Between 30% and 40% of patients currently hospitalized with a Govt-19 diagnosis in Quebec have not received primary treatment for the disease. But should we question the weight that the Omicron variant places on the health system? According to experts, no.
Over the past week, the number of hospital admissions linked to Govt-19 has risen in the province. As of Wednesday, 1,750 affected patients occupied hospital beds. The Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS) notes that “the situation in hospitals is critical and is exacerbated by the number of affected or isolated workers.”
At a news conference on Thursday, Quebec’s National Director of Public Health, D.J.R. Horacio Arruda noted that 30% to 40% of those admitted to this hospital were “actually unrelated” to COVID-19. ” [Le virus] If you have a stomach problem because it is in circulation and you need to be admitted to the hospital, they will examine you and find Kovit-19, but you have no reason to be in the hospital, ”he said. More precise information is being gathered in this regard.
For example, at the University of Montreal Hospital Center, spokeswoman Andrée-Anne Toussaint said, “The vast majority of our patients do not have respiratory symptoms associated with COVID, and they are more likely to be hospitalized for their illness.”
At CIUSSS du Center-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal, 19 of the 62 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 were admitted for this reason and 32 for another reason. In 11 patients, the diagnosis of admission was unknown. At CISSS de Laval, 26 out of 50 patients admitted to hot units were admitted due to Govit-19. At CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal, the rate was 49 out of 76 patients.
Data tracking
Geriatrician and epidemiologist, dR. According to Quoc Dinh Nguyen, these data should be carefully analyzed because it is beyond doubt that COVID-19 is partly responsible for a person’s illness. Especially in elderly patients.
He cites the example of an elderly patient who was weakened by COVID-19, who fell and broke his hip. Or another who suffers from cognitive impairment finds himself in a condition where his disorder worsens due to Govit-19 disease and has to be admitted to hospital. What is the main reason for admission to the hospital? “You have to ask how valid this data is,” says Dr.R. Nuen.
Elaine Vedbonsur, an emergency physician, shared a comment explaining that Covit-19 can “cause a lot of problems in many systems of the human body”. In this situation, it is difficult to conclude that Kovit-19 has nothing to do with the symptoms of someone who has been hospitalized with the disease.
The incidence of hospitalized patients with COVID-19, but without any symptoms, is certain. But it is very difficult to measure.
D.R. Alain Vadeponkor, Emergency Physician
For the tickR. Nguyen said it was “valid” to question the type of patients currently hospitalized. “By the first wave, it was clear that the hospital patients were the first to be treated by Govt. There, it is still unclear, ”he said.
Many precautions required
However, the expert explains that the impact of the Omicron variant on hospitals is real. Once a patient has a Govt-19 infection, it is important to treat him. Due to security measures, more personnel are required. Many have fewer employees because they are infected with the virus.
Since the severity of the Omigran variant is still uncertain, extreme caution should be exercised in all patients with Govit-19 disease.
We cannot provide treatment [les patients atteints de la COVID-19] As if they had a normal fever. A patient with Govit-19 disease, whether he or she is primarily treated or not, is the most disruptive.
D.R. Quoc Dinh Nguyen, Gynecologist and Epidemiologist
For the tickR. Vadeboncœur, If the questions admitted in the hospital are valid, we should be more careful in presenting the results. “Because while we still have to take care of these 1,700 patients, we can convince people that the situation is not so bad.”
President of the Association of Specialists in Emergency Medicine in QuebecR. According to Gilbert Boucher, the portrait of patients admitted to the hospital positive for Govt disease varies from one region to another. But he says all are “heavy on the team”, whether treated with “” or “with” COVID. “The system is under pressure,” says D.C.R. Boucher noted that some institutions are considering various solutions, such as closing outpatient rooms in the emergency department if the situation continues to worsen.
According to DR. Knowing that a certain proportion of patients admitted to the hospital with Nguyen, COVID-19 are not treated for this disease, it can be predicted that the impact of intensive care will be less than expected. “Having reliable data on this matter would be interesting to plan for acute maintenance needs,” he says.
How to document the rest?
These questions about hospitalized patients arise at a time when Quebec is announcing that it will no longer follow the daily evolution of the number of new cases of COVID-19 in the province, whose screening capacity is high. What should we now believe to follow the evolution of the epidemic?
“One thing is for sure, it will require a tool. You can not go by sight,” said Roxanne Borges da Silva, a professor at the University of Montreal School of Public Health.
D.R. In the UK, a random sample of residents is tested every day, which makes it possible to estimate the spread of the virus, Nguyen points out. According to him Quebec can do the same. D.R. Nguyen also hopes that the number of affected health workers can be monitored on a daily basis. Because these are constantly being tested. They are more susceptible to the virus than the average population, and health workers “live in the community.” “It will give us a clue,” the doctor said.
MMe Borges da Silva and dR. Vadponkor argues that wastewater analyzes will again provide an overview of the situation. “It is important to know how many hospitals we are admitted to. But the increase in cases will always be before the increase in hospitals. So you need to know the number of cases to see it coming,” says Dr.R. Wadeponsur.
“From the moment we impose measures such as curfew orders on the people, we have an obligation to follow the situation as accurately as possible,” D notes.R. Nuen.
In collaboration with Mary-Eve Moras, Press
