With the arrival of the winter months in Turkey, there is an increase in respiratory infections. The average daily number of patients coming to the adult department of Akdeniz University Hospital Emergency Department with complaints of respiratory tract infection in the last month has increased by 70-80 percent. The increase in the number of patients coming to the Pediatric Emergency Department with upper respiratory tract infection complaints reached 50 percent, and lower respiratory tract infection complaints reached 30 percent. Of the approximately 140 patients daily admitted to the emergency department, 7-8 percent of the samples were tested positive for Covid.
As patients with advanced upper respiratory tract infections were transferred to lower respiratory tract diseases, intensive care units began to become crowded. The DHA team entered the Akdeniz University Hospital Intensive Care Unit and recorded the patient density there.
CHRONIC PATIENTS OVER 65 YEARS OLD IN INTENSIVE CARE
Akdeniz University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology and Reanimation, Prof. Dr. Melike Cengiz stated that intensive care units are full for 12 months of the year and that the density increases during the winter months. Prof. said that they usually take patients with advanced complaints of respiratory failure to the intensive care unit. Dr. Melike Cengiz said, “Very common viruses, regardless of their type, such as Influenza, Covid or Rhinovirus, are currently isolated. These can usually be treated as simple infections. Patients are sent home with treatments, but flu infections may not be easily overcome, especially in those with immune system problems, diabetes and cancer patients, children under the age of 1, individuals over 65 years of age, or people using immunosuppressant drugs. Respiratory failure or pneumonia, as it is commonly known, may occur in these people due to the virus affecting the lower respiratory tract. If the oxygen pressure in the blood drops too much, we need to apply additional oxygen treatments to these patients and, at least, the treatments used on the ventilator. We also do these in intensive care units. “It is rarely seen in young people, but the need for intensive care is generally higher in individuals over the age of 65 or in people who constitute a risk group due to the diseases they have or the medications they use,” he said.
ATTENTION TO MASK USE AND HYGIENE
Emphasizing that wearing a mask is very important during this period, Prof. Dr. Melike Cengiz said, “It is very important to wear a mask, especially for pneumonia, in this period. It is very important both to protect ourselves and to protect the people around us if we have flu. We should be careful not to stay in closed areas for too long. If we are staying indoors, it is important to ventilate these areas frequently. Of course, hand hygiene is still important. We need to keep our distance from people who may have flu. “Apart from this, general body print hygiene is also important,” he said.
‘WE TREAT GENERAL PNEUUMARY’
Stating that there are not only Covid patients in intensive care, Prof. Dr. Melike Cengiz said, “Different viruses other than Covid can also be isolated. After all, Covid still continues with different variants. It is not possible to routinely test every patient to determine if they are infected with the type of virus as before. Therefore, if a test is performed on patients hospitalized with us, we can find out whether it is related to this. Even if it is not done, there is no big change in its treatment anyway. Regardless of the virus infected with, we provide general pneumonia treatment here. “We treat the disease according to the severity of respiratory failure,” he said.
‘PATIENTS’ RELATIVES SHOULD NOT CLOSE TO RISKY GROUP’
Stating that those in the risk group should definitely try to protect themselves, Prof. Dr. Cengiz said, “We need to pay attention to our elderly. Diabetics and cancer patients should not go out to public places as much as possible, or their sick relatives should not approach these risk groups while they are sick. Because ultimately it can become life-threatening and we can lose patients. We kindly ask you to be careful about this issue, especially until this winter period is over. We recommend that risk groups leave their homes with a mask at all times. “We recommend that people who have relatives in risk groups enter their relatives with a mask,” he said.
“THE NEW VARIANT OF COVID-19 IS HIGHER INFECTIOUS”
Medical Microbiology Specialist Prof. points out that new worrying variants of SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of Covid-19, continue to emerge. Dr. Aynur Eren Topkaya mentioned that the currently circulating SARS-CoV-2 variant is more contagious than other respiratory viruses and affects risk groups, especially the elderly, more. Prof. Dr. Topkaya said that measures should be increased to prevent increased hospitalizations and to protect against the disease in general.
“Nowadays, we are in a period where all respiratory viruses are circulating in the society and hospitalizations are increasing for these reasons,” said Yeditepe University Hospitals Medical Microbiology Specialist Prof. Dr. Aynur Eren Topkaya reminded that viral respiratory diseases are severe, especially in the elderly and young children.