In late December 2019, I was made aware of a novel coronavirus, which had been identified as the cause of a cluster of pneumonia and acute hypoxemic respiratory failure in Wuhan, China. As we are now aware, this coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak became a global pandemic. Over the next several months, I read everything I could about this illness, from basic epidemiology to advance diagnostic and therapeutic methods.
By the end of February of 2020, a series of cases were reported in the United States, and large mass gathering events were cancelled. At that time, I knew I was going to be called upon to take care of these patients in a very short period of time.
Critical Care Shock 2020, Vol 23, No. 3 – Editorial by Dr. Joseph Varon (FLCCC)
