Centenarian recovers from COVID-19 in China's Anhui

HEFEI, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- After 11 days of medical treatment, a 100-year-old patient has recovered from COVID-19 and was discharged from hospital on Wednesday in east China's Anhui Province.

The patient, surnamed Tian, is the oldest COVID-19 patient to meet the discharge criteria at the hospital. She was admitted on Dec. 25 to Anhui Public Health Clinical Center in Hefei, capital of Anhui, after having a fever and cough for three days. Following admission, Tian returned a positive result for a COVID-19 nucleic acid test.

"We found that, in addition to a lung infection, the patient also had cardiac insufficiency, renal insufficiency and hypoproteinemia," said Yan Qing, the patient's attending physician.

Fortunately, Tian had been vaccinated against COVID-19, and her family sent her to the hospital in a timely manner without waiting for more serious symptoms such as chest tightness or asthma.

Considering that Tian was aged and had pre-existing conditions, the medical team paid close attention to her state of health every day, especially her oxygenation index.

During Tian's treatment for pneumonia, extra attention was also paid to the functions of her heart, kidney, blood coagulation, digestion and other organs to prevent complications.

"After she was hospitalized, our department's expert team devised a customized symptomatic and supportive treatment plan for her, including antiviral, anti-infection, immunity improvement and nutritional support," said Yan.

Due to being well cared for by the medical team, Tian soon recovered. "Every time she finished an intravenous infusion, she would wave to nurses to express her gratitude," said Tian's family member.

As Tian's health condition improved, the medical team finally felt relieved.

"The good care from Tian's family really helped a lot with her recovery," Yan said, noting that Tian's relatives prepared nutritious and healthy food for her every day, and did a great job in cooperating with the team to regularly turn her body over and help expel phlegm.

"There was great cooperation between us and the family members," Yan said, adding that seeing Tian recover is one of the happiest things she has experienced recently.

On Wednesday afternoon, Tian was discharged with her family and was waved off by the medical team. At their parting, doctors reminded Tian's family to let her have a good rest and pay close attention to her health condition back home.

Upon leaving the hospital, Tian again raised her hand to express her gratitude to the medical workers who had accompanied her for 11 days.