On 31 May this year, a press conference was held to present the conclusions and recommendations of the report entitled 'The Future of the European Union'. "Diagnostic and therapeutic pathway of a patient with COVID-19 in Poland". The meeting started with a talk about chronic patients during the COVID19 pandemic, followed by a substantive expert discussion on the current and optimal diagnostic and therapeutic pathway for a patient with COVID-19 with a special focus on chronic patients, those at high risk of severe COVID-19.
In a meeting organised by the Journalist Club for Health Promotion ora Institute for Patients' Rights and Health Education and chaired by the editor of the Jagoda Kamińska (DKZP) experts took part: Prof. Dr. med. Krzysztof J. Filipiak, rector of the Medical University of Warsaw, specialist in cardiology, specialist in internal medicine, specialist in hypertensiology, specialist in clinical pharmacology, Dr Michał Sutkowski - specialist in internal medicine and family medicine, member of the National Development Council to the President of the Republic of Poland, President of Warsaw Family Doctors in Poland, Jerzy Jaroszewicz, MD, PhD - specialist in infectious diseases, Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases and Hepatology Clinical Division of the Medical University of Silesia, Dr n. med. Jakub Gierczyński, MBA, health system expert, Institute of Healthcare Management, Lazarski University, and Anna Sliwinska, President of the Polish Diabetes Association, Igor Grzesiak, Institute for Patients' Rights and Health Education, as well as chronic patients with experience of severe COVID-19 and journalists and authors of books on the COVID-19 pandemic -. Katarzyna Pinkosz (Świat Lekarza/Do Rzeczy) and Agnieszka Sztyler-Turovsky (Onet)
The first part of the meeting began with the story of Elżbieta Gnas, a patient with type I diabetes, who told how COVID-19 developed in her, followed by the president of the Polish Diabetes Association, Anna Sliwinskawho spoke about the situation of diabetes patients during the COVID-19 pandemic "People with diabetes are at risk of a more severe course and death due to COVID-19. Also, it was found out quite quickly that about 1/3 of all COVID-19 deaths had diabetes, which had a huge impact on the psychology of the patients." in turn Katarzyna Pinkosz and Agnieszka Sztyler-Turovsky shared the stories of the patients described in their books.
The second part of the conference was attended by experts, the authors of the report entitled 'The importance of the European Union. "Diagnostic and therapeutic pathway of a patient with COVID-19 in Poland". The first to speak was Jerzy Jaroszewicz, MD, PhD, in his presentation, presented findings from data from the nationwide SARSTER database: "COVID-19 is by no means a fluke. Its mortality rate is and always has been much higher. The overall mortality rate of patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in Poland as of March 2022 was 12.2 per cent."
The expert also spoke about the oral medicine available: "It makes sense to administer this drug up to five days after the onset of symptoms, as it is effective when the virus is still multiplying. The drug can be administered for mild to moderate COVID-19 when the blood oxygen saturation does not fall below 94 per cent. This reduces the risk of hospitalisation and complications of the disease. (...) Its administration is recommended for those who have a risk of severe disease."
Then Dr Michał Sutkowski from the GP's point of view, talked step by step about the report's proposed diagnostic and therapeutic pathway for the COVID-19 patient. "We start with treatment, but only when we have a full assessment of the three factors, i.e. a full assessment of symptoms, a full assessment of risk factors and a full assessment of disease severity, only then can we start implementing therapy. (...) The drug that the patient should be put on as soon as possible. Ideally, it should be the drug that is easiest for the patient to use, i.e. an oral drug."
He then spoke Prof. Krzysztof J. Filipiak, who stressed the need to prepare for the autumn wave of the pandemic: "We are currently in an epidemic hole, when there won't be so much disease. Now we should supplement the vaccination. (...) In Poland, the full vaccination schedule against SARS CoV-2 was taken by 59 per cent of the population and the booster dose by 31 per cent. Meanwhile, the average for all EU countries is - 85 per cent and 65 per cent respectively." "As a result of the pandemic, 200,000 people have lost their lives in Poland. These are both people who died due to COVID-19, but also due to overloading of the health care system (so-called "collateral deaths")(...) It should be considered that in Poland the second booster dose should be taken by a wider group of people than the EU recommendations suggest - not only people over 80, but for example over 75 or 70."
A report on the conference is available at the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJWkZ2LBYjQ
