Cases of blood clots among Covid-19 patients in Laos intensifies

News regarding a diabetic woman with confirmed case of Covid-19 had her two legs amputated last week after finding out blood clots which could have been caused by the virus. According to the National Taskforce for Covid-19 Prevention and Control, the said woman, 65, had both legs amputated above the knee in order to save her life.

In a daily media briefing held on Tuesday, Dr Bouathep Phoumin, who is the Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Health’s Department of Healthcare and Rehabilitation said that blood clots have been a concern in Covid-19 patients.

The woman has been initially admitted to Mahosot Hospital on October 5 and already with blood clotting issues and has also been confirmed to have contracted with Covid-19 virus. After which she was transferred to Mittaphab Hospital and stayed there until June 2 and where she got her legs amputated.

According to Dr Bouathep, the serious complications of blood clotting which affects few Covid-19 patients could be prevented by amputation. Similar to the lungs and the heart, Covid-19 is a complex infection that damages the blood flowing through the veins.

Dr Bouathep said that it has been suggested by the Guidelines for clinicians to use a standard prophylactic anticoagulant dose over higher doses in order to prevent clotting in Covid-19 patients, as well as those in intensive care. However, it is noted that the said treatment was not effective in this particular case.

It has been reported in some countries that the abnormal blood clotting is linked to greater risk of death among Covid-19 patients, especially those who are hospitalized. Bloodstream complications could also be associated as post-Covid signs which could give rise to serious complications leading to death.

Two positive cases of Covid-19 have been identified in Laos on Tuesday during the testing of 1,845 samples in the past 24 hours. One of them lives in Tanmixay village, while the other, in Phonthan village. Currently, the number of Covid-19 cases in Laos totals 1,970. Where 191 are active cases while 1,773 have recovered from the virus.