Diagnosis and treatment of COVID–19 in primary healthcare

Abstract

COVID-19 pandemic is caused by the SARS-Cov-2
virus and it was first isolated in Wuhan, China, in December
2019. In Primary Healthcare Center (PHC), Krusevac,
the outpatient clinic for respiratory infections was formed on
March 24th, 2020. Nearly 100.000 medical exams were performed
there, up til now.
The virus transmission is carried out by airborne droplets,
or rarely using contaminated hands. The entrance site of
the infection is nose, mouth, or eye mucose.
The infection develops in two stages. The first happens
in the upper respiratory tract (URT) and lasts 5-7 days, and
the second, when the virus descends to the lungs, and from
there causes systemic inflammation, primarily of the blood
vessels.
The diagnosis is based on the personal history, clinical
presentation, physical exam, specific viral tests, lab analysis,
and eventually, chest X-ray.
Therapy is mainly symptomatic, and since March 2021
we got antiviral favipiravir, and in January 2022 another antiviral,
molnupiravir, became available. Oral corticosteroids
showed promising results in patients with viral pneumonia.
Primary healthcare was a dam against the secondary
and tertiary healthcare this time, too. As our colleagues
worldwide, we were learning in stride, and the process is ongoing.
The more people get exposed to the virus, either naturally
or by vaccination, the sooner the pandemic will end but
not entirely and probably stay with us as a seasonal infection
with easier clinical presentation.