Explaining the spike in deaths in Sindh of patients presenting less severe symptoms, infectious diseases specialist and consultant at the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) Dr Faisal Mehmood said the condition of COVID-19 patients deteriorates so rapidly that nobody knows what to do.
“If they are not provided immediate intensive care, they can die within a couple of hours. I have personally seen a patient who was quite healthy in the morning and talking to me, and in the evening his condition deteriorated so rapidly that we had to put him on life support,” said Dr Mehmood.
He added that one of the main reasons of mortality from the virus was pulmonary embolism, in which clots are formed in the blood, which disrupts the supply of blood to the brain and can result in stroke and sudden death.
“And this disease, COVID-19, also puts pressure on the heart. It causes heart failure and the patient dies suddenly. So, there’s a need to monitor the condition of patients in self-isolation so that they can be provided timely first aid,” he said.
He warned that with the increase in the number of novel coronavirus cases in Karachi, the number of deaths would also rise, adding, that the number of cases could rise by the end of this month or by the start of the next month.
He said that the peak of COVID-19 depends on the conditions: whether there is a strict lockdown or if it has been eased so that people are moving freely and gathering.
