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The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is often compared with the influenza virus, but we already know from numerous studies that SARS-CoV-2 is much more dangerous. A new study shows that COVID-19 has a higher complication rate compared to the flu.
- Scientists analyzed data of COVID-19 patients and flu patients and proved that complications after COVID-19 are much more dangerous than after flu
- Patients with COVID-19 are 19 times more likely to develop acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and five times more likely to die from infections than patients with the flu
- For more up-to-date information on the coronavirus, please visit the TvoiLokony home page
COVID-19 complications are more dangerous than flu complications
Complication rates are higher with severe COVID-19 than with severe flu, according to a new study published on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. The researchers compared data from 3948 adults hospitalized with COVID-19 with 5453 adults hospitalized with flu (in previous years). Flu patients had a higher rate of underlying diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. Still, this patients with COVID-19 had more than five times higher mortality and approximately twice as much need for admission to the intensive care unit. They also spent more time in the hospital than patients with flu.
The researchers also found that COVID-19 patients had a higher rate of 17 different complications, including those affecting the lungs, heart, blood vessels, nervous system, kidneys and liver.
Interestingly, the study also showed that the risk of complications from COVID-19 was higher for blacks, Hispanics, and other non-white patients, even after adjusting for age and underlying medical conditions. According to the researchers, these differences provide further evidence that COVID-19 has a disproportionately higher impact on influenza from racial and ethnic minorities.
“Every year millions of people get sick with the flu or parainfluenza and for this reason we are not closing the country”, “there have been coronaviruses, there are and will be. What is this panic for? » – such entries appear under virtually every article about new information about COVID-19 and the SARS-CoV-2 that causes it. What makes the coronavirus so dangerous? Why do we need to protect ourselves from it? What is it about him that has caused world paralysis? It is worth knowing which opponent you are dealing with.
See: Why is SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus so dangerous? Why don’t we treat him like the flu?
What are the most common complications after COVID-19?
According to a study published before the CDC, patients with COVID-19 had an almost 19 times greater risk of developing acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) than patients with the flu. In addition, they were twice as likely to develop myocarditis, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, intracranial haemorrhage, acute hepatitis / liver failure, bacteremia, and pressure ulcers.
The study also found that the risk of asthma exacerbations and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was lower in patients with COVID-19 than in those with the flu. The percentage of COVID-19 patients who died during hospitalization (21%) was more than five times higher than in patients with influenza (3,8%).
In the article published in Science Direct, the authors emphasize that the severity of COVID-19 complications is influenced by the age and sex of patients. The rate of hospitalization and deaths is lower in children and amounts to approx. 0,1%, but increases to as much as 10%. in older groups of patients. According to studies to date, men are at greater risk of developing severe complications from COVID-19 than women.
- See how to tell the difference between flu and COVID-19 symptoms
The main complications reported by COVID-19 patients include:
- coagulopathy, i.e. blood clotting disorders,
- laryngeal edema and laryngitis,
- necrotizing pneumonia due to bacterial superinfection,
- cardiovascular complications including acute pericarditis, left ventricular dysfunction, acute myocardial damage, arrhythmias, heart failure,
- acute respiratory failure,
- sepsis and multi-organ failure,
- ventilation pneumonia,
- massive pulmonary embolism complicated by acute right-sided heart failure.
Some of these complications pose a direct threat to the patient’s life.
- Why have so many people died from COVID-19? We’ll find the answers in the World Health Report
- Long COVID-19: Who’s Most at Risk?
- Who is the most effective at spreading the coronavirus? New research
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