Objective: To investigate the clinical treatment and assess the knowledge and use of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) treatment plan issued by the nation.
Methods: A nationwide questionnaire survey on line was administered to medical staffs involved in COVID-19 treatment on February 28th, 2020. The questionnaire included drug treatment, respiratory support therapy, sedation and analgesia, continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), etc.
Results: There were 1 103 respondents, of whom 699 (504 doctors and 195 nurses) participated in the treatment of COVID-19. Finally, 432 doctors and 170 nurses from 9 provinces submitted valid questionnaires. The results of the questionnaire surveys of doctors and nurses were basically the same. Considering that doctors dominated in the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19, the results of the questionnaires of doctors were mainly analyzed. The doctors participating in the survey were mainly from Hubei (29.2%), followed by Henan (24.5%), Guizhou (22.7%), and Guangxi (14.6%), etc. 55.4% of the doctors came from tertiary three hospitals, and most of them have senior titles (56.4%). 232 doctors (53.7%) participated in the treatment of mild COVID-19, and 200 doctors (46.3%) participated in the treatment of severe and critically ill patients. More than 95% of the doctors expressed that they would carry out antiviral treatment for patients with COVID-19 regardless of disease severity. The main antiviral drugs included α-interferon (69.5%), lopinavir/ritonavir (65.0%), abidol (60.0%), and ribavirin (55.7%). The choice of antiviral drugs was highly consistent with the national treatment programs of COVID-19. At the same time, 95.5% of doctors would routinely prescribe antibiotics to severe and critically ill patients. 94.0% of doctors agreed to prescribe low-dose glucocorticoid therapy to severe and critically ill patients. About 2/3 of doctors would perform lung recruitment or prone position treatment for critical patients with invasive ventilation. 79.0% of doctors preferred to use deep sedation for patients with invasive ventilation. About 1/3 of doctors believed that CRRT should be initiated early, and nearly 1/3 of doctors suggested that ECMO should be used more aggressively in critically ill patients.
Conclusions: Medical staffs are familiar with the national treatment plan of COVID-19 and willing to follow it. However, as a new disease, we have limited knowledge about COVID-19 and there are still many controversies. Further practical training is needed to make clinicians more aware of the disease, and more evidence-based evidence is needed to guide clinical treatment.