EMERGING DISEASE

CORONA VIRUS 19
 WHAT IS COVID 19?

• CORONAVIRUSES ARE A TYPE OF VIRUS. THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT KINDS,

AND SOME CAUSE DISEASE. A CORONAVIRUS IDENTIFIED IN 2019, SARS-COV-2,
HAS CAUSED A PANDEMIC OF RESPIRATORY ILLNESS, CALLED COVID-19.
• COVID-19 IS THE DISEASE CAUSED BY SARS-COV-2, THE CORONAVIRUS THAT
EMERGED IN DECEMBER 2019
 SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

MOST COMMON SYMPTOMS:

• FEVER

• COUGH

• TIREDNESS

• LOSS OF TASTE OR SMELL

LESS COMMON SYMPTOMS:

• SORE THROAT

• HEADACHE

• ACHES AND PAINS

• DIARRHEA

• A RASH ON SKIN, OR DISCOLORATION OF FINGERS OR TOES

• RED OR IRRITATED EYES

 SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

SERIOUS SYMPTOMS:
• DIFFICULTY BREATHING OR SHORTNESS OF BREATH
• LOSS OF SPEECH OR MOBILITY, OR CONFUSION
• CHEST PAIN
 MODE OF TRANSMISSION

• SARS-COV-2, THE VIRUS THAT CAUSES COVID-19, SPREADS FROM AN INFECTED PERSON TO OTHERS
THROUGH RESPIRATORY DROPLETS AND AEROSOLS WHEN AN INFECTED PERSON BREATHES, COUGHS,
SNEEZES, SINGS, SHOUTS, OR TALKS. THE DROPLETS VARY IN SIZE, FROM LARGE DROPLETS THAT FALL
TO THE GROUND RAPIDLY (WITHIN SECONDS OR MINUTES) NEAR THE INFECTED PERSON, TO SMALLER
DROPLETS, SOMETIMES CALLED AEROSOLS, WHICH LINGER IN THE AIR, ESPECIALLY IN INDOOR SPACES.
• THE RELATIVE INFECTIOUSNESS OF DROPLETS OF DIFFERENT SIZES IS NOT CLEAR. INFECTIOUS
DROPLETS OR AEROSOLS MAY COME INTO DIRECT CONTACT WITH THE MUCOUS MEMBRANES OF
ANOTHER PERSON'S NOSE, MOUTH OR EYES, OR THEY MAY BE INHALED INTO THEIR NOSE, MOUTH,
AIRWAYS AND LUNGS. THE VIRUS MAY ALSO SPREAD WHEN A PERSON TOUCHES ANOTHER PERSON (I.E.,
A HANDSHAKE) OR A SURFACE OR AN OBJECT (ALSO REFERRED TO AS A FOMITE) THAT HAS THE VIRUS
ON IT, AND THEN TOUCHES THEIR MOUTH, NOSE OR EYES WITH UNWASHED HANDS.
 NURSING MANAGEMENT OF COVID19

• MONITOR VITAL SIGNS – PARTICULARLY TEMPERATURE AND RESPIRATORY RATE, AS FEVER AND DYSPNEA ARE COMMON SYMPTOMS OF COVID-19.
• MONITOR O2 SATURATION – NORMAL O2 SATURATION AS MEASURED WITH PULSE OXIMETER SHOULD BE 94 OR HIGHER; PATIENTS WITH SEVERE
COVID-19 SYMPTOMS CAN DEVELOP HYPOXIA, WITH VALUES DROPPING LOW ENOUGH TO WARRANT SUPPLEMENTAL OXYGEN.
• MANAGE FEVER – USE APPROPRIATE THERAPY FOR HYPERTHERMIA, INCLUDING ADJUSTING ROOM TEMPERATURE, ELIMINATING EXCESS
CLOTHING AND COVERS, USING COOLING MATTRESSES, APPLYING COLD PACKS TO MAJOR BLOOD VESSELS, STARTING OR INCREASING
INTRAVENOUS (IV) FLUIDS AS ALLOWED, ADMINISTERING ANTIPYRETIC MEDICATIONS AS PRESCRIBED, AND READYING OXYGEN THERAPY IN THE
EVENT OF RESPIRATORY PROBLEMS RESULTING FROM THE METABOLIC DEMANDS FOR OXYGEN DURING A FEVER.
• MAINTAIN RESPIRATORY ISOLATION – ISOLATION ROOMS SHOULD BE WELL-MARKED WITH LIMITED ACCESS; ALL WHO ENTER THE RESTRICTED-
ACCESS ROOM SHOULD USE PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT, SUCH AS MASKS AND GOWNS.
• ENFORCE STRICT HAND HYGIENE – TO REDUCE OR PREVENT TRANSMISSION OF CORONAVIRUS, PATIENTS SHOULD WASH HANDS AFTER
COUGHING, AS SHOULD ALL WHO ENTER OR LEAVE THE ROOM.
• PROVIDE INFORMATION – EDUCATE THE PATIENT AND PATIENT’S FAMILY MEMBERS OF THE TRANSMISSION OF COVID-19, THE TESTS TO DIAGNOSE
THE DISEASE, DISEASE PROCESS, POSSIBLE COMPLICATIONS, AND WAYS TO PROTECT ONESELF AND ONE’S FAMILY FROM CORONAVIRUS.