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Huge stress and responsibility, abnormal work schedules and daily challenges – this is how the current state of the Klaipėda University Hospital (KUL) doctors in the fight against the insidious coronavirus is described.
Special attention is paid to resuscitation and intensive care units, which treat the most seriously ill patients. In the fight against the invisible enemy COVID-19 – the strength of KUL – the concentration of personnel, teamwork and dedication to the vocation of doctors.
In resuscitation: three times more patients with serious conditions.
The situation is tense, with the majority of COVID-19 patients in serious and critical condition, with numbers ranging from 100 to 130. More than half of the patients receive oxygen therapy. The intensive care and resuscitation unit has 15 beds, but if necessary, the number increases: up to 25 patients were treated there last week.
It is impossible to guess whether the virus will kill a young person. The course of the disease is insidious, the outcome is also difficult to predict. The virus damages the entire body: it affects the kidneys, liver, other internal organs, and even the brain.
Up to 75 percent. patients – critical condition. According to Zita Vetrovienė, head of the Resuscitation and Intensive Care Division of the Department of Infectious Diseases, the range of symptoms of the coronavirus is confusing. It is impossible to guess whether the virus will kill a young person. The course of the disease is insidious, the outcome is also difficult to predict. The virus damages the entire body: it affects the kidneys, liver, other internal organs, and even the brain. The main problem is respiratory failure. The man is distracted, short of breath, his conscience trembles.
“We work in extreme conditions, with a workload double and sometimes even triple the limit of physical and psychological possibilities. We feel a responsibility and an obligation to both patients and colleagues. As a team, we focus on sustainable solutions, quick response. Our victory in this fight is the lives saved. I have been working in medicine for 33 years, but I would not have even thought of such a challenge, ”describes Z.Vetrovienė the fight against the insidious COVID-19.
According to the anesthesiologist-resuscitator dr. Sigito Stonkaus, Anyone with a history of coronavirus can say out loud that the illness was not only serious, frustrating, but also very long-lasting: “It gets very slow and gets worse in minutes. Often the patient is conscious, but suddenly his state becomes stable from stable. It begins to fade from view. The number and condition of patients cannot be compared now and during the first wave of the pandemic. This time, it hit three times harder. “
We work in extreme conditions, with a double workload and sometimes even triple the limit of physical and psychological possibilities.
The biggest challenge is the lack of staff
Medical personnel, whose shortage is constantly felt, is important to hospital work. Some KUL doctors are sick or isolated.
“There will be as many beds as necessary. The public must understand that it is not the beds that must be counted, but the number of personnel who work with patients,” emphasizes the head of the Resuscitation and Intensive Care Unit. He points out that the The number of nurses required would be double when working with patients with severe struggles: “It is practically impossible to withdraw from these patients: starting with the maintenance of vital signs and ending with the provision of physiological needs.”
Photo from kul.lt/Klaipėda University Hospital medical fight with COVID-19
The patient needs to wash, brush teeth, remove secretions from the airways, change diapers, lie on the other side, reorganize, feed through a tube, inject medication, and perform many other tasks that depend on the patient’s condition. All of this is common when working in the Resuscitation and Intensive Care Unit.
Every day, the department staff prepare a special protective overalls, cover the face with a mask or respirator, and wear a transparent shield, handcuffs, booties and double gloves.
The patient needs to wash, brush teeth, remove secretions from the airways, change diapers, lie on the other side, reorganize, feed through a tube, inject medication, and perform many other tasks.
Doctors work in protective “spacesuits” when they cannot squirt or sneeze.
“With those clothes you have to endure a lot of physical effort. We bathe in our sweat, we lose electrolytes, some people start out with heart rhythm problems, hypoxia. However, we are used to such anti-coronavirus rules. Every day we do everything possible to save the people dear to someone. No matter how tired the tiredness is and the forces that follow, we stand firm and go. All conspiracy theorists or those anticipating quarantine requirements must remain in our place for at least an hour, ”KUL employees share their experiences in recent months.
Urgent and planned assistance is provided
KUL is not just a combat hospital coordinating the COVID-19 situation in western Lithuania. The institution provides all specialized emergency and planned inpatient and outpatient counseling services to residents throughout the region during quarantine. Planned surgeries are performed as well as robotic ones, which have already been performed on more than 400 patients from all over Lithuania.
With such clothes you have to endure a large amount of physical exertion. We bathe in our sweat, we lose electrolytes, some people start to have arrhythmias, hypoxia.
Surgery, diagnosis and treatment of patients with a therapeutic profile are performed daily. Procedures, laboratory, ultrasound, endoscopic, radiological, computed tomography and other examinations are performed. Specialists in surgery, internal medicine, oncology, obstetrics-gynecology and all other profiles work.
Patients are registered as usual. Patients admitted to the hospital have their temperatures measured and patients must complete a COVID-19 symptom statement.
For outpatient visits, patients are admitted without a COVID-19 test and have no symptoms of the disease. All cancer care is provided in the usual way, completely and without restrictions.
A separate Hospital Infectious Diseases Corps is dedicated to working with cow patients.
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