British COVID-19 patient has severe lung damage, needs transplant
A British pilot, who is the 91st COVID-19 patient in Vietnam, is suffering 90 percent damage to his lungs, according to the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Tropical Diseases where he is being treated.
Medical staff at airport (Illustrative image. Source: VNA)
HCM City (VNA) - A British pilot, who is the 91st COVID-19 patient inVietnam, is suffering 90 percent damage to his lungs, according to the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Tropical Diseases where he is being treated.
The patient is now completely dependent on Extracorporeal MembraneOxygenation (ECMO).
His CT results on May 13 showed severesolidification and fibrosis of the lungs, making it difficult for oxygen to getinto the patient’s blood.
On May 12, theMinistry of Health (MoH) hosted a consultation with health experts from thecountry’s top hospitals on the case, concluding that a lung transplant is theonly solution to save the patient.
However, it requires him to be given the all-clear and receive intensiveantibiotic stewardship before being transferred to Cho Ray Hospital for the transplant.
Confirmed as a COVID-19 patient on March 18, the pilot has been sufferingfrom a high fever since being hospitalised and his respiratory system hasworsened despite him being just 43 years old and in otherwise good health.
He is also suffering from blood clots and cytokine storm syndrome – anintense immune response where the immune system releases a lot of cytokinesthrough the bloodstream, which actually works against the body instead ofprotecting it.
His body was resistant to all types of anti-clotting medication, so the MoHhas had to buy rare drugs from overseas to treat him, said Doctor Nguyen Van Kinh, head of the MoH’s professional council for COVID-19treatment.
Another severe case of COVID-19, the 287th patient – a 50-year-old womanreturning from United ArabEmirates (UAE) –is also under treatment at the hospital. Her X-ray results on May 12 showed increasing lungdamage.
On May 13, thepatient recovered from a fever, her pulse and blood pressure remained stable./.
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Medical staff at airport (Illustrative image. Source: VNA) 
