HYDERABAD: Superintendents of major government hospitals, which are involved in the treatment of COVID-19 patients in Telangana, held a video conference with specialists and senior doctors, including Dr Vijay Eldandi from the USA, on better patient care and management techniques on Monday.

One of highlights of the discussion was to group patients under various categories depending on the severity of infection and early administration of steroids to help manage the disease better. The video conference was held to bring in best practices from across the world to Telangana to tackle the mortality rate better.

In the meeting, it was stressed to have a common medical and treatment protocol for COVID-19 throughout the State to ensure best services for all patients.The doctors from various specialities and infectious diseases specifically discussed their findings. One of the points agreed upon was that administration of Azithromycin and Hydroxychloroquine did not specifically have any impact on reducing the viral load.

The doctors also stressed on usage of steroids for treatment to reduce the inflammation that arises after getting infected with coronavirus. There was also a discussion on protocols to be followed for cardiac patients.

The division of mild, moderate, and severe cases, early on to reduce deaths was also explained by experts to improve patient care. Experts laid stress on identifying and helping not just severe category, but mild to moderate patients, who also have comorbidities so that their conditions can be monitored through the course of recovery.