- After ten days of meteoric rise, the number of Covid patients needing to be intubated has gradually stabilized since last weekend, until slightly decreased Thursday.
- Containment measures as well as "load shedding" of patients to other regions explain this improvement.
- The balance remains precarious, however, and the resuscitation services have never been so stressed.
Three empty beds. It had been at least three weeks since this had happened in the intensive care unit of the Raymond Poincaré hospital in Garches, in the Hauts-de-Seine. "Until last week, as soon as a bed became available, there was barely time to change the sheets that it was already reassigned," describes Professor Djillali Annane, head of this service which now has 33 places, against 15 in normal times. After two weeks of "not touching the ground", the practitioner noted a "clear" lull since this weekend. Thursday late afternoon, no admissions were recorded, Wednesday, he welcomed "only" two new patients, three Tuesday. "We have a little fewer requests, but we can not let go of the guard, the situation is still extremely complicated, far beyond anything we had known until then," insists the head of service. And to specify that on the three beds left vacant, only one patient survived.
"Even in the worst case scenario, we never imagined that it would show so quickly"
On Thursday, for the first time since the start of the pandemic, the number of intensive care admissions fell across the country, including in Ile-de-France, the region most affected by Covid-19. According to the latest figures from the regional health agency (ARS), 2,667 patients were on Thursday in intensive care in a hospital in Ile-de-France. Or 14 less than the day before. The first encouraging signs were detected last weekend after ten days of extreme tension. “The curve went up faster and faster until last Friday with a peak of 350 patients admitted to intensive care during the day. It is dizzying, even in the worst case scenario, we did not imagine that it showed as quickly, as high. Fortunately, it slowed down before the dyke broke down, ”blows an ARS spokesperson in Ile-de-France.
Number of “Covid” patients in intensive care in Ile-de-France
Infogram
While in the middle of last week, the increase in resuscitation admissions in the region posted double-digit daily growth (between 11 and 12%), it stabilized over the weekend around 2% before, therefore, to drop this Thursday. Three weeks after their entry into force, the containment measures have gradually done their work, thus making it possible to "smooth out" the famous curve and allow the hospital system to absorb the flow of patients. The first worrying signs - respiratory discomfort, shortness of breath - generally being felt 7 to 9 days after being in contact with the disease, until the end of March the intensive care units admitted contaminated people before "everyone at home". oneself ". Then there was a second wave of contamination, this time intra-familial. The downside of containment measures, in short.
But the figures, as encouraging as they are, do not reflect, at the regional level, only a decline in the epidemic. If "the dam has not given way", it is mainly because of 1,200 resuscitation beds, the regional authorities have managed to increase to 3,000. Theoretically, 500 of them are reserved for pathologies other than Covid-19, but some had nevertheless to be attributed to patients infected with this new coronavirus. The drop in numbers also reflects the "load shedding" of many patients - around 200 last week. "It was vital," confirms Professor Djillali Annane, whose several patients took the first train towards the CHU Brest. This transfer allowed us to pass the most difficult course. Without that, we couldn't see how. This Friday, around fifty new patients are sent to Nouvelle-Acquitaine and Brittany, as a precaution. “We are at our extreme limit, insists the spokesperson of the ARS, that allows us to anticipate. "
The epidemic peak has not been reached
Can these encouraging figures give hope for rapid deconfinement? If the government is working on different scenarios, experts agree on one point: the Ile-de-France healthcare system will not be able to withstand the shock of a possible second wave. "We will not be able to absorb a new influx of patients, we are at our maximum capacity," insists the spokesperson for the ARS. Especially since the epidemic peak, that is to say the number of new cases per day - which is calculated at the national level - is still not reached. In Ile-de-France, the number of confirmed cases (that is to say those who have taken the test) continues to increase: there are, on average, over the last six days almost 1,150 new "positive »Daily.
Number of “Covid” patients in Ile-de-France
Infogram
Even beyond the question of resuscitation beds, it is the health of caregivers that must be preserved. “We have been on deck for a month, we have had no respite. There as the situation is a little less tense, we feel more tired, so far the adrenaline kept us going, “says the department head of Garches. He does not imagine a deconfinement before next month. " At least ". Impossible, in his eyes, to envisage the continuation without screenings being available in sufficient number to test the greatest number. It remains to be seen when they will be.
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