Effects of Coronavirus on Lungs - Free Essay Sample

COVID-19 is a disease that affects the lungs of an individual and can cause death in server cases. The first case of the disease was the first case was reported in December 2019 in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China (World Health Organization, 2020). The death rate from the disease is much higher in older people than in middle-aged patients and youths. The disease has since spread to other parts of the world, with Europe and the United States being the most affected. The elderly with underlying conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, and cerebrovascular diseases are adversely affected. The disease causes lead to breathing problems, which can be from mild to acute. The virus gets into contact with the mucous membranes found in the nose, mouth, and eyes than through the breathing track of a person to the lungs (World Health Organization, 2020)

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When the infection gets to the lungs, the body system retaliates. The lungs and the airways swell, which can be from just small areas to the entire lung. In mild cases, the patient may exhibit symptoms like dry cough or sometimes sore throat, which subsequently graduate into pneumonia in severe cases (Mehta et al .,2020). Doing an X-ray test would help a doctor check on the extent of infection to inform on the next cause of action. Additionally, if these effects continue, there can be permanent damage to the lungs, which would mean that the patient must be put on ICU to enable them to breathe (Cascella et al ., 2020). This effect can be life-threatening and traumatic to the patient and to the family members who take care of the patient daily. Also, lung failure can lead to organs such as the kidney, brain, and heart to dysfunction (Mehta et al., 2020). This paper will look into the effects of coronavirus on the lungs, both short and long term. Taking a keen look at elderly patients, tests, treatment, and management of the disease shows the disease's effect on the patient and the family members, the health system, and discharge criteria.

Literature Review

Since the first time, a case of COVID-19 has been reported world health organizations through various partners have done research concerning COVID-19 to discover the cause of the disease, the behavioral pattern, and the extent of the infection and mitigation measures. According to WHO, the condition is caused by a virus called SAS-CoV-2. The disease started in 2019 and has since spread to various parts of the world (World Health Organization, 2020). Patients present symptoms like coughing, sore throat in mild infection; however, in severe cases, the disease can result in acute pneumonia (Cascella et al ., 2020). This can further harm the lungs and, in some cases lead to permanent damage. The level of infection varies from different demographics, with the older people being the most affected. Moreover, this trend can be attributed to the fact that elderly persons have weak immunity.

The available data shows that more deaths are recorded in patients of 60 years and above, while the youths being asymptomatic (Dong et al ., 2020). In most countries around the world, huge gatherings have significantly been discouraged since the disease is very contagious. Studies show that the infection gets into the body through the mucous membrane to the breathing track down to the lungs (Diaz, 2020). Once the virus has been detected in the system, the immunity fights back by producing antibodies to fight the disease. According to WHO, most ICU patients are older people who can be linked to compromised immunity.

Also, preexisting conditions do significantly affect the immunity of a person. Elderly people tend to have various diseases that compromise their body defense mechanism, and this exposes them to attacks like in the case of COVID-19. The infection has been acute in countries with high life expectancy, for example, in Italy, Spain, the United States, France, and so on. In severe cases of lung infection, the patient can have acute respiratory distress syndrome ARDS (Diaz, 2020).

Discussion

Various methods have been developed by the CDC to test patients exhibiting coronavirus symptoms. Some of the signs in the early stages can be confused with the symptoms of a patient having a common cold (Cascella et al., 2020). CDC has developed various testing categories and methods to diagnose accurately and subsequently manage a patient depending on the symptoms that they display. Both WHO and CDC have developed testing screening tools. The chart below shows how the testing has been developed from the time the first case was reported. Also, it is essential to note that the testing kits and screening tools are

This genetic sequence has enabled countries to come up with primers that assist in the diagnosis of the disease. If a negative test is obtained in a patient, then WHO and CDC recommend that a repeat test should be carried out after 24 to 72 hours to ascertain that the patient is negative (Cascella et al ., 2020). It has been established that elderly patients do take a long time before they recover, and therefore an elaborate treatment plan should be put in place to speed up the process or prevent older people from getting the disease altogether. Moreover, there are so many diseases associated with old age. Research has shown that these diseases do lower the immunity of this group, thus pre-exposing them to emerging diseases such as COVID-19.

COVID-19 is a disease that can cause damaging effects in a patient and the symptoms being from mild to severe. From the paper, it can be seen that older people are more prone to this disease and show short-term damage to the lungs, but some also show a long-term effect that has become very hard to control (Liu et al., 2020). Therefore, the health bodies across the world should come up with guidelines to protect older people so that the effect of this disease can be controlled for the better. Since the condition becomes difficult to manage in acute cases, it is vital to protect the elderly from contacting the disease. It is better that way than trying to control the symptoms once they are already infected (Cascella et al., 2020). A vaccine or a permanent cure, if found, would go a long way in ensuring the elderly are protected from this disease.

Some patients have experienced reinfection after being discharged from the hospital. This has made different countries come up with guidelines on how to behave even after being declared COVID-19 negative (Diaz, 2020). Stringent measures have been put in place by different authorities to help protect the elderly who are most affected by this virus. Measures like restricted movements or full lockdown have been put in place to enable authorities to achieve this initiative. The clinical conditions can vary from one patient to another, and therefore specific tests are carried out to ascertain that the different symptoms are because of the COVID-19 infection (World Health Organization, 2020).

Laboratory Examination

COVID-19 patients do have reduced leucocytes and lymphocytopenia. Also, the pyrogenic cytokines become elevated, mostly in the patients admitted in ICU (Dong et al ., 2020). These symptoms have been found to exist more in the elderly population and are continuously monitored and managed for a while (Liu et al., 2020). Some patients do improve on receiving treatment of the symptoms, while others worsen with time, thus requiring a longer time in the ICU. This level of infection has seen the most significant number of elderly patients die due to COVID-19, and it is a worrying trend.

Management of COVID-19

Scientists have not come up with the actual cure of the disease, and therefore it is only the symptoms that are managed. Since mild conditions, a patient exhibits cough and fever, and paracetamol has become the first administration given to the patient (Armitage & Nellums, 2020). In case of additional symptoms, doctors have prescribed different drugs to manage these symptoms. In acute cases, as portrayed by most elderly patients, ICU forms a more significant part of the disease's management process (Cascella et al ., 2020). Various health measures have been put in place to curb the spread of the disease to avoid the situation from getting out of hand (Armitage & Nellums, 2020). WHO guidelines have help in preventing the spread of the disease and kept the infection cases at relatively low and manageable levels (World Health Organization, 2020).

Discharge Criteria

Four primary criteria have been developed to act as guidelines as to when a patient can be discharged. These criteria are from Italy, China, the USA, and the other one from Singapore (Abdulamir & Hafidh, 2020). The only difference in the discharge criteria mentioned is the requirements for one to be discharged from the hospital or ICU, as in severe lung damage. For example, in China, the patient must display negative results in the two following tests (Abdulamir & Hafidh, 2020). The patients must be anorexic for not less than three days. All the respiratory symptoms must be managed entirely; the CT scan must also show that the entire lesion has been completely dispelled.

Additionally, most countries have customized these discharge criteria depending on the trends from the patients discharged, whether there is reinfection or not. After the discharge, the survivor is always encouraged to self-isolate for another period while monitoring their condition. If there is any reoccurring case, then the patient is taken back to the hospital, and the process starts all over again (Diaz, 2020).

Conclusion

Since the elderly population is the most affected of all, each country should study its demographics and come up with the best way to control and mitigate it. COVID-19 is a disease that can cause damaging effects in a patient and the symptoms being from mild to severe. From the paper, it can be seen that older people are more prone to this disease and not only show short-term damage of lungs, but some also do show long-term effect that has become very hard to control. Therefore, health bodies across the world should come up with guidelines to protect older people so that the impact of this disease can be controlled for the better. Since the disease becomes difficult to manage in acute cases, it is crucial to protect the elderly from contracting the condition as it is better that way than trying to control the symptoms once they are already infected. A vaccine or a permanent cure, if found, would go a long way in ensuring the elderly are protected from this disease. Scientists can research and improve management practices to ensure that even after getting to a very critical state; then the damaged lungs can be treated and restored to the reasonable condition as before the infection occurred.

References

Abdulamir, A. S., & Hafidh, R. R. (2020). The Possible Immunological Pathways for the Variable Immunopathogenesis of COVID-19 Infections among Healthy Adults, Elderly and Children. Electronic Journal of General Medicine, 17(4).https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ahmed_Abdulamir/publication/340136238

Armitage, R., & Nellums, L. B. (2020). COVID-19 and the consequences of isolating the elderly. The Lancet Public Health, 5(5), e256.

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(20)30061

Cascella, M., Rajnik, M., Cuomo, A., Dulebohn, S. C., & Di Napoli, R. (2020). Features, evaluation, and treatment coronavirus (COVID-19).