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54% COVID cases in age group 18-44, 51% deaths reported in 60+yrs

The Health Ministry data on Wednesday said 54% COVID-19 cases are in the 18-44 years age group but 51% deaths are reported in the 60 years and above age group. It said India has 1,578 dedicated COVID Hospitals which are providing quality medical care to patients.

“The deaths per million population in India is one of the lowest in the world. While the global average is 110 deaths /million population, India is reporting 48 deaths/million population. The comparative figure for Brazil and the U.K. is 12 and 13 times higher, respectively,’’ said the Ministry.

Sudden deaths
In an information document brought out by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and the Ministry, experts have noted that, “Sudden deaths have been reported both at presentation to emergency department (ED) as well as in hospital.’’

They said the reasons proposed include a sudden cardiac event, preceding silent hypoxia that went unnoticed or due to a thrombotic complication such as pulmonary thromboembolism.

“Patients with risk factors to develop severe COVID-19 or with prior co-morbid conditions such as CAD or chronic lung disease should be strictly monitored for their saturation. They should not be allowed to move unattended. Anticoagulant should be used in all at-risk patients who do not have any risk factors of bleeding,’’ said the experts.

The group has also advised that depression is a common finding in patients which may be because of a number of reasons including staying in isolation, anxiety related to disease and social stigma. “Such patients need empathy and psychological counselling preferably by trained health care workers like a psychologist/psychiatrist,’’ says the document.

The Ministry said as part of the pandemic management and response policy, there has been a sharp focus of the Central government on not only containing the COVID19 related fatality, but to reduce deaths and to save lives by providing quality clinical care to the critical and severe patients. Collaborative efforts of the Union and the State/UT governments have resulted in strengthening the health facilities.

Tele/video-consultation sessions
An initiative to build the capacities of the ICU doctors in clinical management of critical patients towards reducing the fatality, e-ICU has been started by AIIMS, Delhi. Tele/video-consultation sessions are held on Tuesdays and Fridays by knowledge and domain experts for the doctors manning ICUs in the State hospitals. These sessions started from July 8, 2020.

Till date, 17 tele-sessions have been held and 204 institutions have participated in them.

“To further build the ICU/clinical management capacities of doctors for treatment of critical patients, AIIMS in collaboration with the Health Ministry has developed FAQs. These have been posted on the Health Ministry website for use,’’ said the Ministry. – The Hindu

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