Patients cry foul over faulty sample collection as test results prove inconclusive

The health department of Gautam Buddh Nagar is facing a problem of sample collection from patients suspected of suffering from coronavirus disease(Covid-19).

The health department of Gautam Buddh Nagar is facing a problem of sample collection from patients suspected of suffering from coronavirus disease(Covid-19).

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Over 100 samples sent to the laboratory of Government Institute of Medical Sciences(GIMS) in Greater Noida in the past four or five days turned out to be inconclusive. The inconclusive reports have forced officials to once again collect samples from suspected Covid-19 patients, leading to panic and restlessness among those who are currently under quarantine at various government centres in the district.

Since April 20, the doctors and lab technicians involved in the testing of Covid-19 samples are facing a huge challenge as most of the samples have failed to be of any use. Officials have said that either the samples have not been collected properly as per the guidelines or the quantity so collected is not adequate for testing.

“A lot of the samples collected from suspected Covid-19 patients have turned out to be inappropriate for testing. Most often, the quantity of nasal and throat swabs are not enough for producing conclusive results. Further, the lack of experience of the technicians collecting the samples is another cause of concern. However, we are still trying to figure out the exact reasons behind the poor collection of samples,” said Dr Rakesh Gupta, director, GIMS.

“Our lab doctors are working till late at night in three shifts to clear the pending reports. Sample collection are being carried out by multiple teams, including those from the health department and GIMS,” added Gupta.

A large proportion of the 92 samples that were sent for testing at GIMS turned out to be useless as the results proved to be inconclusive. GIMS has received over 600 samples in the 10 days.

A 30-year-old dentist from Greater Noida, who is at a paid quarantine centre at Stellar Gymkhana in Greater Noida, now wants to shift to Delhi for Covid-19 test after two of his samples got wasted.

The dentist had come in direct contact with an elderly couple from Jharkhand who had come down for a hand surgery at a private hospital in Ghaziabad and were staying in Greater Noida.

“The couple is from my home town. As such, my father had asked me to help them out. The 76-year-old man was discharged from the Ghaziabad hospital on April 18. I picked him and his 72-year-old wife from the hospital to take them to a rented place. The moment we reached Greater Noida, I got a call from the hospital, saying that the man was found positive for Covid-19. Immediately, two ambulances arrived that took the couple to the Saket branch of the same hospital,” said the man who runs a dental clinic in Greater Noida.

“On April 19, his wife was also found to be positive for the infection. I went to GIMS on April 20 and gave my sample for the test. I took a room in the paid quarantine for ₹2,500 per day. On April 21, I was informed that they needed to collect my sample again as the first one got wasted. On April 24, I was again told that they needed to take my sample for the third time as the previous two samples proved to be inconclusive. This shows that the technicians collecting the samples are not experts. I have been panicking because there is no communication from the administration,” added the doctor.

The doctor now wants to be shifted to some Delhi hospital to get himself tested. “I have written to the district magistrate(DM) and the chief medical officer(CMO) regarding the problems of sample collection. I have also suggested that I can go to a Delhi hospital to get myself tested but they haven’t got back to me on that. Every passing hour is taking a toll on my mental health as I wait for my results,” said the doctor.

Another family of four undergoing treatment for Covid-19 at the Sharda Hospital had a similar story to share. The family shifted to a private hospital in Delhi on Friday afternoon after sample reports were delayed repeatedly. The family from Sector 50, includes a 45-year-old man, his 41-year-old wife, their 19-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter.

“My mother was found to be positive for Covid-19 at a private hospital in Okhla on April 8, after which we were found positive for the infection. On April 19, our samples were collected, which showed that I was still positive while the other members of my family were negative. On April 21, officials again took the samples of my wife and children to confirm the negative test. The reports were expected on April 23 but on Friday, when we enquired, we were told that the samples got wasted and they need to collect all three samples once again,” said the 45-year-old patient from Sector 50.

“If the reports had come on time, then at least my wife and children could have got discharged. We wrote to the DM and the CMO asking for the permission to shift to Apollo Hospital. All four of us have now shifted to Apollo because we were panicking following the delayed reports in GB Nagar,” added the man.

The doctors inside the GIMS lab are also worried as they are not being able to complete the test following the poor collection of samples. “We are being exposed to the virus while testing the samples of Covid-19 suspects. When the samples turn out to be unfit for test then it is indeed very demotivating,” said a lab technician from GIMS.

“We have once again collected the samples which had got wasted. The exact reason behind the reports turning inconclusive is not known, but either the tests failed or the collection procedure was not followed properly,” said Dr Deepak Ohri, chief medical officer, Gautam Budh Nagar.