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TERASLAMPUNG.COM — A case recently published in American Journal of Emergency Medicine suspect persistent or hiccoughs could be a new symptom of Covid-19. In that case, a 62-year-old man reportedly came to the Cook County Health emergency department, Illinois, United States, after experiencing four days of non-stop hiccups and losing up to 12.5 kilograms of weight in four months.
Two research doctors at the hospital, Garret Prince and Michelle Sergel, described the man as having no fever, nasal congestion, sore throat, chest pain or shortness of breath. There are no symptoms of a corona virus infection as listed by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
His medical problems appear to be diabetes, hypertension, and coronary obstruction. The physical examination that was then carried out also did not reveal much. His body temperature is 37.3 degrees Celsius, not yet classified as a fever.
But the hospital doctor did not dare to let him go home. However hiccups for four days is not normal. In fact, once you have hiccups for just two days you have to seek medical help at the hospital because it really irritates your breathing.
Hiccups are basically cramps in the diaphragm or in the muscles under the lungs that normally contract to help inhale. This muscle contraction causes the diaphragm to drop or lower, allowing the lungs to expand and fill with air. This muscle contracts when the nerves from the neck to the diaphragm are activated.
Disorders of the nerves that cause the diaphragm to cramp and hiccups occur. And prolonged hiccups could signal something is continuing to irritate or damage that nerve. It could be something in the nervous system or nerves that are dysfunctioning.
In the Cook County case, the doctor ordered a chest X-ray to check for the disturbance because the hiccups were more than two days old. The result, doctors found that both men’s lungs have what are called ‘ground glass opacities’. This is not normal. The image shows several types namely inflamed, bleeding or damaged lungs.
The CT scan confirmed the X-ray findings. It is suspected that inflammation in the lungs has triggered hiccups. Then, the results of the blood tests showed that the number of white blood cells, platelets, sodium, chloride was all low.
Due to the current status of the Covid-19 pandemic, doctors also conducted tests for the presence of the disease virus. At that time the man’s body temperature had crawled to 38.4 C or classified as a fever. His heart rate also increased to 104 per minute. The next day the Covid-19 test results were obtained and positive.
The doctor was moving fast. The men’s treatment was supplemented by intake of cetriaxone, azithromycin, and hydroxychloroquine. As a result, three days later, his condition improved and stabilized so he was allowed to go home.
As a side note, the case does not explain why he lost weight. Because it has been happening for four months, the corona virus is definitely not the cause.
This case teaches a lesson that many things can trigger hiccups, including drinking sparkling water or feeling too much. It is rare for him to become a symptom of Covid-19. But what is clear is the list of symptoms of this disease continues to grow. Some of the new symptoms of Covid-19 are not even related to the respiratory tract, ranging from nausea, diarrhea and loss of taste to strokes and blood clots and the rare Kawasaki disease in pediatric patients.
TEMPO | FORBES | THE NATION
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