National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) yesterday held a celebration for patients with severe symptoms of COVID-19 who have recovered from the disease, including a middle-aged man who was at death’s door at one point.
Since it started admitting COVID-19 patients on Jan. 23, the Taipei hospital has treated 17 patients, including three who were diagnosed with severe respiratory failure and six with pneumonia. The rest had less severe symptoms.
One man in his 50s who wished to remain anonymous was among the three cases of severe respiratory failure, Intensive Care Ward director Ku Shih-chi (古世基) told a news conference.
Photo: Yang Yuan-ting, Taipei Times
The patient, who has a history of smoking and is a cancer survivor, had complained of diarrhea and weakness since the end of March, Ku said, adding that the man had been transferred to the hospital on April 5 after his pneumonia worsened and he required intubation.
The patient suffered from other complications, including acute respiratory insufficiency and low blood oxygen, necessitating his being put on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and given anti-cytokine treatment to combat the “cytokine storm,” a result of excessive cytokines released to combat the Sars-CoV-2 virus, Ku said.
The man also underwent dialysis due to a complication of renal failure during the treatment process, Ku said.
“Doctors predicted that the patient had a mortality risk of 85 percent,” but with interdepartmental collaboration and more than 75 days of hospitalization, he was able to pull through, Ku said.
Despite having fibrosis on both lung lobes due to severe pneumonia, which severely affected his ability to breathe normally, the man was proclaimed sufficiently recovered to be discharged earlier his month.
The patient thanked the doctors profusely for helping him recover within such a short period.
The patient said he was quite moved by the medical personnel, who lined both sides of the hall when he was escorted out of the negative pressure isolation ward and cheered him on, saying: “You can do it!”
“I felt I must attend this news conference to personally thank all medical personnel for helping people like me,” the patient said.
National Taiwan University vice president Chang Shan-chwen (張上淳) said that the COVID-19 mortality rate in Taiwan is low due to the nation’s excellent medical care.
Chang, who is also convener of the advisory specialist panel of the government’s Central Epidemic Command Center, thanked the hospital for its assistance in examining more than 10,000 individuals and taking some of the burden off the government’s shoulders.
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