the magazine. Nature Machine Intelligence reveals that doctors can now effectively predict whether a patient will die of coronavirus within 10 days of testing.
According to Business Insider, the researchers were able to use a simple blood test to measure “countless clotting problems of the kidneys, heart and blood”, and with the help of a machine learning program to process the data, they were able to predict a patient’s outcome with 90 percent accuracy. The trio of markers for increased mortality includes high levels of the LDH enzyme, lymphopenia, and an increase in highly sensitive C-reactive proteins.
“We found that in patients with high levels of inflammation, that is, a CRP level greater than 20, steroids were associated with a 75 percent reduction in the risk of mechanical ventilation or death,” he explained. Marla Keller, MD, lead author of the study.
However, among patients with CRP levels below 10, “steroid use was associated with an almost 200 percent increased risk of mechanical ventilation or death,” Keller said.
This research may be fruitful for hospitalized patients with coronaviruses who may receive steroids to the detriment of their health. Keller’s team noted that a common blood test can easily identify those who could benefit from steroid treatment and those for whom it would likely prove fatal.
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However, steroids are not the only potentially life-saving medical interventions for coronaviruses that have come under scrutiny in recent months. While ventilators have been used throughout the pandemic to provide treatment for critically ill patients with reduced lung function, a research analysis from June 2020 published in The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene suggests that using more restraint in prescribing ventilator therapy, including waiting until patients have difficulty breathing to use them rather than basing their use on oxygen levels alone, could actually save more lives. And if you’re wondering what might be an indication that your COVID case is severe, check out the 4 Coronavirus Symptoms Most Likely to Be Deadly.
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