FALSE: DO NOT SHARE
Claim:
COVID-19 can be treated by reducing blood clots.
Answer:
Unconfirmed. COVID-19 usually expresses itself as a moderate respiratory illness.
FURTHER INFORMATION
A YouTube video shows South African doctor Dr Jaco Laubscher, making the case that Covid-19 is a primarily a vascular rather than respiratory illness. Dr Laubscher outlines how coronavirus infection activates a platelet storm in patients’ blood stream in the lungs, triggering a runaway clotting reaction that leads to small blood vessels in the lungs becoming clogged. Dr Laubscher claims that this means that putting patients on ventilators is ineffective and can instead be treated with enzymes to counteract the effects.
This is unconfirmed. While there does appear to be some impact on the cardiovascular system and blood clotting in some patients from coronavirus infection, according to the WHO COVID-19 usually expresses itself as a moderate respiratory illness in patients. The use of thrombolysis treatments to reduce blood clots has not been verified in clinical trials. Dr Behnood Bikdeli from Columbia University in New York City has observed that COVID-19 “is like a storm of blood clots” in patients. Dr Lax from Medical University Graz said that while it is “not clear” whether the coronavirus causes blood clots in patients, anticoagulants have been used effectively to treat some COVID-19 patients. Research by the University of Utah has shown that hyperactive platelets may cause heart attacks and strokes in COVID-19 patients.
Dr Jaco Laubscher is a cardiology and intensive care specialist from Stellenbosch Mediclinic outside of Cape Town, South Africa. Some of his fellow haematologists from the University of Cape Town in South Africa have cast doubt over Dr Laubscher’s claims, saying that although they agree that COVID-19 appears to have some effect on blood clotting, Dr Laubscher’s treatment with enzymes should be avoided until more is known about COVID-19 and a clinical trial has been conducted. Administering anticoagulants can be dangerous as it can thin the blood and cause bleeding.
SOURCES
World Health Organization (WHO): Coronavirus, Overview
Dr Behnood Bikdeli in Nature, ‘Coronavirus blood-clot mystery intensifies’
University of Utah Health in Science News, ‘COVID-19 causes ‘hyperactivity’ in blood-clotting cells’
Origins of Claim
FULL TEXT OF CLAIM
“This video explains why Covid 19 is a vascular and not a respiratory disease and suggests a treatment protocol that works. In essence Covid 19 effects a vulnerable endothelium which leads to hyper-coagulability and impaired fibrinolysis. Management of the hyper-coagulable state by TEG and PFA is imperative. These are the findings of Stellenbosch based physician Dr Jaco Laubscher and anaesthetist Dr Johan Lourens.”
