Covid-19 patients have been misdiagnosed as having pneumonia when they actually have a blood clotting condition called disseminated intravascular coagulation.
It is incorrect to say that Covid-19 patients have been misdiagnosed with pneumonia when they have disseminated intravascular coagulation. Severe Covid-19 can cause pneumonia as well as blood clotting problems.
Antibiotics should be used to fight Covid-19.
Antibiotics are not recommended in patients with Covid-19. Covid-19 is caused by a virus and antibiotics are used to prevent or treat bacterial infections.
Antivirals should be used to fight Covid-19.
Antiviral drugs can be used to treat viral infections, but no specific antiviral drug has been conclusively shown to be effective against Covid-19 so far.
Anti-inflammatories should be used to fight Covid-19.
Anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen may be useful in treating Covid-19 symptoms at home.
Anticoagulants should be used to fight Covid-19.
There is evidence supporting the use of anticoagulants in some Covid-19 patients.
Posts shared on Facebook and Twitter have claimed that Covid-19 patients are being misdiagnosed with pneumonia when they actually have Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC): a rare but serious blood clotting condition that can lead to blood clots (known as thrombosis) or increased bleeding.
The posts also claim that antibiotics, antivirals, anti-inflammatories and anticoagulants should be used to treat the illness.
Severe Covid-19 has been associated with cases of DIC and thrombosis but this does not mean that current diagnoses or treatment of Covid-19 is wrong. And antibiotics should not be used to treat Covid-19.
Pneumonia (swelling of the tissues in the lungs) is a common complication of severe Covid-19 illness. Covid-19 treatment aims to relieve symptoms such as breathlessness as there are no specific treatments for the causes of the illness at this time.
Rather than pneumonia being a misdiagnosis of a blood clotting condition, research has shown that both pneumonia and DIC can be present at the same time in Covid-19 patients. It is thought that thrombosis of the lungs is a factor that can further complicate the course of pneumonia in Covid-19 patients.
Treatment with anticoagulants—medication which prevents blood clots—has been associated with better outcomes for certain Covid-19 patients. The British Thoracic Society has published guidance on the recommended dosage of low-molecular-weight heparin (an anticoagulation medication) in Covid-19 patients with proven or suspected thrombosis.
Antibiotics, on the other hand, are not recommended in patients with Covid-19 because this illness is caused by a virus and antibiotics are used to prevent or treat bacterial infections.
The National Institute for Health and Care and Excellence (NICE) only recommends that antibiotics are used to treat pneumonia if:
Antiviral drugs can be used to treat viral infections, but no specific antiviral drug has been conclusively shown to be effective against Covid-19 so far.
The NHS also says a low dose of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory, like ibuprofen, can be taken to treat fever and/or pain in Covid-19 cases managed at home. It recommends “that you try paracetamol first, it has fewer side effects than ibuprofen and is the safer choice for most people.” Previously it was thought that drugs like ibuprofen may be harmful to Covid-19 patients but the evidence no longer supports this theory.
These claims have been circulating on social media in Spain since mid-April 2020 according to Spanish fact checks.
The evidence for these claims, according to the post, comes from autopsies of 50 patients who died from Covid-19 in Italy. The closest research to this description that we have found is an analysis of lung tissues from 38 people who died from Covid-19 in two hospitals in Northern Italy.
This study, published on 22 April as a pre-print (meaning it has not yet been peer-reviewed) April, does not provide evidence of misdiagnosis in Covid-19 patients. The authors note that all 38 patients seemed to have pneumonia when they were hospitalised with Covid-19.
The analysis of lung tissues finds support for Covid-19 complications related to excessive bleeding and thrombosis. This, the authors write, gives evidence towards the use of anticoagulants in patients with severe Covid-19, whilst also warning that the efficacy and safety has yet to be demonstrated.
This article is part of our work fact checking potentially false pictures, videos and stories on Facebook. You can read more about this—and find out how to report Facebook content—here. For the purposes of that scheme, we’ve rated this claim as partly false because it mentions an evidenced finding of blood clotting conditions in Covid-19 patients, but also contains many inaccuracies about the symptoms and treatment of Covid-19.
You’ve probably seen a surge in misleading and unsubstantiated medical advice since the Covid-19 outbreak. If followed, it can put lives at serious risk. We need your help to protect us all from false and harmful information.
We’ve seen people claiming to be health professionals, family members, and even the government – offering dangerous tips like drinking warm water or gargling to prevent infection. Neither of these will work.
The longer claims like these go unchecked, the more they are repeated and believed. It can put people’s health at serious risk, when our services are already under pressure.
Today, you have the opportunity to help save lives. Good information about Covid-19 could be the difference between someone taking the right precautions to protect themselves and their families, or not. Could you help protect us all from false and harmful information today?
Bad information ruins lives. It promotes hate, damages people’s health, and hurts democracy. You deserve better.