The number of corona patients in need of intensive care is increasing.

At present, 392 patients with covid-19 are admitted to IVA, according to statistics from the intensive care unit.

That is more than during the second corona wave in January.

At that time, at most 389 people were in intensive care at the same time.

- Undoubtedly, we have some form of third wave.

Although it may be an increase after the second wave that did not go down, we see an increase, says Johnny Hillgren, intensive care physician and chairman of the Swedish intensive care register.

In Central Sweden and in the Stockholm region, the situation is particularly pressured, he says.

More of the sick end up on iva

In addition, more of those admitted to hospital need intensive care, according to Hillgren.

- During the second wave in the autumn, nine to ten percent of the hospitalized were admitted to IVA.

Now it is around 18 percent.

But it is difficult to say what that increase is due to

- There will be speculation.

But we have seen the British mutation increase and take over more and more.

I can not really answer why, but it is an increase in seriously ill patients, says Johnny Hillgren.

In addition, he sees no major change in which patients are in intensive care compared with during the second wave, in terms of age and other risk factors.

In many places, doctors feel that more young people are being cared for compared to earlier, but this has not been shown in figures.

Difficult to draw conclusions about mortality

Johhny Hillgren says that it is also difficult to compare mortality now compared to the latest peak of intensive care in January.

- We are looking at it but it is difficult to draw any real conclusions.

The first wave we had a higher mortality, but now we know more about the disease and can take care of intensive care around patients, it has had an effect on mortality.

At the same time, some studies show that the British mutation is associated with a higher mortality rate, he says.

Most corona patients were cared for at IVA at the end of April last year.

At that time, 558 patients were in intensive care at the same time.