NEW DELHI: The new variant of the coronavirus that causes the current wave of Covid-19 is not only extremely infectious, but also a storm.
Urban hospitals say there are cases where a patient has typical symptoms of the disease, but tests negatively for viral infection, sometimes twice or thrice even by RT-PCR, considered the gold standard for Covid testing.
“I have received many such patients in recent days. They had fever, cough, difficulty breathing and CT scan of the lungs showed lighter or gray spots. In medical terms, it is called opacity of ground glass. The condition is one of the defining characteristics of Covid-19, “said Dr. Aashish Chaudhry, CEO of Aakash Healthcare.
He added that some of the patients underwent bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), a diagnostic method in which a flexible object is passed through the mouth or nose into the lungs with a measured amount of fluid introduced and then collected for examination, which confirmed the diagnosis. .
“All of these people who tested negative by conventional Covid-19 test methods but had symptoms of the disease were positive on the wash test,” said Dr. Chaudhry.
What could be the cause? Dr Pratibha Kale, an associate professor of clinical microbiology at the Institute of Liver and Bile Sciences, said: zone. to give a positive result. “The virus,” she added, “attached to ACE receptors – a protein found on the surface of many cell types – in the lungs and” therefore, when body fluid samples were analyzed, confirmed the diagnosis of Covid-19. ”
Dr. Vivek Nangia, head of the pulmonology division at Max Healthcare, said that almost 15-20% of patients with Covid-19 suffer from this problem. “They are very symptomatic of the disease, but they are negative. This is a serious problem because these patients can continue to spread the infection if they are hospitalized in non-covert areas. It may also delay treatment, “he added.
The pulmonologist said that symptoms in patients with Covid also varied significantly in the current wave compared to previous outbreaks caused by SARS-CoV-2. “A significant mutation in the virus cannot be ruled out. It is the most plausible explanation for the changes that are being observed, “he said.
Dr Arup Basu, a senior consultant in the thoracic medicine department at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, said symptoms of runny nose, cold and conjunctivitis were also seen in patients with Covid-19 this time, who were not present earlier. “Many patients have no cough or shortness of breath and the result of a CT scan of the lungs is also normal. However, they have a high persistent fever for eight to nine days, which requires hospitalization, “he said.
Urban hospitals say there are cases where a patient has typical symptoms of the disease, but tests negatively for viral infection, sometimes twice or thrice even by RT-PCR, considered the gold standard for Covid testing.
“I have received many such patients in recent days. They had fever, cough, difficulty breathing and CT scan of the lungs showed lighter or gray spots. In medical terms, it is called opacity of ground glass. The condition is one of the defining characteristics of Covid-19, “said Dr. Aashish Chaudhry, CEO of Aakash Healthcare.
He added that some of the patients underwent bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), a diagnostic method in which a flexible object is passed through the mouth or nose into the lungs with a measured amount of fluid introduced and then collected for examination, which confirmed the diagnosis. .
“All of these people who tested negative by conventional Covid-19 test methods but had symptoms of the disease were positive on the wash test,” said Dr. Chaudhry.
What could be the cause? Dr Pratibha Kale, an associate professor of clinical microbiology at the Institute of Liver and Bile Sciences, said: zone. to give a positive result. “The virus,” she added, “attached to ACE receptors – a protein found on the surface of many cell types – in the lungs and” therefore, when body fluid samples were analyzed, confirmed the diagnosis of Covid-19. ”
Dr. Vivek Nangia, head of the pulmonology division at Max Healthcare, said that almost 15-20% of patients with Covid-19 suffer from this problem. “They are very symptomatic of the disease, but they are negative. This is a serious problem because these patients can continue to spread the infection if they are hospitalized in non-covert areas. It may also delay treatment, “he added.
The pulmonologist said that symptoms in patients with Covid also varied significantly in the current wave compared to previous outbreaks caused by SARS-CoV-2. “A significant mutation in the virus cannot be ruled out. It is the most plausible explanation for the changes that are being observed, “he said.
Dr Arup Basu, a senior consultant in the thoracic medicine department at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, said symptoms of runny nose, cold and conjunctivitis were also seen in patients with Covid-19 this time, who were not present earlier. “Many patients have no cough or shortness of breath and the result of a CT scan of the lungs is also normal. However, they have a high persistent fever for eight to nine days, which requires hospitalization, “he said.