Flu becomes a threat to people with underlying diseases
The Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases is currently treating eight patients with severe flu, one of whom requires ECMO intervention.
The first case is Mr. L.V.T (58 years old, Son Duong, Tuyen Quang), who has a history of high blood pressure but does not maintain regular medication. He used to smoke cigarettes and tobacco for 30 years, although he quit smoking 10 years ago.
About three weeks before admission, he began to have a cough, fever, and difficulty breathing and self-treated at home for a week but did not improve. After being admitted to the hospital and tested positive for influenza A, Mr. T was treated but his condition worsened, leading to severe respiratory failure and the need for intubation.
Four days after treatment, the patient's fever subsided, but in the past three days, the fever returned to 39 degrees Celsius. A bronchial fluid test revealed bacteria, causing the patient to fall into septic shock.
Mr. T was transferred to the Intensive Care Center in a state of septic shock and required a ventilator. A chest X-ray showed extensive damage of 80-90%, with almost complete loss of ventilation function. The CO2 index in the blood increased, leading to severe respiratory failure.
Given the critical situation, doctors decided to put him on ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation). Although his vital signs were temporarily stable, he still needed close monitoring due to severe infection.
The second patient is Mr. V.V.U (62 years old, Dong Trieu, Quang Ninh), with a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) for 7 years but not well controlled. The patient did not go for regular check-ups and in the past year was hospitalized 5 times due to COPD.
About 3 days before being admitted to the hospital, Mr. U had a fever, cough, and difficulty breathing that gradually increased. After two days of treatment at the medical facility, severe respiratory failure required the patient to be intubated. The influenza A test result was positive, and the patient was transferred to the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases.
At the Intensive Care Center, the patient still had to maintain an endotracheal tube and be fed through a gastric tube because he could not eat on his own. After two weeks of treatment, the prognosis was still very serious.
Warning not to be subjective with flu
MSc. Dr. Vo Duc Linh - Intensive Care Center, said that influenza A seriously affects patients with respiratory diseases such as COPD. The influenza virus attacks the lungs, causing patients with existing lung damage to progress more quickly.
Mr. U’s case shows that influenza can cause acute respiratory failure in just 2-3 days, requiring intubation. Doctors recommend that people with COPD need regular check-ups, appropriate medication adjustments, and annual flu vaccinations to reduce the risk of complications.
MSc. Dr. Pham Van Phuc - Deputy Director of the Intensive Care Center, Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases emphasized that people with underlying diseases, the elderly and people with immunodeficiency need to be especially careful when getting the flu.
"Influenza is not just a mild illness, it can lead to widespread lung damage, bacterial superinfection, myocarditis, multiple organ failure and even death," Dr. Phuc warned.
