The new coronavirus infection peaks, pneumonia caused by virus has attracted the attention of many people. The term "white lung" appears frequently and becomes a hot search topic. "
What kind of pneumonia will develop into white lung? What happens if pneumonia is found after turning negative? Here is the interpretation of the issues that netizens are concerned about.
What is "white lung"?
Does pneumonia mean "white lungs"?
Recently, the National Health Commission responded to the phenomenon of "white lungs" found in patients infected with the new coronavirus. Jiao Yahui, director of the Medical Affairs Department of the National Health Commission, said that generally speaking, inflammation in the lungs is relatively severe and infiltrates. When there are more lungs, that is, the white image area reaches 70%-80%, it is colloquially called "white lung" in clinical practice.
The so-called "white lung" currently appearing has nothing to do with the original strain or vaccination. The existing mature expert consensus and treatment plan are mainly prone position ventilation and oxygen therapy, and strengthen the treatment of the cause of the original disease. A considerable number of patients with "white lung" can get better.
Why did pneumonia symptoms appear after turning negative
?
Li Tong, chief physician of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Beijing You'an Hospital, once said that many people still have symptoms of cough and chest tightness two weeks after being infected with the new coronavirus. When they go to the hospital for examination, they are found to have pneumonia. There are two situations here:
Some people had pneumonia related to the new coronavirus before, but it was not found because they did not do CT. For young people with normal immunity , a little pneumonia can recover on their own.
Other people are due to infection After the new coronavirus, the defense ability of respiratory decreased, or bacterial infection occurred secondary to low immunity due to lack of good rest. In this case, symptoms of chest tightness, shortness of breath, worsening cough, and even fever may occur after 7 to 10 days.
After checking blood routine and taking chest CT, the doctor’s comprehensive judgment showed that if the original pneumonia is in the recovery period, you can continue to rest without treatment. If it is a secondary bacterial infection, antibiotic needs to be added to consolidate the treatment. Most people will quickly You can recover, don't worry too much. Does
cause pneumonia at a lower rate than the original strain
Omicron ?
Ma Xiaochun, director of the Department of Critical Care Medicine at the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, said that after the emergence of the Omicron strain , the overall pneumonia rate was significantly reduced compared with the original strain. Cases encountered before delta , including the original strain, and the overall proportion of pneumonia Even higher, there are many patients who cannot stop the progression of their disease with current intervention methods. Generally speaking, most patients infected with Omicron strain can stop the progression of their disease.
He Yingli, director of the Department of Infectious Diseases at the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, said that infections caused by Omicron may lead to relatively mild lung lesions, but some high-risk and vulnerable groups may develop lung lesions . Before the COVID-19 epidemic, some patients with "white lung" were treated every year. Toxins can also cause "white lungs", and many patients recover well with treatment.
Is pneumonia in the elderly caused by the new coronavirus
or is it a co-infection with underlying conditions?
Li Tong once said that some time ago, patients were mainly young people, but now the peak of infection in the elderly has begun to appear. Many of these elderly people have underlying diseases. They are prone to develop pneumonia after infection. The symptoms are usually obvious about a week after the onset of the disease and require hospitalization. There are several factors for the occurrence of pneumonia:
First, the elderly are relatively old. Nowadays, most of the severe cases are elderly people over 80 years old.
Second, the vast majority of patients have underlying diseases, such as hypertension , diabetes , and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases . There are also some people who are complicated by bacterial infection in the later stage. The lung lesions are not the typical symptoms of viral pneumonia , but also mixed with the manifestations of bacterial pneumonia .
What symptoms do the elderly have?
Should we be more vigilant?
The immunity of the elderly is relatively poor, especially those who have not received the vaccine . Early symptoms include itchy throat, dry cough, and fever. The fever temperature may not be as high as that of young people. The peak body temperature will subside after three or four days.
But in the elderly, it is often on the fourth or fifth day before the virus reaches the lungs and pneumonia appears. At this time, some elderly people will experience chest tightness and shortness of breath, especially after activities. If the symptoms are ignored, the elderly will develop obvious hypoxia on the sixth or seventh day, and even experience shortness of breath and stuffiness when sitting quietly.
Doctor’s Tip: On the fourth or fifth day of infection, be sure to observe whether the elderly have shortness of breath, dizziness after activity, memory loss, sleepiness, confusion, or unsteady walking. If asthma occurs, seek medical attention immediately.
Academician Chen Saijuan's team:
Infections in many places around New Year's Day are coming to an end.
Chen Saijuan, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said on December 31 that among people who have recently developed symptoms of new coronavirus infection, the severe ones are mainly concentrated in the elderly with underlying diseases; New Year's Day and Spring Festival are coming soon, and rural areas with relatively weak medical resources need to pay special attention.
Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ruijin Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine , Translational Medicine The team of Chen Saijuan of the National Major Infrastructure (Shanghai) and the team of Fan Xiaohong of the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center jointly tackled the problem and published a research paper in Frontiers of Medicine "Preliminary Analysis of the Diversity and Epidemiological Characteristics of Omicron subtypes in the COVID-19 Epidemic in my country in the Autumn and Winter of 2022". Researchers have preliminarily determined that in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Chongqing and other cities, the number of infections in this round of Omicron epidemic will stabilize around New Year's Day in 2023, and the overall epidemic is coming to an end. Based on the research results, the
team analyzed that with the changes in virus transmission routes caused by the evolution of the epidemic, multiple Omicron subtypes are spreading simultaneously in the country; among people who have recently developed symptoms of new coronavirus infection, severe cases are mainly concentrated in the elderly with underlying diseases; After New Year's Day and the Spring Festival, the new coronavirus epidemic will mainly affect rural and small and medium-sized urban areas.
Source丨Comprehensive CCTV News, China News Network
Editor丨Jiang Zhuyun
