Optimizing Supportive Care in COVID-19 Patients: A Multidisciplinary Approach

Abstract

Mohamed Abu Haleeqa,1 Iman Alshamsi,1 Ammar Al habib,2 Mohamed Noshi,1 Shazia Abdullah,1 Ashraf Kamour,1 Halah Ibrahim1 1Department of Medicine, Sheikh Khalifa Medical City, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; 2Pharmacy Department, Sheikh Khalifa Medical City, Abu Dhabi, United Arab EmiratesCorrespondence: Halah Ibrahim Email [email protected]: Within just a few months, SARS-CoV-2 has evolved from a virtually unknown pathogen to a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. As COVID-19 infection can affect multiple organ systems, treating many manifestations and complications requires clinical expertise across the healthcare professional spectrum. Therefore, interprofessional and multidisciplinary collaboration should form the cornerstone of every hospital’s COVID-19 management approach. In this manuscript, we discuss the non-microbial management strategies for our COVID-19 inpatient population. Specifically, through an inter-professional and collaborative approach to care delivery, we provide rationale and guidance on prone positioning, oxygen strategies, early mobilization, identifying and treating co-infections, anticoagulation and ensuring appropriate psychological support for patients and their families. It is our hope that these recommendations help supporting clinician management decisions to best care for hospitalized COVID-19 patients in the region and worldwide.Keywords: COVID-19, interprofessional collaboration, anticoagulation, ventilation, prone positioning, supportive care

Keywords

• covid-19
• interprofessional collaboration
• anticoagulation
• ventilation
• prone positioning
• supportive care