On 11 Apr 2020, DrĀ BiĀ Jie HU, a Professor and Head of Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Infection Management at Zhongshan Hospital, gave a video presentationĀ about his recent experienceĀ as a clinician during the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak in China.
The presentation included valuable commentary on how Zhongshan Hospital, a major tertiary teaching institutionĀ affiliated with Fudan University in Shanghai, developedĀ diagnostic and treatment protocols to deal with theĀ COVID-19 pandemic, as well as clinical case sharing to highlight their evolving approachĀ to the crisis.
Dr Hu’s experience highlighted the important role that laboratory diagnostics playĀ in China’s management of the outbreak over the past few months, including detail on the following:
- Considerations around how to implement RT-PCR, viral gene sequencing and serum antibody testing for COVID-19 detection.
- How Zhongshan and otherĀ hospitals are usingĀ pulmonary imaging to supplement lab testing for COVID-19.
- The importance ofĀ biomarkers likeĀ IL-6 and CD4 to support disease progression monitoring and management of severe and critical cases.
- Protocols for patient discharge, including diagnostic requirements in China.
Dr Hu’s presentation was part of a broader webinar that was co-hostedĀ by the Asia Pacific Association of Critical Care Medicine (APACCM) and Roche Diagnostics. The webinar also included a presentation about the clinical implications of host immune response in severe COVID-19 pneumonia, which was delivered byĀ Dr Xie Li Xin, a Professor and Head of the Department of Respiratory and Critical Medicine at the People’s Liberation Army General Hospital in Beijing, China.
Watch Dr Hu’s presentation below (or visit this link to see the full webinar, including a second presentation by Dr Xie, as well as a Q&A session with the speakers).
