Oklahoma Doctors Concerned For Patients With Asthma & Also Those Who Smoke, Vape

Doctors at OU Medical Center are still coming to grips with the reality of COVID-19.

Experts estimate nearly a quarter of those who will get sick, will have severe symptoms.
Currently, they are encouraging social distancing, staying at home, and conscientious hygiene to decrease the number of COVID cases.

“You never think it’s going to happen in your time. So, I think other health care providers, medical professionals, are finding themselves in a surreal situation, it’s like a bad movie,” said Brent Brown of OU Medical, Chief of Pulmonology.

Brown is also the Medical Director of the OU Medical Center ICU, and said right now, it’s a race for information and supplies.

High risk groups include the elderly, and those with a low immune system, but medical experts are now finding deadly links to COVID-19 in others.

“We do have particular concerns about people who have lung disease, things like asthma, COPD, and even people who are just smokers or vapers. Based on information from other countries like China, and Italy and Spain, we know that these people are more likely to get severe disease, lung disease from the COVID-19 virus than someone who does not have a condition like that,” said Brown.

Another concern, the amount of ICU beds available for those with severe symptoms who may need ventilators.

“A minority of patients that get COVID-19, maybe 20%, will be much sicker than those who can stay at home. Of that 20%, some will develop a week after they have been sick with the virus. The difficulties come on quickly,” Brown said. “People can go from alright in the morning to really really low on the oxygen levels within 24 hours. What they are most likely to notice is a shortness of breath when they walk around and do things.”

Brown said in its severest forms, it can cause pneumonia, and an infection in the lungs, which can cause very low oxygen levels, and difficulty with the lungs providing oxygen to the body.

He said they are still learning about the virus.

While most with COVID-19 will fully recover, it just may take a while.

“Most people do regain lung function, but it may be a prolonged time, like 9 months or a year before they would be back to normal or near normal,” said Brown.

Something encouraging, he said OU Medical has enough protective equipment to keep themselves safe for the time being.

The hospital confirmed it’s working with other major metro hospitals to handle the caseload, if the curve gets too high.