Healthcare Update Satellite — 11-04-2014

Back with more of the Ebola Chronicles … Ebola fears causing discrimination problems all over the US. Thomas Duncan died from Ebola. Now his fiancee is having difficulty finding a place to live as landlords are refusing to rent to her. People of African descent are facing discrimination just because they are from Africa. Mothers of some school children told one African cafeteria worker to leave the school because she “might have Ebola.” In Liberia, bleeding patients are often refused medical care due to Ebola fears. The picture at the link shows a picture of a woman who was bleeding heavily from a miscarriage and who was unable to find treatment at multiple clinics. Hospitals developing policies on what care may not be provided to Ebola patients. Invasive procedures, hemodialysis, endotracheal intubation, and CPR are all being reviewed to determine whether the risk to health care workers is worth the benefit to patients. For example, if an Ebola patient suffers a cardiac arrest and it takes a half hour to don protective gear, will doing so benefit the patient? The CDC says it is unlikely (.pdf file), but other infectious disease experts assert that Ebola can already spread by aerosols and droplets. Even vomiting creates an aerosol which can transmit gastrointestinal viruses. But at least Tori Spelling is OK. She was hospitalized with “symptoms of Ebola” which ended up being a nervous breakdown caused by her husband cheating on her. Took selfies ...
Source: WhiteCoat's Call Room - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: Healthcare Update Source Type: blogs