HCM City Hospital for Tropical Diseases where the 91st COVID-19 patient is being treated. — Photo tuoitre.vn

HCM CITY — A British pilot – Việt Nam’s 91st COVID-19 patient – is suffering 90 per cent damage to his lungs, according to HCM City Hospital for Tropical Diseases where he is being treated, on Wednesday. 

The patient is now completely dependent on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO).

His CT results on Wednesday shows severe solidification and fibrosis of the lungs, making it difficult for oxygen to get into the patient’s blood. 

Earlier on Tuesday afternoon, the Ministry of Health (MoH) hosted a consultation with health experts from the country’s top-tier hospitals on the case, concluding that a lung transplant is the only solution to save the patient. 

However, it requires him to be given the all-clear and receive intensive antibiotic stewardship before being transferred to Chợ Rẫy Hospital for the transplant. 

Confirmed as a COVID-19 patient on March 18, the pilot has been suffering from a high fever since being hospitalised and his respiratory system has worsened despite him being just 43 years old and in otherwise good health.

He is also suffering from blood clots and cytokine storm syndrome – an intense immune response where the immune system releases a lot of cytokines through the bloodstream, which actually works against the body instead of protecting it.

His body was resistant to all types of anti-clotting medication, so the MoH has had to buy rare drugs from overseas to treat him, said Doctor Nguyễn Văn Kính, head of the MoH’s professional council for COVID-19 treatment last Friday. 

Another severe case of COVID-19, the 287th patient – a 50-year-old woman returning from UAE – is also under treatment at the hospital. Her X-ray results on Tuesday showed increasing lung damage. 

On Wednesday, the patient recovered from a fever, her pulse and blood pressure remained stable. — VNS