How TN attained high recovery rate

FIGHTING COVID - 19

How TN attained high recovery rate

Tamil Nadu Has So Far Cured 15,762 Patients, Which Is More Than 55% Of All The Patients Infected. The State Follows A Uniform Treatment Protocol At All Hospitals — Drugs To Manage Symptoms, Intense Monitoring Of Oxygen Levels And Supplementary Oxygen

Pushpa.Narayan@timesgroup.com

06.06.2020

As 861 people walked out of isolation units at hospitals across Tamil Nadu on Friday, the number of patients who have recovered from the viral infection touched 15,762. Though TN has the most infections after Maharashtra, the state has kept its mortality rate low and recovery rate high.

With more than 78,000 cases, Maharashtra has a mortality rate of 3.4% and a recovery rate of 43%, the figures are 0.81% and 55% for Tamil Nadu. Delhi, which has nearly 26,000 cases, has a cure rate of 40% and death rate of 2.6%.

Although Gujarat and Rajasthan have a recovery rate of 68% and 72% respectively, their death rate is 6.21% and 2.16%.

From triage to treatment, TN follows a uniform treatment protocol at all hospitals. Guidelines for clinical management prepared by a 17-member expert committee are sent to all hospitals, said Dr S Ragunanthan, head of general medicine at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH). Some hospitals tweak clinical management to suit the patient’s requirement.

Almost every day, doctors in government hospitals that treat more than 80% of the Covid-19 patients, share their experiences. The state protocols are periodically updated based on ICMR guidelines, international and local experiences. On Thursday, Tamil Nadu’s protocol was presented before a Central team. “Our doctors have told the central team how they manage patients inside the ward. Our aggressive testing, early diagnosis and intensive patient management are keys to this success,” Ragunanthan said.

“At emergency, we triage patients as mild, mild to moderate, and severe cases of the infection,” said hospital RGGGH dean Dr R Jayanthi said. “Treatment is simple – drugs for management of symptoms, intense monitoring of oxygen level and supplementary oxygen,” she said.

For instance, the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine has been a staple drug for almost all patients at government hospitals along with antibiotics such as azithromycin and steroids. However, some private hospitals don’t use it. “As of now there is no clarity on whether the drug is helpful or harmful. We don’t see a huge difference in death rates when patients are not being administered the drug either,” said Dr Subramanian Swaminathan, who treats Covid-19 patients at the Gleneagles Global Hospitals.

Nurses at all hospitals ensure that patients with breathing difficulties sleep on their stomach. “This improves oxygenation in patients. We offer them high flow oxygen, steroids and immune moderators. We avoid ventilators as much as possible,” said director of medical education Dr R Narayanababu.

Officials in the Covid control room said less than a dozen people were on ventilators. “There is growing number of vulnerable population including the elderly and people with chronic ailments getting infection. There are more people in the ICU requiring ventilation than before. This can push the death rate up in some time,” warns Apollo Hospitals infectious diseases expert Dr V Ramasubramanian. “But as of now, we are doing well in comparison to many other states,” he said.