New type of pneumonia Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare notifies expansion of inspection targets Medical institutions have difficulty responding February 6 17:32

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has expanded the scope and notified the municipalities nationwide in response to a series of infections confirmed by people who were not tested for new coronavirus in Japan. Still, there are cases in which patients who cannot be tested, but who are not suspicious of infection, may receive a medical examination, and medical institutions are struggling to respond.

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has reported a fever of more than 37 degrees 5 minutes and respiratory symptoms suggestive of pneumonia, and has traveled to Hubei Province including Wuhan City within 2 weeks. Expanded to include those who have been in close contact with those who have stayed in the province.

Under these circumstances, there are cases where patients who do not fall under the target group but who cannot overcome the suspicion of infection receive a medical examination and medical institutions have difficulty responding.

At a medical clinic in Chiba City such as a medical department, a man working at the airport was diagnosed with pneumonia as a result of an X-ray test and other measures on the 29th of last month.

Doctors prescribed medications that are usually used for pneumonia, such as antibiotics, but they were ineffective and the symptoms worsened.

Since the male patient had the opportunity to come in contact with foreign tourists, the doctor contacted a health center on March 3 to see if he could be tested for suspected infection with the new coronavirus. It means that they did not meet the prescribed inspection targets and were rejected.

According to Dr. Fumio Kawauchi, a doctor at the clinic, `` the course was different from normal pneumonia, and the work environment was suspected of being infected with the new coronavirus. It seems that there are many such cases, and if left unchecked, we are concerned that the infection will spread in the future. "

Hospitals requested to cooperate also have difficulty

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has set up an outpatient window dedicated to those suspected of being infected with the new coronavirus at major medical institutions across the country, but medical institutions requested to cooperate will have hospital rooms to respond. Some people are confused that they are not enough.

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, and to install 1 or more positions in the "returnees, contacts foreign" to the living area of ​​the residents "secondary medical sphere" suspected of infection there of people dedicated to the new coronavirus in prospect the beginning of this month doing.

In response, Tokyo is seeking help from around 80 medical institutions in preparation for an increase in the number of patients, and wants to finish the adjustment this weekend.

However, one of the medical institutions requested by Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Nippon Medical University Tama Nagayama Hospital in Tama City has been designated as a `` cooperation medical institution for infectious disease treatment '' in Tokyo, but to the new coronavirus It is difficult to get ready to accept patients with suspected infections.

In hospitals, there is a dedicated consultation room that prevents suspected infections from coming into contact with other patients without contacting other patients, but a dedicated ward with three beds is used for other infectious diseases. Is full of patients.

In addition, 90% of normal hospital rooms with about 400 beds are occupied, and it is difficult to secure a room where people can wait until the results of tests are known to be infected.

`` We will not reject suspected infections at the hospital, but we do not have enough information on how long it will take to get the results of the test, and there is no room in the hospital to actually keep patients. I'm struggling to deal with it. "

Expert "Sharing information between the government and local medical institutions"

Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University's Prof. Mitsuo Kaku, a professor at Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University, said, `` Health centers test strictly in accordance with the national instructions. It is understandable, but if the number of people who have no contact with Hubei Province increases in the future, some people will be excluded from the examination. It is desirable to conduct inspections in terms of crisis management, and it is necessary to be able to conduct inspections in cooperation with private inspection centers and the like. "

Regarding medical care for people suspected of being infected with the new coronavirus, doctors and beds that can respond to infectious disease designated medical institutions in 2009 when the spread of influenza, which was called the new type, spread at that time. He said, “It is important to establish a medical treatment system throughout the region, such that severely ill patients receive medical treatment at advanced medical facilities and mildly ill patients receive medical treatment at local medical institutions. It is necessary to share information on how many patients with symptoms can be accepted at each medical institution between the government and the local medical institutions as a whole. "