Saturday, March 28, 2020

Something wicked this way comes

This report from an ER doc doesn't sound good at all.

9 comments:

Tacitus said...

Sounds legit, albeit he's working in a hot spot. Interesting to see discussion of a variety of tests being done that I could have predicted would have zero clinical relevance. D-dimer testing....man, worthless in this setting and a waste of time, blood and resources. But I must be fair he's likely in a teaching hospital and what we learn in such places is often of use down the road.

Dark stuff but a worst case picture.

TW (happily retired) MD

Beans said...

Let's see. ER doctor in New Orleans, where the parades and partying occurred right up to the justifiable shutting down of activity.

A place where drunken and drugged stupidity is celebrated as the norm.

A place which is decidedly, in a lot of ways, a 2nd World nation teetering on the brink of 3rd World-ness.

A city where drug overdoses are huge. Where personal cleanliness is not the norm amongst many of it's occupants.

A perfect storm for Corona.

Sure, there are lots of good people in that place, Murphy being one. But, in reality, stupidity and democratic politics are overwhelming.

So, yes, I expect this in New Orleans. Where people suck and think flaunting rules and common sense is the way to live.

Now, take... Abbeville. On the Southwestern corner of LA, in Vermillion Parish. Where personal responsibility and standard concepts of cleanliness are the norm? Not a big threat.

Corona will be an issue anywhere where personal interest and selfishness overrides common sense, decency and, well laws and mores.

Like New York City Or Seattle. Or Portland.

Given a social area where not doing drugs, being stupidly drunk and staying reasonably clean? We'll see results like what has been noticed on the Flu Cruise.

Old NFO said...

Beans beat me to it. NOLA IS a third world 'country'... Always has been.

Ed Bonderenka said...

I don't wish it on anyone, and I have friends and family who abused their bodies with substances not conducive to a healthy lifestyle that I would not want to suffer.
BUT, how many of these ER cases like this are "self-inflicted" wounds?

Glen Filthie said...

More like “something stupid this way comes...” 😆👍

Beans said...

Sad to say, but the nicest thing about the Corona shut-down in New Orleans is the smell of vomit and piss in the French Quarter might actually go away. Might. Maybe. Maybe not, as it just may have soaked into the stones by now.

Bleh.

Filthy city. Fun place, but filthy. Every time my wife and I watch a cop reality show in New Orleans, and they show the cops taking someone down in the French Quarter, on the streets, we both cringe.

I can see using those bleach sprayers like they used in Wuhan at least once a week in the FQ, once it gets rocking again.

danielbarger said...

I'd guess roughly half the population is essentially immune to this virus....they MAY be able to become infected and spread it...we simply don't have enough data to answer a LOT of the questions we have yet. Roughly 30 to 40% of us are susceptible to this but have the immune capacity to beat it (this group will feel like they have a mild cold to a bout with the regular flu bug). But some 10% or so ofa society is at GRAVE RISK from this virus. And THAT is a LOT of bodies to care for.... 35+ millions people at risk for serious life threatening illness. And we have perhaps one million hospital beds in this country. So for MOST people this bug is an annoying inconvenience for a large and significant portion of us it is a LIFE
CHANGING LIFE THREATENING event. This virus isn't a threat to us as a species. But it could be a threat to the ability of an organized society to remain viable and functional.

SiGraybeard said...

I read that piece a few hours before you posted this link. It's harrowing.

Gradually as the day went by I kept thinking that the doc sees a very different section of humanity than most of us do so his perspective is very different, too. If all you see are the critically ill, that's going to color your view.

The problem is, and has always been, we don't know the denominator. Evidence keeps showing up that the case fatality rate is under 1%, and some says well under that. We simply don't know how prevalent the virus is in the world and how many people had symptoms so mild they never knew they had it. We're still looking at less than half a percent of the population diagnosed with the disease.

Every death is a tragedy for the family, so I don't want to make light of that, but I still don't see this as TEOTWAWKI.

Angus McThag said...

The place sharing this harrowing story is also vested in the worst case scenario and is actively seeking the worst news to share.

Bear that in mind before linking to them or going there.