ICU patient rise worries: 82% connected to a mechanical ventilator

The number of patients with coronavirus hospitalized in Intensive Care Units (ICU) of the country reached its highest point since the crisis began this Friday, according to the daily report of the Ministry of Health: 508 people.

Balance goes hand in hand with the general number of individuals infected with Covid-19, which amounts to 25,972, with 1,391 new cases added in the last day. In fact, about 40% of total cases have been infected in the past eight days.

In addition, according to the Ministry of Health, of the total number of hospitalized, 419 patients (82%) are connected to invasive mechanical ventilation in the network. Of that total, there are 79 critically ill patients.

The situation worries specialists, as there are regions, such as the Metropolitan, which have a high number of critical beds that are already being occupied. The May 7 report from the Chilean Society of Intensive Medicine indicates that Santiago has 83% of ICU beds occupied. The regions of Antofagasta (83%) and Magallanes (77%) follow.

Regarding the capacity of attention in the network, in a context of evident increase of the cases in the capital, the undersecretary of Assistance Networks, Arturo Zúñiga, indicated that “the same strategy that was successfully applied in La Araucanía, in Osorno, Chillán and Punta Arenas, we are going to implement it in Santiago. We are going to reinforce the number of fans, delivering a greater number of beds, as with the start-up of the Huechuraba Hospital Center ”. He added that 30,000 officials have been trained through an agreement with the Intensive Medicine Society.

As for fans, Of the total of 1,825 units, 1,230 (67.4%) are occupied, while 595 (32.6%) are still available.

The other time that there were less than 600 free fans was last April 29 (595). At that time the total number of devices was 1,705.

The Chilean Society of Intensive Medicine also details the situation of ICU beds in each health service: the south has 97% of its beds occupied; the west has 96% and the south-east 93%. The central health service has 88% of beds occupied and the north 76% (people with and without Covid-19).

Leonardo Soto, head of the Critical Patient Center of the Las Condes Clinic and member of the Chilean Society of Intensive Medicine, explains that the outlook changed in the last week due to the sharp rise in the number of infected people. He says that in the coming weeks an increase in patients who will require hospitalization is expected, “because the disease shows that many patients on the seventh or eighth day become complicated and require hospitalization.” It details that patients with ventilation should remain with this support, on average, between 10 and 14 days.

“In the area of ​​invasive and non-invasive ventilation we are full,” says gynecologist and president of the medical chapter of the Florida Hospital, Daniel Peralta, who adds that as of May 7 they had “394 confirmed cases in the hospital, of which 77 have been hospitalized and 19 of them are in ICU or ICU units ”. This led to five patients being referred to other centers.

Gladys Ibáñez, vice president of the Medical Chapter of the San José hospital, adds that in her center, “we have 50 patients hospitalized for Covid-19, but it is also important to say that we have 40 people recovered, which is positive.”

He also points out that an entire floor of this venue, which is currently going through a crisis (see secondary note) is being converted to have more intensive spaces.

Juan Carlos Said, Master in Public Health and internist at the Sótero del Río Hospital, argues that, given this panorama, “it is key that quarantines be extended and maintained in the communes, especially in Santiago, because the idea is that less people get sick and go to hospital; otherwise, the situation may generate levels of network collapse. ”

The former Minister of Health and member of the Social Table Covid-19, Carmen Castillo, affirms that the current scenario “is within the provisions for this month and complex beds are the most required. The most important thing is to prepare for a demanding demand, so you have to be very vigilant for a possible transfer of patients from one region to another, if needed in case of emergencies. ”