Coronavirus in Tamil Nadu: Tuticorin hospital gets machine for better Covid-19 management

MADURAI: A fully automated Electrochemiluminescence Immunoassay Analyser (ECLIA) was installed in Thoothukudi Government Medical College and Hospital on Saturday for better Covid-19 management.
“The Tuticorin hospital becomes the only other medical college in Tamil Nadu after medical colleges in Chennai to be equipped with the state-of-the-art analyser,” said information and publicity minister Kadambur C Raju after dedicating it.
The equipment was bought at a cost of Rs 25 lakh for better Covid-19 management by monitoring the extent of impact on an individual patient. It will estimate IL6 parameter that analyses the risk of progression of Covid-19 patients to a more serious disorder at a very early stage.
“This helps initiate a specific treatment at an early stage. Thereby, it helps reduce deterioration of the patient’s condition,” a senior doctor said.
Installed at the department of biochemistry, the analyser can also be used to estimate the parameters of Ferritin, Trop T, Procalcitonin and Vitamin D that are essential for Covid-19 management.
Characterised by faster analysis, it can provide accurate and reliable results in 18 to 27 minutes, thereby helping the medical team to act based on the condition of the patient.
Apart from Covid-19, the analyser can be used to analyse other parameters like hormones, tumour markers and for the diagnosis of HIV and hepatitis infection. The facility can also be used by other government medical college hospitals in the region.
District collector Sandeep Nanduri, hospital dean C Revathy Balan and resident medical officer J Silas Jeyamani were present during the dedication.