Crowdsourcing Coronavirus Treatments
- Doctors are creating their own social media chat forums in an effort to fill the information gap around Covid-19
- There are some practical findings around emergency treatments which may be useful for physicians
- Physicians tell SurvivorNet that crowdsourcing treatment protocols is also dangerous because there’s so little supporting data
There are numerous facebook groups put together by doctors sharing knowledge of Covid-19. Physicians are all around the world are posting about their experiences with Covid-19 patients introducing new ideas that challenge learned protocols. Classic medical protocols are seemingly failing for patients suffering with the respiratory virus, which has made physicians rethink traditional procedures and turn to physicians in Italy and China for their input.
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“[Social media] has allowed people to disseminate information more quickly and widely than probably ever before, but the problem is that there’s good information and bad information being transmitted that way,” Dr. Peter Argenta, a Division of Gynecologic Oncology professor at The University of Minnesota tells SurvivorNet. “I do think that even the bad information is largely sent by people who are well intentioned, but I would try to seek your sources by reliable scenarios like the State Department of Health or the CDC.”
Related: How We Treat Cancer Patients With Coronavirus Symptoms
Covid-19 is a respiratory virus, and typically for patients suffering with respiratory issues they are put on oxygen first and then moved to a ventilator if that fails, which will breathe for the patient. According to Bloomberg, some physicians on social media have suggested that Covid-19 patients should be put on ventilators first, and skip the oxygen step all together. Additionally, other doctors have said that patients should be given Tylenol instead of Ibuprofen. However, as accessibility hospital equipment continues to dwindle, such as ventilators, this could lead to other problems down the line.
“The public health challenges in this particular pandemic has been overwhelming,” Taylor says. “Most people in the United States don’t think about us ever having a shortage of resources, and we may have resources all around the country, but one of the biggest challenges is how do we mobilize these resources and direct them where they’re needed most?”
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