Some COVID-19 patients do not experience shortness of breath even when their blood saturation is significantly reduced, reaching as much as 70%. – said on Tuesday Dr. Tadeusz Zielonka from the Medical University of Warsaw.
- Smell and taste disorders are less and less common among COVID-19 patients
- Many patients also do not have shortness of breath, despite low blood oxygen saturation
- According to Dr. Tomasz Zielonka, people who undergo COVID-19 at home should regularly check their saturation, measure their temperature, heart rate and blood pressure
- The doctor also told how to treat the infection at home
- You can find more such stories on the TvoiLokony home page
During an online infection conference, the expert warned that the assessment of the patient’s condition at home on the basis of dyspnea alone may not be sufficient. It is very important to regularly measure the level of blood saturation so as not to miss the moment when COVID-19 enters the next, more advanced stage, and the patient requires hospitalization.
– A patient with a detected SARS-CoV-2 infection, who does not require hospitalization, is in a difficult situation because he has to be in quarantine, is isolated, cannot perform tests or be examined – said Dr. n. med. Tadeusz Zielonka from the Chair and Department of Family Medicine at the Medical University of Warsaw. He emphasized that in such a situation, the patient may not report all the symptoms he feels, even dyspnea, during the teleconsultation.
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– Some patients may not feel short of breath. It happened that patients staying in the hospital denied that they had dyspnea with blood saturation reaching even 70%. – explained the specialist.
He added that the most common symptom of COVID-19 is fever, occurring by 88%. sickas shown by the observations in the USA and Great Britain. Other complaints include:
- dry cough (68% of cases),
- fatigue (38%),
- sputum (33%).
Only 19 percent complain of dyspnea. sick. The remaining symptoms are muscle and joint pain, indicated by 15%. patients, headaches (14%), vomiting (5%) and diarrhea (4%). Recently, loss of smell and taste has occurred less frequently – noted the specialist.
He informed that during the stay at home, blood saturation as well as body temperature, as well as heart rate and blood pressure should be monitored. Correct saturation should exceed 94%. When in the first week of the disease it drops to the level of 90-92%, special vigilance is necessary, including contact with a doctor, because there is a high risk of the patient’s condition worsening. A hospital stay may be necessary already at this stage, even if there are no signs of respiratory distress yet.
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According to dr hab. Tadeusz Zielonka, close monitoring of the patient in the hospital is necessary when respiratory failure occurs. It usually occurs in the second week of illness and is manifested by dyspnoea, as evidenced by a respiratory rate exceeding 30 per minute. It should be remembered, however, that a sick person may be upset by their deteriorating condition, and stress accelerates breathing. However, the decrease in blood saturation below 90-92% is disturbing.
The most advanced stage of the disease is the fourth stage of the disease, in which the patient shows severe respiratory failure, disruption of many internal organs and septic shock. In such a state, a stay in the intensive care unit is necessary.
Appropriate treatment is important in the first days of infection, and it is possible even at home. On its own, you can take a medicine called budesonide, a corticosteroid that has anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic properties. This preparation is usually used by patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but it has also proven to be helpful in COVID-19. It inhibits the symptoms of inflammation, such as mucosal congestion, irritation and itching, increased secretion of mucus in the respiratory tract as well as swelling and infiltration of inflammatory cells.
According to Dr. hab. Tadeusz Zielonka, budesonide can be inhaled in all patients with COVID-19 symptoms who are at least 65 years of age staying at home, as well as in younger people from 50 years of age with comorbidities.
– Early initiation of this drug at a dose of 800 mcg twice a day is recommended. Its administration can also be considered in all outpatients over 18 years with symptoms of this disease – he added.
Author: Zbigniew Wojtasiński / PAP
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