LETTER TO THE EDITOR | https://doi.org/10.5005/jp-journals-10071-23408 |
International-focused Online Forum: A Good Way to Jointly Manage the COVID-19 Pandemic for Global Critical Care Community
1,8Department of Critical Care Medicine, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, Shandong, China
2Department of Anesthesiology, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand
3Department Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Dr Soetomo Hospital, Surabaya, Indonesia
4,6Department of Critical Care Medicine, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei, China
5Department of Critical Care Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong, China
7Department of Critical Care Medicine, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China
Corresponding Author: Wang Chun-Ting, Department of Critical Care Medicine, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, Shandong, China, Phone: +86 15805311555, e-mail: wcteicu@126.com
How to cite this article Xiao-Bo H, Poonyathawon S, Semedi BP, Xiao-Yi Z, Wei F, Da-Wei W, et al. International-focused Online Forum: A Good Way to Jointly Manage the COVID-19 Pandemic for Global Critical Care Community. Indian J Crit Care Med 2020;24(4):283–284.
Source of support: Nil
Conflict of interest: None
Keywords: Coronavirus disease 2019, Mortality, Online forum.
Dear editor,
As the numbers of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases are soaring across the world, it has become the greatest concern at the moment, especially to medical staffs working in countries with heavy disease burden. March 18, 2020, was the first day when the number of locally transmitted confirmed case in mainland China touched 0, but it is very sad to see the numbers of confirmed cases and dead cases were skyrocketing outside of China at the same time (Fig. 1).
The severity and its social and economic impacts of this COVID-19 pandemic have been beyond most people’s expectations. It is heartening to see some countries had begun supporting and helping each other by providing supplies and sharing experiences, etc. We think it is important for global societies to join together and collaborate closely to face this challenge as well. In order to better communicate with global critical care community and share experiences and lessons with each other, we held a focused online forum, which was endorsed by Chinese Society of Critical Care Medicine (CSCCM), on March 17, 2020, to discuss issues regarding global containment and treatment of COVID-19. Presidents of CSCCM, Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine, Thai Society of Critical Care Medicine, and Indonesian Society of Intensive Care Medicine participated in this forum along with many other colleagues. We discussed on topics like management of healthcare personnel, isolation and quarantine procedures, respiratory supportive therapy, antiviral medications, and indications for ICU admission and discharge. The forum was successful and helpful in this particular moment for all of us.
Facing this severe global crisis of COVID-19, solidarity, transparency, and communication make great sense. We call for unification and collaboration of global critical care societies to jointly combat the COVID-19 pandemic. In this process, online forums and meetings have great advantage due to its features of timely accessible, cost-effective, and contactless. We would like to share our experiences with global colleagues.
Figs 1A and B: Number of new COVID-19 cases in mainland China (A) and outside of China (B) from March 5, 2020 to March 18, 2020, when the number of new local transmitted confirmed case touched 0 for the first time, while the problem of imported confirmed case became a bigger and bigger concern in China and COVID-19 epidemic status outside of China was worsening
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