Beliaghata ID Hosp gets ICMR nod to create nat'l data bank on Covid patients

KOLKATA: With an increase in critical cases of COVID-19 in the state, Beliaghata ID Hospital recently got an approval from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to set up a national data bank where the history of COVID-19 patients will be kept for future research.

So far, Bengal has recorded about 1,65,721 confirmed cases. In the last 24 hours, 2,943 fresh COVID-19 cases were reported in the state and the total number of cases till August 31 stands at 1,62,778. In a single day, five states have reported the highest addition to the fresh cases in the country — Maharashtra (11,852), Andhra Pradesh (10,004), Karnataka (6,495), Tamil Nadu (5,956) and Uttar Pradesh (4,782).

Currently, Beliaghata ID Hospital has a capacity of 118 beds with 30 of them being vacant. Around 90 COVID-19 cases admitted in the hospital have been suffering from various co-morbidities and require immediate ventilator support.

Dr Yogiraj Ray, a senior virologist and Assistant Professor of School of Tropical Medicine, said currently, critical and mild critical cases are being admitted at the hospital and "we have urged the ICMR to provide us manpower so that we can start work for the national data bank".

He further added: "If the data of the patient is available to us, then it will help us undergo comprehensive research on COVID-19 patients. Subsequently, we can provide better treatment as Coronavirus is fast-changing and has put us in a challenging situation." Ray also emphasised on the importance of this study that will be carried out in all states as it will be easy for doctors to analyse a patient quickly and consequently use the data for further research.

Ray, handpicked by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for his endeavour, was bestowed with the additional responsibility of supervising the COVID-19 infrastructure in a few Howrah hospitals as well. A resident of Dum Dum, he has been constantly working round-the-clock at the Beliaghata ID Hospital for the past one week. During his initial days, Ray says he has observed that whenever a patient was detected with the virus, he/she was admitted to the hospital without any delay.

However, now critical and mild critical patients with respiratory distress are being admitted.

In comparison to the deaths that took place during April-May (usually five deaths in a day at the

hospital), now, it has come down to only one. There is a natural tendency for the virus to damage organs in the body and for that, sometimes the patient goes into a comatose condition. If a patient requires 16 litres oxygen per day, we call his condition critical. But, if any patient needs 8-10 litres oxygen per day he/she is termed as mild critical. And with oxygen support over a few days and with proper care, he/she can be cured. The main concern is when a patient suffers from a cytokine storm — a condition when the body's natural immunity system overeats and attacks the healthy cells too.

In some cases, with the condition of a patient worsening during this stage, he/she has to be put under ventilation immediately, making chances of survival quite slim.