A year of Covid: How Lucknow dealt with the challenge

There are 19 patients currently admitted to the Covid ICU at King George’s Medical University (KGMU) against a capacity of 251 beds, a sharp contrast to the times when occupancy was 100% for several months at a stretch and getting admission was a herculean task

There are 19 patients currently admitted to the Covid ICU at King George’s Medical University (KGMU) against a capacity of 251 beds, a sharp contrast to the times when occupancy was 100% for several months at a stretch and getting admission was a herculean task.

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KGMU was the first health facility in the state to admit Covid patients on March 11 last year. Since then, the journey from a “no beds” scenario to a “few cases” hasn’t been easy and doctors say they don’t want to remember some aspects of it.

Lucknow has reported 82,042 cases till now and Uttar Pradesh has logged 6,04,648 cases. (The first case in UP was reported from Agra on March 2 last year.)

“It was perhaps the toughest phase in the medical field that I would not like to remember though Covid management taught us a lot and many things were added to the healthcare system,” said Dr D Himanshu, medical superintendent at KGMU, who managed the treatment of Covid patients since the beginning of the pandemic in the state.

Of the four ICU wards, only two of them have patients while the other two are reserved for Covid patients, but no patients are currently admitted there.

“There was a time when beds were full despite the rising number of serious patients. But the rush has gone down. Now, with vaccination going on, the confidence level is high,” said Dr PK Gupta, former president of Indian Medical Association (IMA)-Lucknow.

The state capital has done over 19 lakh Covid tests in one year including about 8.75 lakh RT-PCR tests, the data from the health department says.

The Covid tests began in March 2020 soon after the first case was reported on March 11. Along with RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction), rapid antigen, TrueNat and CBNAT tests were introduced in the labs to confirm Covid infection among suspected patients. The total count of these tests in Lucknow reached 1,907,312 on Wednesday. In the state, 32,375,774 tests have been done.

“This is the last phase, which can lead us to victory against Covid infection but we need to maintain utmost precaution,” said Dr Ved Prakash, head of the department of pulmonary critical care medicine at KGMU.

Tough for the first few patients

The Lucknow’s first case was that of a woman doctor, who had come from Canada to meet the family. She was admitted to KGMU. “It took her 20 days to recover but being the first patient, it was a difficult case,” said Dr Virendra Atam, head of the department of medicine at KGMU.

Dr Tauseef Khan, the first KGMU doctor to test positive, said there was initial apprehension after he was found infected with Covid, but he gradually recovered.

“I tested positive while performing my duty in the ward. Hence, I had no grudges. I was confident I would win and I donated plasma after recovery,” said Dr Tauseef Khan, who got married recently.

Celebrity singer Kanika Kapoor also tested positive for the Covid infection in Lucknow and was admitted to SGPGI in March last year.

“It was a bad phase for us. Those were the initial days of the spread of the coronavirus. Since my daughter (Kanika) is a celebrity, it attracted huge attention. Thankfully, things are now back on track and she is doing her work as usual,” said Rakesh Kapoor, father of ‘Baby Doll’ singer Kanika Kapoor, who tested positive for Covid-19 soon after returning from overseas on March 9, 2020.

Umashankar of Lakhimpur Kheri district, who tested positive and got admitted to KGMU last year, said his life has changed now.

“I had returned from a trip to Turkey on March 8, and I felt sick. On March 18, I tested positive for the coronavirus and my neighbours started avoiding me and my family in the village in which I live,” said Umashankar.

But his life changed, the day he donated plasma to save the lives of other Covid patients.

“When I donated plasma and people read about it in the newspapers, their attitude changed drastically. They started respecting me,” said Umashankar.

Telemedicine a key tool

Smartphone became a major tool for Dr Kauser Usman, head of the department of geriatric medicine at KGMU who attended over 500 covid patients, prescribed them medication and saved them from panic.

“During the months of July, August, September and October, when maximum cases were reported, I got at least 15 calls from patients every day, discussing the symptoms, advising medication and tests, reading their reports and telling them the warning (signs) and non-serious symptoms,” said Dr Usman.

“I knew our resources at hospitals may fall short anytime as the cases multiplied geometrically. Hence, attending to patients at the very beginning could help reduce the burden on hospitals and I am satisfied we could do it,” said Dr Usman.

“Plasma therapy, too, was among the new things. We started it first in the state in April and gradually came up with a plasma bank by August 15, 2020. Till today, we have received 450 units of plasma donated for Covid patients and issued some 600 units,” said Dr Tulika Chandra, head of the department of transfusion medicine at KGMU.

“Our first plasma donor was Dr Nazia, the first Covid patient in Lucknow and the second donor was Dr Tauseef, the first KGMU staffer to test positive,” said Dr Tulika.

COVID TESTS IN LUCKNOW

19,07,312 Total Covid samples tested in Lucknow till March 10, 2021:

Over 8,75,876 RT-PCR tests (maximum of 1,37,846 in September 2020)

Over 7,85,206 Antigen tests

Over 63,371 TrueNat tests

Positive cases in Lucknow (month-wise)

March 2020: 9

April 2020: 197

May 2020: 166

June 2020: 734

July 2020: 6,928

August 2020: 19,319

September 2020: 25,577

October 2020: 10,364

November 2020: 8,142

December 2020: 6,996

January 2021: 2,941

February 2021: 513

March 2021: 78

UP’S GRIM COVID MILESTONES

One lakh: August 4, 2020 (1,00,310 cases)

Two lakh: August 26, 2020 (2,03,028 cases)

Three lakh: September 12, 2020 (3,05,831 cases)

Four lakh: October 1, 2020 (4,03,101 cases)

Five lakh: November 10, 2020 (5,01,311 cases)

Six lakh: January 30, 2021 (6,00,079 cases)