Šiauliai doctors – on the situation inside the hospital: the number of infected people is increasing rapidly, resuscitation is expanding

“We pulled out a bad lottery ticket. The city was again the focus of the coronavirus. In the last two weeks, we have had 1,400 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. This is the highest indicator in Lithuania and we double the national average in terms of morbidity. Having that environment, the hospital situation is also relevant, we are under great pressure, ”said Remigijus Mažeika, director of the Šiauliai Republican Hospital.

Very few restrictions

According to R. Mažeika, the biggest concern is that the growth of infections in the last seven days, compared to the previous week, is around 16 percent.

“So the number of infected people is growing rapidly, about 5 percent. They end up in the hospital. These days, we have received a maximum of 21 patients per day, with an average of 14-15 people hospitalized per day. Those numbers are a great burden for us, “said the hospital director.

According to R. Mažeika, there are currently 5 wards for the treatment of coronavirus patients in the hospital, when until recently there was one.

“There are now 120 beds, 19 of them in the intensive care unit, but it will probably not be enough, so resuscitation will be expanded by another 14 beds in the near future. All our doctors work with coronavirus, distributed according to competence and experience, so the capacity is stretched to the maximum, ”said the director.

According to the head of the hospital, such a regimen is associated with high risk, since the doctors themselves quarrel.

“During the week, as a result of the preventive tests of our staff, we detected up to 65 cases of coronavirus infection. Most people are infected outside the hospital, only the city gets sick and then the virus reaches the workplace, said R. Mažeika According to him, since the forecasts of epidemiologists do not promise anything good, the hospital is preparing for even greater burdens.

“Currently, we have 340 beds throughout the Šiauliai region, including smaller hospitals in Plungė, Mažeikiai, Kelmė and Raseiniai. Without a doubt, the burden on them will increase, but the most important thing is to have someone who treats these patients ”, emphasized R. Mažeika.

He believes that the virus has spread because measures to prevent the pandemic have proven ineffective.

“I see the only way out: increase restrictions on the life of society, taking into account morbidity. In Lithuania, compared to other countries, they are too small. At the same time, the scope and availability of testing, including preventive inspections, should be increased. The new leadership of the health sector will face great challenges here, not only in managing the pandemic, but also in strengthening the health sector in general, reducing the influence of politics and bureaucracy on it, ”said R. Mažeika.

The effects of the virus persist for a long time.

Most of those infected with coronavirus at Šiauliai Hospital are admitted to the Department of Infectious Diseases.

“It just came to our attention then. These days, the number of COVID-19 patients in the ward ranges from 80 to 100, most of us are treated, some are transferred to support hospitals in the region, some are recovering. “Some unfortunately die. People die several times a week,” says Aidas Kaušas, the head of the department.

According to the infectologist, remdesivir is the only antiviral drug approved for the specific treatment of coronavirus.

“Unfortunately, it works wonders, it only speeds recovery and length of hospital stay, but it’s not the drug that eliminates shortness of breath and other symptoms in a few days. The more so since we have to treat practically all patients for comorbidities, for pneumonia. This takes a long time. If the virus is in a milder form, 5-6 days of hospital treatment is usually sufficient and the patient finishes the recovery at home. If you have more severe pneumonia, it takes two weeks or even a month, ”said the doctor.

He noted that more and more younger patients, mostly from the age of 40, have recently had to be hospitalized.

“The virus is especially dangerous for people with diabetes who are obese. In general, the coronavirus is also disgusting because, although most patients recover, certain consequences may not occur for long. There are no research-based data yet, but lung damage, depending on comorbidities, does not go unnoticed: more shortness of breath, fatigue, general weakness can be exhausting for a long time, ”said A. Kaušas.

The infectologist was reluctant to predict how the situation would change, but until we had the vaccine in our hands, the virus would spread.

“We have to follow the general rules, the distance of two meters, the use of masks and hand disinfection, it is really effective and nothing better has been invented. Of course, the number of infected people is likely to increase, most will be treated at home, two thousand a day will not be hospitalized, so family doctors have a great responsibility. What Should You Know About Home Treatment? As often as possible in contact with the attending physician, lower the temperature only if it is 38 degrees and above, and if the fever lasts more than a week, the respiratory difficulties do not pass, it is necessary to call an ambulance ”, advised the doctor.

From skeptic to realistic

These days, almost every place in the Šiauliai Hospital Infectious Diseases Department is busy. We visited several COVID-19 patients with the ward director. Ina, 48, a nurse at the same hospital, was infected in early November and has been in the ward for twenty days.

“Due to the exacerbation of pneumonia in resuscitation, I went to bed for a week, another two in the ward, it had been a while, but I still feel bad, due to the general weakness, I am practically nailed to bed. I’m tired of the black, “Ina said.

The patient noted that her husband was a huge skeptic of the coronavirus. How ironic how his approach has changed drastically, he is now explaining to those around him the real dangers of the virus. In general, when it comes to myths that float in society, I have no comment. It is the same to say that there is no moon because I was not there, ”said Ina.

Lying in another room and subject to an oxygen mask, Stasys, 58, confessed to having been torn from the nails of death.

“If it weren’t for the staff that I am very grateful for, I would no longer be me. In such conditions, they work excellently here, ”said the man infected with the coronavirus. According to Stasys, even though he’s not in the hospital for the first week, going to the bathroom is his greatest feat yet.

“God forbid, I do not wish anyone such an experience. His wife, it is true, got sick at home, it was easier for her, men, unfortunately, we are the weaker sex,” Stasys said. worried not only about the still very poor health, but also about the feeling of loneliness. “While I was in resuscitation, my relatives had a real nightmare and still cannot see me, visiting us is prohibited,” said Stasys.

Last day, 266 cases of COVID-19 were recorded in Šiauliai county, three people belonging to the age groups 70-79, 80-89 died.