Patient N.T.T (female, 73 years old, in Hanoi) was admitted to the hospital with a prolonged high fever, cough with phlegm, sore throat and fatigue. 4 days before, the patient had symptoms of flu but arbitrarily bought medicine instead of going to the doctor. When the condition became more severe, the patient went to Hospital E for examination and was diagnosed with cum A.
At the hospital, patients are treated with antibiotics, antiviruses for the influenza combined with supportive measures such as reducing cough, reducing fever and replenishing electrolyte.
Not only the elderly or people with underlying diseases, influenza can also cause dangerous complications in healthy young people. 4 days before being hospitalized, Ms. N.N.P (30 years old, Hanoi) had a high fever with headache, sore throat, cough with phlegm, runny nose, and pain in the body. After testing for the flu at home and getting a positive result, Ms. P used Tamiflu herself for 2 days. However, the high fever and fatigue caused Ms. P to go to the Department of Tropical Diseases, Hospital E.
Here, Ms. P was diagnosed with infected influenza B and was treated with antibiotics, antiviruses, combined with supportive measures such as cough reduction, fever reduction and electrolyte replacement. According to the treating physician, this case shows that even young people with a healthy history should not be subjective with the flu, especially when the disease progresses for a long time or has unusual signs.
Also buying medicine to take after a long-term fever, cough with phlegm, sore throat and fatigue but could not recover, Ms. N.T.T (73 years old, in Hanoi) was hospitalized in a state of serious condition. Ms. T was diagnosed with cum A.
MSc. Dr. Dinh Thi Bich Thuc, Department of Tropical Diseases - E Hospital, said that according to statistics from January 2025, the department will receive and treat about 250 cases of influenza of all kinds. However, after the Lunar New Year 2025, the number of influenza cases coming for examination and treatment tends to increase, with an average of about 10 patients suffering from influenza per day. At peak times, nearly 40 patients come to the clinic every day, of which more than half are infected with the flu.
Notably, not only the elderly, children or people with underlying diseases (cardiovascular disease, diabetes, respiratory disease, etc.), but even young, healthy people are at risk of disease and complications if subjective.
Dr. Thuc emphasized that anyone is at risk of getting the flu, however, the level of impact will vary depending on each subject. Although many cases of the flu can recover on their own, if not treated promptly, the disease can progress severely, causing dangerous complications such as pneumonia, respiratory failure, Bacterial infections, and even life-threatening in severe cases.
According to the flu treatment guidelines of the Vietnamese Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the use of antiviral drug Tamiflu (oseltamivir) is only prescribed when there are serious complications or at high risk.
Sharing about this issue, Dr. Le Van Thieu - Department of General Infectious Diseases, Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases - said: Not all cases of flu need this specific viral anti-viral drug.
Treatment is mainly symptomatic treatment, helping to reduce discomfort during the acute infection stage. Most cases of flu infection can go away without treatment with Tami flu.
Only in cases at risk of severe progression, such as the elderly, people with underlying diseases or young children, doctors consider using antiseptic drugs to reduce the risk of serious complications. These patients need to be monitored and detected early for severe signs to be hospitalized promptly if necessary.
"Tamiflu is a prescription drug and requires a doctor's prescription before use. Arbitrarily using Tamiflu without a doctor's prescription can cause serious consequences," the doctor emphasized.
