Drastic loss of patients due to Corona? Cardiology speaks of dangerous development

Clinics are currently seeing declining patient numbers. Many people do not get examined for fear of the corona virus, which can be very risky.

• German doctors are currently seeing a decline in patients in need of treatment .
• Many people are afraid of infection in the corona crisis and therefore do not go to clinics.
• A cancer specialist now has a dark fear for the summer.
• Here you will find our guide to reporting * and the previous Corona news from Germany. You will also find current case numbers as a map here. The most important thing about the topic is also on our brand new Facebook page Corona News.
  

Munich - The population of Germany has seen some visible changes in the past few weeks that the corona virus * has brought about. However, the level of uncertainty within society has increased at the same time, so that many people will probably not go to a hospital for fear of a virus infection * despite the need for treatment . According to a report from the world , doctors are observing a threatening development.

Decline in clinic patients: fear of corona infection carries risks

Siegfried Hasenbein is the managing director of the Bavarian Hospital Association in Munich. "We find that diagnoses such as suspected stroke , heart attack or appendicitis have decreased significantly," he told the world . This also applies to cancer patients . According to the local hospital company, an average of 40 to 60 percent of the beds in Bavaria's hospitals should be free . "There is still capacity available in the intensive care units," commented Hasenbein. An estimated 150,000 beds are to be available nationwide . 

For fear of corona, many patients in Saxony-Anhalt cancel planned hospital appointments. That and more in the Corona news blog: https://t.co/KnKKpXFwKa

There are still no precise statistics on the problem, but it seems to be a nationwide problem. At the Nuremberg Clinic , according to the report, there was a significant decline in individual diagnoses. This is said to have made itself felt especially after the eleventh calendar week. " Between 20 and 30 percent fewer patients come to the cardiological emergency room to clarify unclear chest pain," says the clinic. In the neurological emergency room, the decline of 30 percent of suspected strokes compared to the previous year was particularly noticeable.

Coronavirus: 25 percent drop in heart attack deliveries 

A spokesman for DAK-Gesundheit told the world that the number of people admitted to a hospital with a heart attack decreased by 25 percent in March . The number was compared in a special analysis with the March data of the past two years. There is no guarantee that the number of cases will decrease due to the coronavirus * . 

A spokesman for the North Rhine-Westphalian hospital company said, "It must be avoided that fear of the virus * causes other diseases or deaths ." But Niels Reinmuth, chief physician for thoracic oncology at the Asklepios specialist clinic in Gauting, experiences exactly that. Specialist says, "If you don't recognize acute treatment needs, you may risk life-threatening problems." Because he knows, "in the case of a tumor, a delay can mean that the disease can no longer be treated or that the chances of a cure are much poorer ." That is why the situation worries the oncologist. "We are concerned that we will have many patients in the summer who would have come four months earlier ."

Because of the # Corona crisis, many patients miss their regular doctor's appointments. Often for fear of being infected with the corona virus or because they do not want to burden the healthcare system any further. However, doctors continue to advise on the appointments.https: //t.co/vWqagV2pu6

Bavaria's Minister of Health Huml: "Be sure to have it examined by a doctor"

What does Bavaria's Minister of Health Melanie Huml think about this problem? "Anyone who experiences symptoms of a heart attack or another serious illness should definitely be examined by a doctor," advises the CDU politician.  

The unexpected decline in patients with acute symptoms is worrying from a medical point of view. The houses do everything they can to minimize the risk of infection: Corona infections are treated separately from all other patients.

List of rubric lists: © dpa / Hauke-Christian Dittrich