Case of a young man who died at 26: when can the infection be fatal?

Medical student Lucas Borba died after 10 days in hospital

The death of a seemingly healthy 26-year-old shocked not only the family, but everyone who followed the case. Lucas Borba was a third semester medical student and lived in Belém, capital of Pará, and died last Sunday (22nd), in Palmas, Tocantins, where he had been transferred.

Lucas started experiencing abdominal pain about a month ago. Symptoms also included diarrhea, vomiting and general intestinal problems. He spent 10 days in hospital. Arthur Wieczorek, the young man’s cousin, informed G1 that Lucas’ condition worsened last Thursday (19th) and that he had to be transferred to intensive care.

On Sunday, however, he was intubated and suffered cardiac arrest. The kidneys and liver failed and the student’s death was confirmed at 6pm the same day. The hospital did not inform the press about the origin of the infection.

It is common, however, for infections to progress to more severe conditions and even (as in Lucas’ case) death. Normally cases like this are classified as sepsis, which is a dysregulated response of our body to an infection, whether caused by viruses, bacteria or fungi.

“This reaction is so intense and unregulated that it causes serious damage to our body, even leading to death. The best way to avoid and reduce the risk of contracting an infection is with adequate treatment”, underlined Arthur Faria, doctor specialized in Medicine Intensive care worker and head of the “Post ICU Rehabilitation” Help Line at the Recife Unit of the Clínica Firenze, in this interview with Terra.

Sepsis is even the leading cause of death in intensive care units (ICU) and a leading cause of late hospital mortality, according to an article published in The Lancet in 2020, with the analysis of data from 1990 to 2017. In Brazil , it is estimated that there are approximately 400,000 cases of sepsis per year among adults – with a mortality rate of up to 60%.

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“We can present a urinary infection, pneumonia or even a skin infection and, depending on the evolution and treatment, they can evolve into sepsis,” explains the doctor.

The condition is so common that singer Preta Gil’s treatment was stopped this year. A bacteria probably entered your body through a catheter used for chemotherapy.

In the case of the young man, 26 years old, the infection would have occurred outside the hospital environment. Specialist Arthur Faria emphasizes that every infectious condition is potentially serious. The first point of attention to take into consideration is the patient’s profile; immunosuppressed people, those of extreme age, people with uncontrolled chronic diseases, and cancer patients, for example, tend to have a less effective immune response.

However, because the cause of Lucas’ illness is not known, it is difficult to know what happened to him and how his condition has progressed. The most important thing in these cases of severe pain is to seek medical help as soon as possible, experts advise.

Source: Terra

Ben

Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.