Amid the fear of a second wave of Covid-infection in the winter, experts at the Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial (GSVM) Medical College in Kanpur are studying the Italian model and speaking to experts in that country to prepare better for any eventuality on the coronavirus front.
The focus is on containing the mortality rate that Italy largely checked when the second wave hit Europe.
As many as 740 people have died in Kanpur due to Covid-19 and related complications in the last four months.
Dr Saurabh Agarwal, associate professor in the medicine department, said certain changes were being made in managing the crisis and treatment protocol.
“We have consulted experts in Italy and studied how they are handling the second wave,” he said.
Dr Aggarwal also said that doctors at the facility would continue to follow ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) guidelines but certain changes would be made with regard to taking care of patients.
Based on the Italian model, a team consisting of a physician, pulmonary expert, neurologist and a cardiologist would keep monitoring the patients remotely through Zoom and change the treatment plan accordingly.
“Use of technology will help in augmenting the watch over the patients. Physical rounds of wards can be (taken) once or more than once. But with technology, we can take Zoom rounds several times in a day,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“Use of technology will help in augmenting the watch over the patients. Physical rounds of wards can be (taken) once or more than once. But with technology, we can take Zoom rounds several times in a day,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“We are following ICMR guidelines religiously, yet we will be incorporating our efforts in the treatment plan,” he said.
In Kanpur, the maximum number of deaths, 569, has taken place at the government-run Lala Lajpat Rai Hospital which is meant for critical cases.
Hence, keeping the mortality rate under control during the possible second wave is a priority.
“The Zoom rounds have started from October 30 in the wards. The team of experts gathers the details of patients from doctors in the wards. They do micro level discussion among themselves and plan the treatment,” he said.
Apart from this, some changes in treatment have helped in saving the lives of patients.
The experiments done with anti-viral dosage and steroids have helped patients with co-morbidities.