Delhi government releases FAQs to aid doctors in Covid-19 management

This is an extension of the e-ICU programme, wherein tele-consultations are held twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays to help doctors from across the country manage Covid-19 patients

To help doctors better manage patients with the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), the health ministry, along with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), has prepared a set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) to answer queries, such as whether hydroxychloroquine should be given to health care workers as prophylaxis or whether medicines to prevent clotting should be given to patients even after they are discharged.

The aim of the programme is to reduce Covid-19 mortality further. (PTI)

A set of 20 questions on the use of various therapies for Covid-19, such as the use of convalescent plasma, antiviral medication like Remdesivir and Favipiravir, and the deworming tablet Ivermectin has been uploaded to the health ministry website. The FAQs provide information on how to prevent sudden deaths in Covid-19 patients or when one has to be put on a ventilator.

The FAQs can be accessed here.

This is an extension of the e-ICU programme developed by AIIMS and the ministry where tele-consultations are held twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays to help doctors from across the country manage Covid-19 patients.

So far, 17 such sessions have been attended by doctors from 204 institutions across the country.

The aim of the programme is to reduce Covid-19 mortality further.

So far, India has reported 48 deaths per million population, less than half of the global average of 110 deaths per million population, according to data provided by the Union health ministry. The highest deaths per million population have been recorded by the UK with 611 deaths per million, followed by Brazil with 576 deaths per million population, and then the USA with 570 deaths.

“We should expect more cases just because of the sheer size of our population. Even if 1% of the people get the infection, in terms of absolute numbers it will be a lot. However, the good things is that we have had fewer deaths due to the infection. Even if there is some under-reporting, deaths cannot really be hidden. And, this means that the situation is not very bad, people are silently getting the virus and recovering without even showing any symptom,” said Dr Jugal Kishore, head of the department of community medicine at Safdarjung Hospital.