President Donald Trump was transferred to Walter Reed Hospital Friday night after he was diagnosed with COVID-19 late at night. For many patients, being hospitalized indicates that they are about to become seriously ill, according to doctors.
“If he went from the electoral crusade to feeling bad yesterday, to having a fever and now being hospitalized, I would be worried about him as a patient,” said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, who treated dozens of COVID-19s. patients still don’t know the president’s condition. “Hospitalization indicates a higher point in the disease. “
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Friday that the president “remains in a good mood and has mild symptoms. “
“As a precaution and on the advice of his doctor and medical experts, the president will paint from Walter Reed’s presidential offices over the next few days,” he said.
Trump is a high-risk COVID-19 patient because he is 74 years old and obese, said Chin-Hong, professor and infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco.
Given the high point of medical care being provided in the White House, Chin-Hong said there might be considerations that he might want, or in all likelihood would want oxygen.
“Once you want oxygen, it’s not a good omen,” he says.
Amesh Adalja, principal investigator at Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Health Safety, said White House doctors were probably largely tracking Trump’s important symptoms and recommending proper care.
Hospitalization “would recommend that they want more competitive surveillance, blood tests or intravenous fluids,” said Adalja, an expert in infectious diseases and emergency medicine. “Or the use of experimental treatment that might require a hospital. “
Other doctors concerned about the president’s care said his age, weight and sex put him at greater risk. At age 74, the president is five times more likely to be hospitalized and 90 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than a user between the ages of 18 and 29, according to the CDC.
Obese adults are 3 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 infection, according to the CDC. This is partly because obesity is linked to impaired immune function and decreased lung capacity and reserve.
Going to the hospital is a very important occasion for patients with COVID-19 and it happens when they want oxygen, Chin-Hong said.
“If you want oxygen, it indicates it’s more than the virus, it indicates that you’re facing inflammation because of the virus,” he said. “That means you’re about to fall off the cliff. “
Progression to acute and dangerously severe COVID-19 can be very immediate and has been noticed in many patients.
“It’s very, very sudden. Someone can consume very little oxygen and then want a lot of oxygen. Overall, it’s not a slow progression,” he said. That’s why we’re talking about “falling off the cliff” with COVID. He is transported to the intensive care unit and most of the time he suffers from lung injuries. “
Once a patient is in the ICU, they can still recover, but will most likely be hospitalized for some time, Chin-Hong said. “If you live, other people take a long time to recover. “