Will it take longer for older people to recover from COVID-19? Are there many bacterial infections in older patients infected with COVID-19? Can we prevent XBB variant by receiving vaccines?
On January 4, Guangzhou's clinical experts shared answers to FAQs on how to protect older people in a press briefing.
(Photo: GDToday)
If older patients have pneumonia but with slight symptoms, the family should be careful with their consciousness, appetite, and blood oxygen levels, said Ye Feng, director of the Department of Respiratory Medicine of the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University.
According to Ye, clinically, it has also been found that some older COVID-19 patients are co-infected with influenza, and may develop secondary bacterial and fungal infections as the disease progresses, which requires careful screening by doctors and targeted measures.
Guangzhou Eighth People's Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University has prepared 212 beds for severe patients
Q: Statistics from the Guangzhou Municipal Health Commission show that Guangzhou has already been through the COVID-19 infection peak and is now facing the peak of severe illnesses. What measures has Guangzhou Eighth People's Hospital taken to secure the treatment of key individuals?
A: As the designated hospital for COVID-19 in Guangzhou, the hospital now adopts tiered diagnosis and treatment to safeguard the admission and treatment of patients with severe COVID-19, said Li Yueping, director and chief physician of the Department of Infections ICU of Guangzhou Eighth People's Hospital.
The hospital has prepared 212 beds for severe patients. At present, 99.9% of the patients in the hospital have been treated successfully.
Older people without contraindications such as epilepsy, Guillain-Barré syndrome, uncontrolled hypertension, urticaria, or anaphylactic shock after vaccination, are called upon to receive vaccines. It is recommended to take more than two doses of vaccines and it is better to accept the booster vaccines.
Q: How long can we get booster shots after recovery from COVID-19 infection? Are booster shots helpful in protecting older people against variants with a stronger immune escape capacity, for example, XBB, and repeated infections?
A: Vaccination is effective in preventing severe illness for all COVID-19 variants, said Li Yueping. Apart from using the vaccine to stimulate the production of antibodies, it is more frequent to stimulate T cells for immunity. Residents can get vaccines three months after recovery from COVID-19.
Receive every severe patient that should be received
Q: How about the ICU beds and healthcare workers capacity in the hospital recently? Are there enough beds ? How to cope with the peak of severe illnesses?
A: Wu Benquan, director of the Department of Internal Medicine ICU and chief physician of the Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University said that the hospital receives every severe patient that should be received, works to lower the rate of moderate-type patients progressing to severe illnesses, and reduce the rate of death.
The hospital expands the capacity of intensive care. The number of intensive care beds accounts for 8% to 10% of the open beds. There are more than 200 intensive care beds.
Through tiered admission and treatment measures, patients with critical or severe illness, and moderate patients tending to be severe are admitted to the standard ICU, transformed ICU, internal medicine system, and surgical system for diagnosis and treatment.
For severe patients admitted to the ICU, their conditions are serious, with underlying diseases, and recovery takes a relatively longer time, which creates a certain pressure on admission of severe patients at peak times.
After expansion and optimization, beds for severe patients can almost meet the needs. Currently, the number of severe patients admitted to the Department of Emergency Medicine has dropped.
The infection situation of medical staff has improved significantly. Nearly 80% of previously ill medical staff have returned to work.
Older people should be careful with potential sequela after recovery
Q: Will older people recover more slowly than younger people after the antigen tests turn negative? What potential sequela do older people face?
A: Relevant studies have shown that older people, especially those over 80 years old, will have a higher viral load than young people after being infected with novel coronavirus, and the time for older people with underlying diseases to turn negative will be longer, said Ye Feng.
Even if the antigen test is negative, the underlying disease may worsen in older people. For example, patients with diabetes have fluctuating blood sugar after infection, and elevated blood sugar will also have a certain impact on the immunity of the body.
The elderly with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other serious lung diseases may suffer from respiratory failure, cognitive impairment, fatigue, and fluctuating blood pressure after being infected with COVID-19, and their coagulation function may also be affected.
Author | Hannah, He Yang (intern)
Editor | Wing, Steven, Monica, Jerry
