Coronavirus: This is how it works in intensive care units - Munich doctors clarify

In Germany, doctors and nurses have long been working hard again.

Munich doctors who name a major problem explain how they want to master the corona crisis.

• During the second corona wave, the number of intensive care patients also increased in Germany.

• However, doctors and nurses are not only entrusted with corona cases.

• The biggest problem at the moment is clearly identified, but it cannot be resolved so quickly.

Munich - In the

, intensive care

need staying power.

For the most part, the same

have been fighting for the lives of

since spring

.

There is a lack of specialists everywhere who are trained for this difficult task - in

all places

, a stronghold of high-performance medicine that defied the first corona wave with comparatively low losses.

But now the fighting situation has worsened - and not just because of the increasing number of infections.

What is really going on in our

?

An analysis.

Corona crisis in Germany: The current situation in the intensive care units

In

there were 307 corona patients in clinics on Friday, 77 of them in intensive care units.

For critics of the

, this number of cases may not sound scary.

But it already poses enormous problems for the specialists: Many have to

take on

, and vacations are canceled.

The personnel effort is enormous -

because the employees

allowed to

protect

against infection

.

And all of this during the autumn and winter months, when

beds are often scarce

in the intensive care units

.

The decisive background for the

: While the clinics for corona patients were literally emptied in spring, their treatment during the second wave is practically incidental.

are no longer or not yet canceled - on the contrary: some

are still in the process of making up for the

.

In addition, fortunately, more

to the clinic again, who preferred to stay at home in the spring for fear of being infected with the virus.

"The care of corona patients is still on top," reports Dr.

Vanessa Rembold, who together with Dr.

Michael Findeisen

heads

the internal intensive care unit at the

.

Video: A corona outbreak occurred in a Munich hospital

Corona crisis in Germany: The personnel situation in the intensive care units

The big problem in the intensive care units: "We have the

, but we urgently need

who can work with them," says Dr.

Find iron.

At least five people are needed just to turn a ventilated patient in bed.

You work

- and you are also highly concentrated.

Not everyone wants to do this backbreaking job in the intensive care unit.

Politicians pretend that they have recognized the problem and want to make the

.

But it would take some time for

to arrive in the clinics.

In addition, the

have hardly improved so far.

Corona crisis in Germany: The strategy in the intensive care units

"We

now

know the

better than

we did in the

spring," says Dr.

Rembold.

Doctors now know that severe Covid-19 courses can often affect not only the lungs but

.

"In the worst case, the reaction to the virus results in

, which can lead to severe

," says Dr.

Find iron.

That is why the vast majority of patients in the corona intensive care unit receive the anticoagulant

as a

precaution

and more consistently than in spring also

- a strong anti-inflammatory drug containing cortisone.

Remdesivir

has a limited role in the management of severe cases.

“It inhibits virus replication.

It is often too late for intensive care patients, ”explains Dr.

Rembold.

It is all the more important to detect the infection early.

The insidious: Many patients are still doing relatively well for a long time.

"At first, it is often

not as difficult for

those affected to

as patients with

"

says

senior physician Rembold.

In many cases, the

only

worsens

ten to fourteen days after the first

.

Most seriously

still have to be

.

However, the specialists usually wait a little longer before connecting their intensive care patients to the devices.

Before that, they increasingly use the so-called

.

The patient is given

through a large nasal cannula

to make breathing easier.

"Thanks to high-flow oxygen, we can now

help

in some cases

," reports Dr.

Find iron.

This has advantages - for example, that the patient is

.

The tricky thing: “You shouldn't miss the time to switch from high-flow oxygen to ventilation.

In many cases, artificial ventilation is still

”emphasizes Dr.

Rembold.

+

"Corona annoys everyone - including us doctors and nurses": Dr.

Vanessa Rembold (r.) From the Harlaching Clinic, like her nurses, has her hands full.

© Markus Götzfried

Corona crisis in Germany: This is the forecast

Because the technology is available, Germany and Bavaria in particular are still a long way from a

.

However, the shortage of staff is increasingly causing the experts a headache.

“Colleagues from other specialist departments are not all equally well suited to step in here,” says senior doctor Findeisen.

“The teams in the intensive care units have to

look after

.

With increasing numbers of corona cases, the

decrease. "

In addition,

continue to

receive

during the pandemic

.

"That is why it is so important that the

continue to be adhered to in order to reduce the incidence of infections and, with a time delay, the number of patients in hospitals," emphasizes Dr.

Rembold.