BMC hospitals use costly drugs to cut fatalities

MUMBAI: Faced with a high mortality rate in its battle against Covid-19, public hospitals have started providing patients an expensive medicine costing between Rs 30,000 and Rs 80,000 depending on the person's weight, round-the-clock oxygen support, and CT scans for those critically ill.
The medicine, an injection named tocilizumab meant to control inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis patients, has been so far given to over 80 patients in the four main BMC hospitals for Covid care-namely KEM, Sion, Nair and Kasturba Hospitals. "In Nair Hospital, we gave it to 40 patients and 96% of them have done well,'' said dean Dr Mohan Joshi.
"The BMC has been paying for the medicine and it has shown good results. The BMC won't spare costs as we have to save lives," said Manisha Mhaiskar, principal secretary who is on deputation to BMC for the Covid crisis.
The civic body believes the interventions have helped keep the mortality rate from galloping. From 7.6 in April, the death rate has been 3.6 for weeks in Mumbai now.