“RA Patient on Enbrel?”
My wife has RA and is on Enbrel. She also has stage 3 hepatic fibrosis. She works as a scrub tech at a major hospital in outpatient surgery which has been closed for 6 weeks. They are re-opening and want her to return to work. I am deeply concerned about her exposure to the Coronavirus. Would you risk returning?
Female | 55 years old
Medications: Enbrel, Metformin
Conditions: RA, Hepatic fibrosis, NIDDM, HTN, Obesity
2 Answers
InfectiousDiseaseSpecialistInfectiousDiseaseSpecialist
Only if they are pretesting staff and patients. Always mask and frequent hand wash.
Interesting, difficult question. If she acquires covid-19 infection, she might have a severe illness that could have a fatal outcome.
On the other hand the facility where she works may have stringent requirements for accepting patients - strict screening about potential exposure or symptoms, a two step covid-19 pcr testing requiring that both are negative, and then personal protective equipment to protect not just the patients but also the operative team.
Or not....
So some risk and I would want to know the details of screening the patients, and the protective equipment that she will have. and training for putting the protective garb on and off.
all of us over the age 50 will face a difficult time because the tailing off of the epidemic is going to be messy indeed. until there is a protective vaccine we will need to be very careful. I am an older physician and will only resume face to face patient care in a week or two after more than a month of being quarantined at home (for my safety) by my younger colleagues. My wife also works in a hospital although not with direct contact and she started working three weeks ago.
And it is possible that working in a hospital may be safer than any interactions outside the hospital. Younger loved ones - children, grandchildren, friends, - all represent a danger as all of them face less of a serious illness than do we elders, and they may be a source at a time they are not ill at all.
as you can see, I have babbled on a bit because I do not have a good answer for you. Whether she wants to work or not, your wife should ask very carefully whether her facility will accept patients with covid-19 and if not, how will they screen to prove the patients do not.
I wish you safety...and luck.
On the other hand the facility where she works may have stringent requirements for accepting patients - strict screening about potential exposure or symptoms, a two step covid-19 pcr testing requiring that both are negative, and then personal protective equipment to protect not just the patients but also the operative team.
Or not....
So some risk and I would want to know the details of screening the patients, and the protective equipment that she will have. and training for putting the protective garb on and off.
all of us over the age 50 will face a difficult time because the tailing off of the epidemic is going to be messy indeed. until there is a protective vaccine we will need to be very careful. I am an older physician and will only resume face to face patient care in a week or two after more than a month of being quarantined at home (for my safety) by my younger colleagues. My wife also works in a hospital although not with direct contact and she started working three weeks ago.
And it is possible that working in a hospital may be safer than any interactions outside the hospital. Younger loved ones - children, grandchildren, friends, - all represent a danger as all of them face less of a serious illness than do we elders, and they may be a source at a time they are not ill at all.
as you can see, I have babbled on a bit because I do not have a good answer for you. Whether she wants to work or not, your wife should ask very carefully whether her facility will accept patients with covid-19 and if not, how will they screen to prove the patients do not.
I wish you safety...and luck.
