NEW DELHI: A senior resident doctor of AIIMS recently saved a critically-ill patient suffering from Covid-19, while putting his own life at risk of contracting the infection.
Dr Zahid Abdul Majeed, a critical care specialist, was shifting a middle-aged patient confirmed positive for Covid-19 from main AIIMS, where he was admitted initially, to the Trauma Centre, which is designated for treating persons suffering from the disease, on Thursday.
Majeed said he was yet to break his Ramzan fast when the call to shift the patient came. On reaching the ambulance, the doctor said, he noted difficulty in ventilating the patient and suspected accidental extubation or malpositioning of the tube placed into the windpipe.
“I immediately decided to re-intubate because any delay could be fatal. But because of the protective goggles that I was wearing, visibility wasn’t clear enough to re-insert the tube. I thought for a second and decided to remove my goggles and then re-intubated the patient keeping in mind the imminent death of the patient if he failed,” Dr Majeed said.
Intubation of a Covid-19 positive patient is fraught with risk of contracting infection since it involves aerosol generation. Doing so, without goggles increases the risk further. But the AIIMS doctor said he could not allow the patient to die.
He has now been advised quarantine for 14 days. “I am staying alone and waiting for my tests. If that comes negative, I can join work again otherwise I may have to remain under isolation for 14 days,” Dr Majeed said.
The AIIMS Resident Doctor’s Association and even some of the faculty members praised the senior resident for the courage shown by him.
“Doctors put their lives at risk to save patients. I hope people see this incidence as an example and stop discriminating against them because they are dealing with infections,” said a resident doctor.
Dr Zahid Abdul Majeed, a critical care specialist, was shifting a middle-aged patient confirmed positive for Covid-19 from main AIIMS, where he was admitted initially, to the Trauma Centre, which is designated for treating persons suffering from the disease, on Thursday.
Majeed said he was yet to break his Ramzan fast when the call to shift the patient came. On reaching the ambulance, the doctor said, he noted difficulty in ventilating the patient and suspected accidental extubation or malpositioning of the tube placed into the windpipe.
“I immediately decided to re-intubate because any delay could be fatal. But because of the protective goggles that I was wearing, visibility wasn’t clear enough to re-insert the tube. I thought for a second and decided to remove my goggles and then re-intubated the patient keeping in mind the imminent death of the patient if he failed,” Dr Majeed said.
Intubation of a Covid-19 positive patient is fraught with risk of contracting infection since it involves aerosol generation. Doing so, without goggles increases the risk further. But the AIIMS doctor said he could not allow the patient to die.
He has now been advised quarantine for 14 days. “I am staying alone and waiting for my tests. If that comes negative, I can join work again otherwise I may have to remain under isolation for 14 days,” Dr Majeed said.
The AIIMS Resident Doctor’s Association and even some of the faculty members praised the senior resident for the courage shown by him.
“Doctors put their lives at risk to save patients. I hope people see this incidence as an example and stop discriminating against them because they are dealing with infections,” said a resident doctor.
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