The Link Between COVID-19 Recovery and Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Infection: Insights from a Medical Specialist

The new crown epidemic has lasted for 3 years. Although it has not completely subsided, the world has gradually returned to normal. However, there have been many cases in recent days, alleging that patients with the new coronavirus continue to have symptoms of respiratory diseases after recovery, but it is not a new crown, but a bacterial infection called “Pseudomonas aeruginosa”. Is this bacterium a complication or sequelae of the new coronavirus? Cao Zhonghao, a specialist in the Department of Respiratory System, was interviewed by TOPick and pointed out that there is no causal relationship between the two, and the subsequent infection may be caused by the patient’s weakened immunity.

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Cao Zhonghao pointed out that Pseudomonas aeruginosa itself is not very common, and most of them appear in hospitals or long-term patient care places. However, if the patient suffers from tuberculosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma and other diseases that affect the trachea or damage the lung tissue, or if the immunity is weakened due to long-term hospitalization, the chance of infection will also increase.

Patients infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa will have symptoms such as fever, rapid heartbeat, and low blood pressure; if the bacteria enter the lungs, pneumonia symptoms will appear, such as coughing, green phlegm, chest pain, and pain when breathing, etc. Diarrhea may be caused, and severe cases may lead to pneumonia, sepsis, and even death. In addition, he also said that Pseudomonas aeruginosa is more “evil”. Even if adequate personal hygiene protection measures are taken, patients may still be infected when they insert their throats or even take a bath, so it is more difficult to prevent.

He also shared a clinical case in which a 60-year-old patient was infected with the new coronavirus in March this year, and then infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. He said that the patient himself had bronchiectasis, and his condition was well controlled. However, after being infected with the new coronavirus, he felt that the symptoms were mild, so he did not seek medical treatment immediately, but chose to take Chinese patent medicines by himself. Unexpectedly, a few days later, he suddenly developed a fever and other symptoms of pneumonia. After going to the hospital, he was found to have been infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In the end, he needed to be admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for 2 weeks of antibiotic treatment before he recovered.

Cao Zhonghao said that there have been many medical reports recently that the number of patients who were diagnosed with the new coronavirus and then re-infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa has increased significantly. However, there have not been any large-scale studies showing a causal relationship between the two, so it can only be speculated that patients infected with the new coronavirus lead to reduced immunity and thus become more susceptible to Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Cao Zhonghao finally appealed that if citizens are infected with the new crown virus, they should not delay treatment and wait until the condition worsens before seeking medical treatment, otherwise serious consequences may result. He also reminded the public not to underestimate the epidemic, saying that although most of the measures have returned to normal, many people are still infected with the new crown virus every day, and the beds in public hospitals have been full for a long time. Citizens are diagnosed, so they need to be extra careful.

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Reporter: Chen Huiling