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Early lung infections new Covid concern

ByJyoti Shelar
Apr 07, 2021 12:19 AM IST

A couple from south Mumbai in their 60s consulted a doctor last week after having a fever for two days

A couple from south Mumbai in their 60s consulted a doctor last week after having a fever for two days. When the doctor examined them with the help of a stethoscope, he heard what are known as bilateral crackles, sounds from the lungs that suggest pneumonia. Sure enough, in both their cases, a Covid-19 test returned positive and a CT scan of the lung confirmed pneumonia. But what surprised the doctor, a consultant internist at Bhatia Hospital, Tardeo, was the progression of the lung infection. In the past, Covid-19 linked pneumonia was seen after at least 10 days of symptoms, but in this senior couple, pneumonia set in on the third day.

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And that, experts say, may well be the story of Mumbai’s second wave.

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“Involvement of the lung within the second or third day of the onset of symptoms is concerning,” said Dr Samrat Shah, who treated the senior couple. Shah said their lungs were considerably diseased, and the CT scan severity score was above 7, which meant that they had already crossed the mild stage of the infection.

CT scans of many positive patients are revealing faster pulmonary changes even as severity scores are rapidly rising, doctors said. The result: more patients require intensive treatment and hospitalisation, although, on the positive side, most recover.

Given their age, the couple were put on intravenous steroids and antiviral medication and are now on the road to recovery. According to Dr. Shah, almost 30% of his patients are showing signs of early lung infections. During the last wave, only very few patients would show up with such early infections, he said.

Dr Khusrav Bajan, a physician, and intensivist at the PD Hinduja Hospital in Mahim said almost 15% of his Covid-19 patients are suffering from an early lung infection. “Last year, such cases were about 5% to 10%,” he added.

A CT-scan severity score ranges from 0 to 25; 7 to 12 indicates moderate infection; above 12 indicates a severe infection; below 7 indicates mild infection.

“I have so many patients who are slipping from a score of 5 to 20 within a day. They typically have pneumonia and acute respiratory distress. Also, a peculiar trend is that young people, under 45 years of age, are coming with such early infections,” said Dr Bajan.

From reporting an average of 526 cases per day in January, Mumbai’s daily average rose to 655 cases per day in February and jumped sharply to 2866 cases per day in March. The city reported an average of 9500 per day in the first five days of April. The number of active cases in the city has jumped by at least 700% within a month’s time: from 9055 on March 5 to 73,281 on April 5.

According to BMC’s Covid-19 dashboard, 12707 patients are currently hospitalised. Of these, 1776 are admitted to intensive care units. Another 1937 patients are admitted in Covid Care Centre (CCC2) that are meant for positive, asymptomatic patients. Around 2% of the total active cases are critical.

“Even as the numbers have risen, and more patients are symptomatic, the response rate to therapy is much better. This helps as patients don’t get to the critical state,” said Dr. Pratit Samdani who is currently treating one unusual case of a 65-year-old jeweller who developed lung fibrosis on the seventh day of hospitalisation. Lung fibrosis is a severe condition wherein the lung tissues are severely scarred and the damage is irreversible. “We generally see fibrosis after three to four weeks. It is unusual to develop fibrosis so soon,” he said.

Some experts say it is possible that the sheer volume of Covid-19 cases in the ongoing second wave has resulted in doctors observing such trends more clearly. “Some patients definitely deteriorate faster. We are also seeing significantly affected lungs in patients but we did see a similar trend last year too,” said Dr Rahul Pandit, a critical care physician at Fortis Hospital and a member of Maharashtra’s Covid-19 task force. “I think what is concerning right now is the overwhelming number of cases.”

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