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There are photos of two Wuhan doctors who have darkened their skin color during hospitalization after being infected with the coronavirus. Both had severe COVID-19 disease. Is such a reaction of the body to treatment possible from a medical point of view? We check.
Skin color change in Wuhan doctors. The first such case
Chinese television BeijingTV published material about two doctors from Wuhan. Dr. Hu Weifeng and Dr. Yi Fan contracted the coronavirus while working at the hospital. They were diagnosed on January 18 and are still hospitalized in the intensive care unit. Dr. Yi Fan, a cardiologist, was attached to an ECMO (extracorporeal blood oxidation) machine for 39 days, and Dr. Hu Weifeng, a urologist, for 45 days. Their condition improved, but during treatment, the skin of both doctors clearly turned darker. Previously, such cases had not been documented.
Why does skin change color? The reasons may be different
The medics are under the care of Dr. Li Shusheng from Wuhan Tongji Hospital, who told a Chinese station that he believed the skin of the men may have turned darker due to taking a drug given to them at the beginning of their hospital stay. It is not known what drug is meant here, but Li Shusheng confirmed that its side effects include alteration of skin pigmentation. He also said that he expected both doctors to return to their normal skin color when their livers recovered to function.
– There are drugs that can have this effect, change the tone of the skin and even the enamel. At the moment, several dozen treatment regimens are tried all over the world. What were those doctors treated with – I have no idea. It’s too early to talk about the possible side effects of any COVID-19 treatment. But it must also be said that a long stay in the hospital and taking medications can change the entire metabolism, lead to dehydration of the skin, changes in the structure of the epithelium – comments doctor Jacek Gleba.
– There was hyperpigmentation here, i.e. the accumulation of skin pigments. We deal with this type of problem in various hormonal diseases, such as Addison’s disease. What is the mechanism in this case? I don’t know, because this is the first time this has happened in the world. This may result from hepatic metabolism, from an inflammatory reaction – hyperpigmentation occurs in the course of psoriasis and lichen planus. We can see that in patients from Wuhan, the color change is quite large, but at the same time – what is the most interesting – the skin color returns to normal relatively quickly. The causes will certainly be verified and checked – says doctor Łukasz Durajski.
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