Management of COVID-19 at the pandemic’s first wave in Ecuador

• Published in: SAGE open medical case reports Vol. 9; p. 2050313X211045232
• Main Authors: Briones-Claudett, Killen H, Murillo Vásconez, Roger Alexander, Rivera Salas, Carolina del Rosario, Briones-Zamora, Killen H, Briones-Márquez, Diana C, Icaza-Freire, Andrea, Grunauer, Michelle
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 2021; Sage Publications Ltd; SAGE Publishing
• Subjects: Case Report; Case reports; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Pandemics; Severe acute respiratory syndrome; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Ecuador; Coronavirus infections; pandemic; severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; coronavirus disease 2019
• ISSN: 2050-313X; 2050-313X
• DOI: 10.1177/2050313X211045232

During March and April 2020, Ecuador was the country with the highest death toll in Latin America due to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Simultaneously, research was being developed and published globally, and to a certain extent, guided therapeutic approaches in real time, mostly in under-resourced settings. We present the case of a 59-year-old male physician residing in Guayaquil, who presented with severe coronavirus disease 2019, in which mechanical ventilation, prone position, and pulmonary protective ventilatory strategy were used. We discuss the clinical management of the first reported case in the literature of a physician in Ecuador who survived severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection, as well as the topic of self-medication within health professionals, the management approach that was emerging at the moment in scientific publications and guiding treatment, the role of responsible research and its worldwide impact, and the emotional burdens of the care team who had to make very difficult decisions in extremely adverse circumstances.