Injured Senior Podcast

Senior Health During Covid-19 with John Cascone

Episode Summary

The number one health crisis in America is Covid-19. According to the CDC, eight out of ten Covid-19 deaths have been adults sixty-five years or older. The elderly have more comorbid conditions, which increases their risk of having a bad outcome from Covid. The most dangerous risk factors are hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and obesity. The people who are long-haulers will suffer symptoms long-term. Over half of the patients with Covid will have fatigue, shortness of breath, coughing, and joint pains. Close to forty percent of those patients will return to baseline three weeks later. A long-hauler will have brain fog, and the symptoms will drag on. Tune in as Dr. John reveals why so many people in nursing homes are coming down with Covid.

Episode Notes

The number one health crisis in America is Covid-19. According to the CDC, eight out of ten Covid-19 deaths have been adults sixty-five years or older. The elderly have more comorbid conditions, which increases their risk of having a bad outcome from Covid. The most dangerous risk factors are hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and obesity. The people who are long-haulers will suffer symptoms long-term. Over half of the patients with Covid will have fatigue, shortness of breath, coughing, and joint pains. Close to forty percent of those patients will return to baseline three weeks later. A long-hauler will have brain fog, and the symptoms will drag on. Tune in as Dr. John Cascone reveals why so many people in nursing homes are coming down with Covid.  

In This Episode

• [06:20] Meet Dr. John Cascone. Dr. John speaks about the unique circumstances of the coronavirus pandemic. 
• [11:25] Factors that make Covid especially risky.  
• [14:00] What seniors can expect to experience as a long-hauler.   
• [16:20] What happens when a patient gets intubated for Covid-19. 
• [17:45] Why so many people in nursing homes are coming down with Covid. 
• [22:50] About the treatments that people are receiving for Covid and how close we are to a vaccine. 

Key Takeaways

• If you are 80+ years of age, your risk of dying of Covid is 15%. If you compare that to a 20-year-old, their risk of dying is 0.2%. 
• Hypertension, obesity, and cardiovascular disease are the most prominent risk factors that will give someone a bad outcome from Covid. 
• Once a patient gets intubated for Covid-19, the mortality starts to go up astronomically. 
• Suppose you’re within six feet of someone for longer than fifteen minutes without a mask. In that case, your risk of acquiring the virus from another person is pretty significant.
• We can expect the vaccine data to come out in early December. We can expect distribution after the first of the year.

Meet Dr. John Cascone

John Cascone is a board-certified internal medicine and infectious disease physician. His internal medicine residency was done at the University of Kansas and infectious disease fellowship at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He is the medical director of nursing homes in southwest Missouri. His medical practice includes the care of residents in long-term care facilities, infectious disease consultations, and telemedicine infectious disease services to rural facilities. He has a special interest in the diagnosis and treatment of sepsis, Clostridium difficile colitis, Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia, antimicrobial stewardship, and pressure ulcers. He lives in Joplin, Missouri with his family.

Connect with Dr. John Cascone:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-cascone-m-d-a43283a1/

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