| CONSENSUS PAPER |
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| Year : 2020 | Volume
: 12
| Issue : 2 | Page : 47-93 |
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The 2019–2020 novel coronavirus (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) pandemic: A joint american college of academic international medicine-world academic council of emergency medicine multidisciplinary COVID-19 working group consensus paper
Stanislaw P Stawicki1, Rebecca Jeanmonod1, Andrew C Miller2, Lorenzo Paladino1, David F Gaieski3, Anna Q Yaffee2, Annelies De Wulf2, Joydeep Grover3, Thomas J Papadimos2, Christina Bloem2, Sagar C Galwankar1, Vivek Chauhan3, Michael S Firstenberg1, Salvatore Di Somma3, Donald Jeanmonod1, Sona M Garg2, Veronica Tucci2, Harry L Anderson1, Lateef Fatimah3, Tamara J Worlton2, Siddharth P Dubhashi3, Krystal S Glaze2, Sagar Sinha3, Ijeoma Nnodim Opara2, Vikas Yellapu2, Dhanashree Kelkar3, Ayman El-Menyar3, Vimal Krishnan3, S Venkataramanaiah3, Yan Leyfman2, Hassan Ali Saoud Al Thani3, Prabath W B Nanayakkara3, Sudip Nanda2, Eric Cioè-Peña2, Indrani Sardesai3, Shruti Chandra3, Aruna Munasinghe3, Vibha Dutta3, Silvana Teixeira Dal Ponte2, Ricardo Izurieta2, Juan A Asensio1, Manish Garg1
1 Working Group on International Health Security, The American College of Academic International Academic Medicine; COVID-19 Pandemic Taskforce, World Academic Council of Emergency Medicine, USA
2 Working Group on International Health Security, The American College of Academic International Academic Medicine, USA
3 COVID-19 Pandemic Taskforce, World Academic Council of Emergency Medicine, USA
Correspondence Address:
Dr. Stanislaw P Stawicki
Department of Research and Innovation, St. Luke's University Health Network, 801 Ostrum Street, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
USA
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/jgid.jgid_86_20
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What started as a cluster of patients with a mysterious respiratory illness in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, was later determined to be coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The pathogen severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a novel Betacoronavirus, was subsequently isolated as the causative agent. SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted by respiratory droplets and fomites and presents clinically with fever, fatigue, myalgias, conjunctivitis, anosmia, dysgeusia, sore throat, nasal congestion, cough, dyspnea, nausea, vomiting, and/or diarrhea. In most critical cases, symptoms can escalate into acute respiratory distress syndrome accompanied by a runaway inflammatory cytokine response and multiorgan failure. As of this article's publication date, COVID-19 has spread to approximately 200 countries and territories, with over 4.3 million infections and more than 290,000 deaths as it has escalated into a global pandemic. Public health concerns mount as the situation evolves with an increasing number of infection hotspots around the globe. New information about the virus is emerging just as rapidly. This has led to the prompt development of clinical patient risk stratification tools to aid in determining the need for testing, isolation, monitoring, ventilator support, and disposition. COVID-19 spread is rapid, including imported cases in travelers, cases among close contacts of known infected individuals, and community-acquired cases without a readily identifiable source of infection. Critical shortages of personal protective equipment and ventilators are compounding the stress on overburdened healthcare systems. The continued challenges of social distancing, containment, isolation, and surge capacity in already stressed hospitals, clinics, and emergency departments have led to a swell in technologically-assisted care delivery strategies, such as telemedicine and web-based triage. As the race to develop an effective vaccine intensifies, several clinical trials of antivirals and immune modulators are underway, though no reliable COVID-19-specific therapeutics (inclusive of some potentially effective single and multi-drug regimens) have been identified as of yet. With many nations and regions declaring a state of emergency, unprecedented quarantine, social distancing, and border closing efforts are underway. Implementation of social and physical isolation measures has caused sudden and profound economic hardship, with marked decreases in global trade and local small business activity alike, and full ramifications likely yet to be felt. Current state-of-science, mitigation strategies, possible therapies, ethical considerations for healthcare workers and policymakers, as well as lessons learned for this evolving global threat and the eventual return to a “new normal” are discussed in this article.
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