High Viral Load in Lungs Drives Fatal COVID-19

By Robert Preidt
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Aug. 31, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- A precocious magnitude of coronavirus successful the lungs is simply a large contributor to decease successful COVID-19 patients, caller probe shows.

The findings situation erstwhile theories that simultaneous infections specified arsenic pneumonia oregon an overreaction of the body's immune system are important factors successful COVID-19 deaths, the researchers noted.

To travel to that conclusion, the investigators analyzed bacterial and fungal samples from the lungs of 589 hospitalized COVID-19 patients who were severely sick and required mechanical ventilation.

On average, patients who died had 10 times the magnitude of microorganism successful their little airways than those who survived their illness.

"Our findings suggest that the body's nonaccomplishment to header with the ample numbers of microorganism infecting the lungs is mostly liable for COVID-19 deaths successful the pandemic," said pb survey writer Dr. Imran Sulaiman, an adjunct prof successful NYU Langone Health's section of medicine.

There was nary grounds of secondary bacterial infection arsenic the origin of the deaths, but this whitethorn beryllium due to the fact that the patients received ample amounts of antibiotics, said the authors of the survey published online Aug. 31 successful the diary Nature Microbiology.

Guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention bash not promote giving antivirals specified arsenic remdesivir to severely sick COVID-19 patients connected mechanical ventilation, but these findings suggest these medications whitethorn really payment these patients, Sulaiman said successful an NYU Langone quality release.

According to survey elder writer Dr. Leopoldo Segal, an subordinate prof successful NYU Langone's section of medicine, "These results suggest that a occupation with the adaptive immune strategy is preventing it from efficaciously combating the coronavirus. If we tin place the root of this issue, we whitethorn beryllium capable to find an effectual attraction that works by bolstering the body's ain defenses."

Segal noted that the survey lone included patients who survived their archetypal 2 weeks of hospitalization, truthful it's imaginable that bacterial infections oregon autoimmune reactions whitethorn play a greater relation successful COVID-19 deaths that hap earlier.

The probe team's adjacent measurement is to analyse however the microbe assemblage and immune effect successful the lungs of COVID-19 patients alteration implicit time, Segal said.

The decease complaint for U.S. COVID-19 patients who person to beryllium enactment connected mechanical respirators is astir 70%.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has much connected treatment of COVID-19.

SOURCE: NYU Langone Health, quality release, Aug. 31, 2021