Doctors have now described alarming situations in which patients with COVID-19 suddenly and inexplicably become critically ill around the eighth day after being infected with the virus.
Doctors have now described alarming situations in which patients withsuddenly and inexplicably become critically ill around the eighth day after being infected with the virus.
Tune into ABC at 1 p.m. ET and ABC News Live at 4 p.m. ET every weekday for special coverage of the novel coronavirus with the full ABC News team, including the latest news, context and analysis.seems to frequently occur around the second week, a scenario referred to as “the second week crash.” Doctors, however, aren’t sure why the second week seems to be particularly dangerous for some with COVID-19.
In medicine,"decompensation" is a term used to describe a phenomenon in which some patients take a sudden, sharp turn for the worse. Medical workers take in patients outside of a special coronavirus intake area at Maimonides Medical Center, May 4, 2020, in Brooklyn, New York.While doctors may be uncertain why the crash appears in the second week, they do have several theories as to what may be causing the crashes.
But Davidson also said it's possible the body's immune system itself might be to blame, triggering a severe overreaction to the viral infection that results in syndrome called"cytokine storm."“The virus makes it difficult for oxygen to be transported through the blood and for exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide to happen," he said."The situation leads to different organs failing and worsens the condition in the lung and leads to the crash.
While it’s clear there are numerous causes of the second-week crash, doctors still can’t predict which of their patients will crash. Age may play a role, but crashes are occurring in young patients as well. Patients with underlying medical conditions such as hypertension, diabetes and obesity seem to be at higher risk.
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