![]() "If that were true and cytokine storms were underlying the long stay we see in patients with COVID-19, we would expect frequent transitions to states characterised by multi-organ failure. "The term 'cytokine storm' means an overwhelming inflammation that drives organ failure in your lungs, kidneys, brain and other organs," Singer explained. The scientists also found evidence that COVID does not cause a "cytokine storm", so often believed to cause death. The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. "Our data suggested that the mortality related to the virus itself is relatively low, but other things that happen during the ICU stay, like secondary bacterial pneumonia, offset that," Singer said. "Those who were cured of their secondary pneumonia were likely to live, while those whose pneumonia did not resolve were more likely to die. "Our study highlights the importance of preventing, looking for and aggressively treating secondary bacterial pneumonia in critically ill patients with severe pneumonia, including those with COVID-19," said senior author Dr Benjamin Singer, Associate Professor of Medicine at the university's Feinberg School of Medicine. Secondary bacterial infection of the lung (pneumonia) was widespread in patients with COVID, affecting almost half the patients who required support from mechanical ventilation. ![]() Interestingly, it may even exceed death rates from the viral infection, said researchers at Northwestern University. According to a study, secondary bacterial pneumonia that does not resolve was a key driver of death in patients with COVID.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |