Case Study: AP Companies on the importance of thorough patient testing for diagnosis

In early 2021, Matteo Bianchi (the name has been changed), the insured, was travelling from Beirut to Zagreb. Due to the pandemic, most of the flights from this region fly through Dubai, thus, Matteo was starting a long trip: Beirut-Dubai, Dubai-Zagreb. Matteo had been living and working in Beirut for some time, and now, finally, he was getting back to European part of the world. He was quite excited about the trip.

Sudden drop

During the first flight, Matteo did not feel well, but thought it was due to being nervous before such a long trip. Once Matteo had boarded the second flight, he calmed down and relaxed, and quite quickly fell asleep. Suddenly, he awoke feeling that he was not able to breathe, and the feeling was getting worse and worse. The plane had to make an emergency landing in Istanbul, as Matteo’s life was in danger.

An ambulance was waiting for Matteo at the stairs of the plane, and he was taken to a nearby hospital where they did an electrocardiogram, checked oxygen levels, and his heart pressure – and they found nothing. The conclusion was that it may have been a panic attack induced by the fact that Matteo fell asleep wearing a mask while the plane was cruising at 12,000m. However, they recommended that he go to another hospital for a chest X-ray and other tests. By this time, Matteo was feeling much better.

Thorough patient testing reveals root cause

Matteo was admitted to the state hospital and at that point, AP Companies was activated. AP Companies’ medical team contacted the chief treating doctor to find out the exact situation and requested to make a council of different doctors in order to study what the indicators were that might have provoked Matteo’s condition. First of all, the clinic took two PCR tests, which were negative, and it was only after these tests that they discovered the reason for Matteo’s lack of breath in the air: he had more than 90ml of liquid in his lungs. The doctors started to suspect tuberculosis, which is a rare disease in peaceful times. AP Companies was following the case very closely, contacting both the patient and the doctors every day. Matteo did not speak the local language, and AP Companies provided telephone translation services every time Matteo had to speak to the local doctors.

AP Companies’ medical team was not convinced with the tuberculosis diagnosis and insisted on performing an extra PCR test to be completely sure that the patient received the right treatment. The third PCR test turned out positive. AP Companies’ medical team arranged the transition to a specialised medical facility, where Matteo spent 20 days. After nearly three weeks, his tests were negative, he was feeling much better and eager to continue his trip. Both AP Companies’ team and the local doctors were against the idea of him taking a flight, however, as Matteo’s lungs were still weak. AP Companies’ travel team arranged a comfortable car with a driver from Istanbul to Zagreb. The operations team was in constant contact with the client, and soon found out he was feeling weak and not well. AP Companies’ medical team then decided that the best option was to offer a follow-up check at one of our preferred medical providers at Sofia.

The insurance company agreed that we needed to make sure Matteo was fine before he continued the trip. The medical facility performed several tests, which confirmed that while Matteo had recovered from Covid, he did have tuberculosis. All relevant tests showed he needed to be treated. He was hospitalised once again, for several days. Once the treatment started, Matteo started feeling better and was discharged after five days. He was eager to get to his final destination, Zagreb. AP Companies arranged the driver and the car for that trip, the supply of relevant medicines, and got prepared to activate local medical facilities in case Matteo needed help during the trip or upon his arrival. Luckily, no extra hospitalisations took place. Matteo continued his treatment through follow up visits to his GP.