Patients are under treatment at the Hà Nội-based Bạch Mai Hospital. — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Quyết

HÀ NỘI — The number of emergency and stroke patients admitted to the Hà Nội-based Bạch Mai Hospital increased dramatically during the Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday, estimated to up by about 30-40 per cent compared to normal days, according to the hospital.

The A9 Emergency Centre even received more than 300 patients per day on some days.

Nguyễn Minh Anh, a doctor from the Bạch Mai Hospital's Stroke Centre said that the number of patients admitted to the centre during Tết and the first days of work tended to increase with severe clinical conditions and a variety of disorders.

Reasons for the sudden increase are that the number of patients being transferred from lower-level hospitals intensified.

In addition, when Tết was coming, some patients are reluctant to go for a check-up again, take old prescriptions or stop taking medication on their own to wait for a check-up after Tết. They do not follow treatment regimens properly, leading to high risks, especially for the ones with underlying diseases.

Besides, during the holiday, many people eat and drink irregularly, stay up late, eat fried foods and drink alcohol, which are also among the causes leading to multipled stroke rates.

Doctor Anh said that among the patients hospitalised due to stroke during this time, the number of young patients who are under 50 years old accounted for a high proportion, about 45 per cent.

“The main reason is that young people lack regular health check-ups and often do not think they can get high blood pressure and diabetes. On the other hand, due to the unscientific living habits of young people, they often use alcohol, fast food, fried food. Moreover, young people today also tend to use many new stimulants and addictive substances such as crystal meth, marijuana and electronic cigarette,” Anh said.

Typically at the Stroke Centre, a 46-year-old male patient from Cầu Giấy District, Hà Nội was admitted to the hospital on January 28 due to hemiplegia and difficulty speaking.

He used to have high blood pressure and was not treated regularly.

He was hospitalised after lunch and drinking alcohol.

The hospital’s examination and tests showed that he had a three-millimetre brain hemorrhage.

After six days of active treatment, his muscle strength gradually recovered.

Doctors at the A9 Emergency Centre said that the number of patients during Tết and the first days of spring this year increased compared to previous years.

The centre often receives 200 patients every day, but during and after Tết, the number intensified to more than 300 ones, many of whom were transferred from lower levels.

Nguyễn Như Bình, a doctor at the centre, said, “This year, the rate of diseases caused by traffic accidents and alcohol has decreased, however, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases are up. It is because of cold weather. Chronic patients when returning home for Tết do not follow the treatment regime, and do not eat and live properly.”

According to statistics, during the nine-day Lunar New Year holiday from January 25 to February 3, the Bạch Mai Hospital had 3,703 outpatients and emergency patients, of which 2,395 were emergency, accounting for 65 per cent.

As many as 566 were stroke, accounting for 15 per cent whereas 408 were pediatric, accounting for 11 per cent and 334 were other diseases, accounting for nine per cent.

The total number of inpatients was 2,354. The number of patients who were cured and discharged from the hospital was 1,405. — VNS