White House physician Dr. Sean Conley gave an optimistic view of President Donald Trump’s condition Sunday morning during a press conference outside Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Later in the day, the president appeared in the backseat of a black SUV waving outside of Walter Reed.
Dr. Conley indicated he could be discharged as early as today to continue treatment at the White House.
The president has been fever free since Friday, said Dr. Sean Dooley, one of the physicians assisting in the treatment of President Trump.
The president’s oxygen saturation dropped twice Friday prompting oxygen administration and his stay at Walter Reed, but Dr. Conley described it as a “transient, limited episode.”
He said in a previous press briefing that the president had not received oxygen, though admitted Sunday that was not true.
“I was trying to reflect the upbeat attitude that the team, the president in his course of illness has had,” he said. “I didn’t want to give any information that would steer the course of illness in another direction.”
Treatments show a serious implication.
President Trump was administered dexamethasone, a corticosteroid drug, Saturday after another dip in oxygen levels. The drug is typically only used for severe cases of COVID-19.
In its COVID-19 treatment guidelines, the National Institutes of Health recommends “against using dexamethasone for the treatment of COVID-19 in patients who do not require supplemental oxygen.”
He is being treated with the antiviral drug remdesivir, which the FDA originally only designated for severe cases before extending the emergency use authorization to all cases.
