Patients with respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases and tumors are vulnerable groups of COVID-19.
How do these three groups of people respond to the new coronavirus infection?
The Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council organized authoritative experts—Xu Kaifeng, deputy director of the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Zhang Jian, chief physician of the Department of Cardiology, Fuwai Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, and Wang Yan, chief physician of the Department of Internal Medicine, Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, to answer the questions.
Patients with respiratory diseases should control their underlying diseases
"The new coronavirus mainly affects the respiratory tract or lungs, so people with respiratory diseases are more likely to be harmed, and the onset may be more serious." Xu Kaifeng said that respiratory diseases mainly include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, bronchiectasis, and pulmonary fibrosis and other diseases.
This type of patients is a high-risk group for new coronavirus infection, influenza and other diseases, and should be paid great attention to.
Xu Kaifeng said that if respiratory diseases are not well controlled, the risk of severe illness will increase after infection with the new coronavirus.
"Control the basic disease well. Although the infection will cause damage to the body, it is not so terrible. Through active treatment, you can recover."
What symptoms do patients with respiratory diseases need to seek medical treatment in time after infection?
Xu Kaifeng said that most people do not need to go to the hospital after being infected, and can recover by resting at home.
Infected people should always pay attention to their blood pressure, blood oxygen saturation and changes in their condition. If there are large fluctuations, they should consider going to the hospital.
Taking blood oxygen as an example, the normal oxygen saturation should be above 95. If it is lower than 95, there will be a drop in blood oxygen. If it is lower than 90 or the blood oxygen saturation has dropped by more than 4, it is more urgent and needs to be sent to the hospital for treatment in time. .
Family members or accompanying staff should also pay attention to the patient's health status.
Xu Kaifeng said that first of all, we should pay attention to whether the patient is breathing faster than usual and whether he has difficulty breathing, and then judge based on the blood oxygen data.
Secondly, pay attention to the mental state of the patient, and if there is depression, especially the elderly, they should be sent to the doctor in time.
Patients with cardiovascular disease need to adhere to medication
"Winter and spring are the seasons of high incidence of cardiovascular disease. Patients are prone to symptoms such as elevated blood pressure, angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, and heart failure. At the same time, they can also induce diseases due to some infections." Zhang Jian said that patients infected with new coronavirus and influenza virus etc., may induce or aggravate cardiovascular disease.
Zhang Jian reminded that patients with cardiovascular disease must continue to take drugs to treat underlying diseases after being infected with the new coronavirus, such as heart disease drugs, antihypertensive drugs, etc., and should not stop taking drugs because of the new coronavirus infection.
Cardiovascular disease patients need to insist on taking medicine, will it conflict with taking medicine for the treatment of new crown symptoms?
Zhang Jian said that because cardiovascular disease medicines need to be taken all year round, the side effects are relatively small, and insisting on taking them after infection with the new coronavirus will not cause obvious damage to the body.
Most of the antipyretic, analgesic and cough medicines for the symptomatic treatment of the new coronavirus have no clear interaction with the original basic medicines.
For some patients who need to take antiviral drugs for the treatment of new coronary pneumonia, on the one hand, they should be taken according to the doctor's advice, and on the other hand, they should pay attention to the instructions of the drugs, understand the contraindications, and see if they conflict with the basic drugs.
Zhang Jian said that after infection, the symptoms are more serious, such as a severe fever, and the symptoms of the original underlying disease, such as shortness of breath, chest pain, palpitation, etc., are aggravated, and they should be sent to the doctor in time.
This point should be paid special attention to young patients with cardiovascular disease.
Cancer patients are given priority in the treatment of the new crown
"Patients whose tumors have been treated very stably are in the tumor-free stage, and the treatment after infection with the new coronavirus is not much different from that of ordinary people." Wang Yan said that patients who are suffering from tumors are prone to develop severe diseases after infection.
"If a patient is infected with the new coronavirus during anti-tumor treatment, it is recommended to suspend anti-tumor treatment, such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy, etc." Wang Yan said that the side effects of targeted therapy are relatively small, and the impact on patients is relatively large. Mild, if it is a mild case of new coronary pneumonia, there is no need to suspend it.
It is best to suspend chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and immunotherapy, because mild treatment can resume in 1 to 2 weeks, and it will not affect anti-tumor treatment.
"Tumor patients with severe cases of new coronary pneumonia should mainly treat the new crown." Wang Yan said that anti-tumor treatment should be considered after the patient recovers.
Cancer patients also need to take some medicines. Will it conflict with the medicines for the symptomatic treatment of the new crown?
Wang Yan said that most oral anti-tumor drugs are targeted drugs and oral chemotherapy drugs. Most of them are metabolized by the liver and kidneys. You must read the drug instructions and pay attention to whether there are conflicts with some antiviral drugs for the treatment of new crowns.
If there is a conflict, take it correctly under the advice of a doctor.
Ordinary new crown symptomatic drugs, such as antipyretic and analgesic drugs and cough drugs, will not conflict.
"The symptoms caused by lung tumors are gradual, and most of them will not appear suddenly within a day or two." Wang Yan said that if a patient is infected with the new coronavirus, coughing, shortness of breath, and aggravated hypoxia suddenly occur, and severe illness may occur. risk, seek medical attention as soon as possible.
Our reporter Shen Shaotie