COVID-19: More than a quarter of young adults with virus developed pneumonia, says study

A new research to be presented at the ESCMID Conference on Coronavirus Disease (ECCVID) online from September 23- September 25 reveals that more than a quarter of young patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 infection has developed pneumonia. The study has been conducted by South Korean researchers which comprised of 315 patients in the age group of  18 to 39 were admitted to 6 hospitals in Daegu, South Korea which is one of the earliest hotspots of the pandemic.

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Low alertness in young people

Of these, 205 (65%) were female (65.1%) and 32 (10.2%) patients were asymptomatic. The patient group without pneumonia and the patient group with pneumonia were compared by the researchers. The study said that several countries that had been putting efforts to curb the coronavirus pandemic are currently witnessing a resurgence in cases especially among young people.

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The authors who conducted the study said in a statement that, "The low alertness of young people has become a social problem around the world, since it is known that the progress toward severe cases is low in young people." 

The study claimed that of the total patients with pneumonia, 23%confirmed cases of pneumonia on chest X-rays. The patients had symptoms such as cough, sore throat, fever, rhinorrhoea/runny nose, myalgia (muscle pain), chill (51, 16%), diarrhoea (46, 15%). Severe pneumonia was reported in 7 (2.2%) cases, with one patient needing mechanical ventilation, the study claimed. 

The authors concluded the report by saying, "Pneumonia occurred in 26% of young hospitalised patients. Severe pneumonia presented in 2% of cases, and one patient with no other medical history required mechanical ventilation. Young people should also be aware of the risk of pneumonia or severe pneumonia due to COVID-19."

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