At 2:30 p.m. on May 18, 101-year-old grandma Chen was cured and discharged from the intensive care unit of the West Branch of Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. year-old COVID-19 patients.
“Hello, is this Professor Li Jinxiu from the Hunan Medical Team? We have a centenarian here who has been diagnosed, and now his chest tightness and gas aggravate his behavior, so he needs to be referred…” On the morning of May 12, he was doing a ward round. Li Jinxiu, deputy head of the medical team of the third batch of medical teams in Hunan Province, and director of the Department of Critical Care Medicine of the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, received a call for referral. The first aid equipment arrived at the door of the emergency department in advance and waited for the 120 ambulance, and successfully transferred the 101-year-old Granny Chen to the intensive care unit.
Grandma Chen was diagnosed with a new coronavirus infection and had underlying diseases such as hypertension, cardiac insufficiency, and diabetes. She was in critical condition when she was admitted to the hospital. Hunan dialect and Shanghai dialect are very different, and the protective clothing, masks and face screens are separated, making it more difficult for medical staff to communicate with the elderly. However, the attentive medical team noticed that Granny Chen was frowning and her expression was painful, so they immediately performed a physical examination on her. Sure enough, the left humerus was fractured. The medical staff quickly contacted the orthopedic consultation to formulate a treatment plan.
Originally, prone position ventilation was a powerful tool for the successful treatment of critically ill patients with COVID-19. But Granny Chen couldn’t keep the prone position because of the fracture. Therefore, the medical team decided to switch to high lateral decubitus ventilation. After anti-heart failure, anticoagulation, laxative, nutritional support, and refined fluid management and posture management, Grandma Chen’s physical condition improved significantly, and gradually, she was able to sit up beside the bed.
On May 17, Granny Chen took a group photo with the medical staff of the Dawning West Hospital Branch of the Third Batch of Hunan Medical Team Aid to Shanghai before she was discharged from the hospital.
Hard work pays off. After 5 days of meticulous care by the medical and nursing team, Chen’s various indicators improved day by day, and the virus nucleic acid test was negative twice in a row. After a comprehensive evaluation, she reached the discharge standard. In fact, the children who are in charge of taking care of Granny Chen are over 70 years old and are also elderly. For this reason, the medical and nursing team has carefully prepared the discharge education materials, as well as the daily necessities that are convenient for the elderly to take care of at home. “We’re talking, but I don’t understand each other a bit, so I’ll give you a thumbs up!” Before leaving the hospital, Granny Chen smiled and gave a thumbs up.
“Many elderly patients with COVID-19 also suffer from more complex underlying diseases. While we help patients turn negative for nucleic acid, we also actively treat their underlying diseases through one person, one strategy and precise treatment to help the elderly survive the new crown. Infection control, the effect is very obvious. At the same time, our nursing staff are also very powerful, professional, meticulous and caring, and have played an important role in the early recovery of patients.” Deputy head of the medical team of the third batch of medical teams in Hunan Province, Professor Fan Maiying, director of the First Department of Emergency Department of Hunan Provincial People’s Hospital, said.
It is reported that since the third batch of critically ill medical teams from Hunan Province arrived in Shanghai, the average age of the patients they received is over 80 years old. A total of 67 severe and critically ill patients have been admitted and 49 have been transferred out and discharged. In particular, after the medical team successfully treated a 100-year-old male patient on May 8, 101-year-old Grandma Chen became the second 100-year-old patient with new crown infection who was successfully discharged from the hospital.