Transfer of a patient in intensive care from Nice to Toulouse, March 16, 2021. -

AFP

  • The number of Covid-19 patients treated in intensive care units continues to climb, with more than 4,600 patients, and is approaching the record bar of 4,900, reached during the second wave.

  • Some caregivers note that this third wave is accompanied by a rejuvenation of their patients in the intensive care unit.

  • “In the current situation, the epidemic has a slightly different face, with younger patients in intensive care units,” confirms Professor Djillali Annane.

In recent days, the Covid-19 epidemic has accelerated and the numbers have continued to increase in intensive care units.

To the point of making specialist Jean-François Timsit, head of resuscitation at Bichat hospital in Paris, say: “Everywhere is full, full, full.

Full as an egg (…) At this rate, we are going straight into the wall.

“At the beginning of this third wave, which weighs very heavily on French hospitals, many doctors note a rejuvenation of patients in sheaves.

A slide in the epidemic linked to several factors, decrypted by

20 Minutes.

"In the current situation, the epidemic has a slightly different face, with younger patients in the intensive care units," notes Professor Djillali Annane, head of the intensive care unit at Raymond-Poincaré hospital in Garches (AP -HP).

While the 60-75 year olds occupied the intensive care unit during the first wave, since July 16, this average has fallen: the 50-60 year old age group now represents 53% of patients.

And this "slide" is accelerating in recent weeks, with the increase in coronavirus cases.

“Last October, the median age of patients was around 65-66 years old.

He is currently 60 years old: in not even three months, the median age has dropped by five years, ”he recalls.

Between 30 and 80 years old, “very spread out” ages

The youngest are not spared: “If we take the last five days, the 20-40 age group represents 10% of patients in intensive care at the national level.

A rejuvenation also noted by Francis Berenbaum, head of the rheumatology department at Saint-Antoine hospital (AP-HP), who is leading a Covid unit for the first time.

It welcomes hospitalized patients who do not need intensive care.

“We hear that this disease affects the elderly, that it is a lot of comorbidities.

I discovered a room with patients who have an average age of 58 years.

I expected it to be fairly grouped between 60 and 70 years old but it is extremely spread out, from 30 to 80 years old, ”he describes.

"These are younger people, there are a lot of women, not so many people with multiple associated diseases", also confirmed the infectious disease specialist Karine Lacombe on Franceinter.

English variant

Why such a change ?

"This is first of all linked to a considerable increase in the circulation of the virus, which leads to an increase in the incidence in the young population", explains Professor Djillali Annane, who nevertheless believes that men remain in the majority in his department. .

It's mechanical: the more contamination there is, the higher the probability of developing serious forms.

If some also see the first effects of the vaccination of the elderly, Professor Annane minimizes this impact: "The segment of the population widely vaccinated is not the population that impacts the activity in intensive care," he said.

Another explanation can be found in the appearance of the British variant “which represents more than 90% of severe forms in Ile-de-France.

Very clearly, it results in a more severe form than the original form.

It will cause more serious symptomatic forms, including in young subjects, ”adds Professor Annane.

No "invulnerability"

To curb contagions, the government has implemented new restrictive measures in sixteen departments, including the entire Paris region, Hauts-de-France, part of Normandy and the Alpes-Maritimes.

New regions could be affected soon.

While waiting for the epidemic to slow down, caregivers insist on respecting the rules of distancing for all: “Everyone must feel concerned.

Behind the word co-morbidities are people like you and me.

We must not believe that these are patients who are followed in hospital for serious illnesses: they are people who work, who live, ”adds Francis Berenbaum.

“No one should feel invulnerable in the face of Covid-19.

Being young or having no pathology does not necessarily protect you.

In our intensive care services we welcome young people, in the prime of life, who are not necessarily sick and who unfortunately die, ”he adds.

In France, the epidemic has caused more than 93,000 deaths in one year.

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