The director of Anesthesia and Reanimation of the Milanese hospital says: «We have cases of non-immunized people who present themselves with 90% destroyed lung tissue. Many reject the existence of Covid “
Unvaccinated people have a 33 times higher risk of death from Covid than those who received the third dose, according to the Higher Institute of Health. Roberto Fumagalli, director of the Department of Anesthesia and Reanimation at the Niguarda Hospital and full professor at the University of Milan Bicocca, why in some cases it is not possible to treat these patients?
“When there is a serious disease affecting the lungs, the effort made to breathe causes further mechanical damage, due to hyperventilation. We see unvaccinated people arrive at the hospital with their lung tissue almost completely destroyed (even 90%), precisely because of this vicious circle: the difficulty in breathing and the consequent anguished desire to satisfy the hunger for air. In fact, one of the treatments that are put in place in the case of severe Covid is the so-called pulmonary rest, which requires sedation and mechanical ventilation “.
What are the characteristics of the people admitted to your ward?
«The median age of the unvaccinated is 60, that of the vaccinated 70. The vaccinated who arrive at the hospital are older and many of them have previous illnesses: the unvaccinated are younger and often healthy. Among the immunized, the least protected are those who received two doses of AstraZeneca, while we have had very few patients with the third dose and mostly in the two weeks after vaccination (where coverage is not optimal). The booster with an mRna vaccine protects very well even after two viral vector doses ».
How much can oxygen saturation drop in severe cases?
«Some patients, almost always unvaccinated, have 80-83 saturation and serious breathing difficulties. But they are people who deny the existence of Covid, out of an ideological attitude, and consequently wait too long to call for help. The blood oxygen level drops over a few days, not suddenly. “
Can all viral pneumonia cause such devastating damage?
“Yes, we saw it for example with the H1N1 flu strain in 2009. But before Sars-CoV-2 in my ward we had 5-6 cases a year, now a few hundred. The risk of death for patients with viral pneumonia in the ICU is 30-40%. We can protect ourselves with the vaccine, but unfortunately not everyone understands it ».
How do you treat severe patients?
«With cortisone, mechanical ventilation, feeding support, antibiotics in case of bacterial superinfections. The latter are very common in unvaccinated patients with severe Covid, who have an immunosuppressive condition caused by the virus and cortisone. Even intubation itself carries a risk of bacterial infection ».
What can be done with people who refuse the vaccine or treatment?
«You have to convince the anti-vaccinists, force them in an intelligent way. The green pass goes in this direction. We doctors feel great frustration when faced with a person who refuses treatment. Our role is to save lives and now we have the tools to do it even against Covid. The first essential weapon, however, remains vaccination: those who refuse it risk their skin ».
January 25, 2022 (change January 25, 2022 | 08:43)
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