TIMS lacks infrastructure to deal with nephro, cardiac cases
Express spoke to doctors at the hospital, who said that six to seven Covid-19 patients were referred to Gandhi Hospital, because their disease progression could not be managed at TIMS.
Published: 01st September 2020 09:22 AM | Last Updated: 01st September 2020 09:22 AM | A+A A-
A boy gets tested for Covid-19 at Fever Hospital in Hyderabad on Monday | RVK Rao
HYDERABAD: TIMS has emerged as a leading hospital for treating mild to moderate Covid-19 cases recently, however, it still lacks critical care services which is a matter of concern for the in-patients. According to reports, last week 20 to 25 patients were shifted from TIMS in ambulances to Gandhi Hospital because their condition deteriorated and TIMS did not have the infrastructure to handle the situation.
Express spoke to doctors at the hospital, who said that six to seven Covid-19 patients were referred to Gandhi Hospital, because their disease progression could not be managed at TIMS.
“The patients had kidney and heart issues. Patients with poor kidney function generally get affected easily by the virus resulting in kidney failure in severe cases, so we sent them to Gandhi Hospital, as dialysis can’t be done here. Similarly, for cardiac patients, specialists are required to check the extent of damage caused,” explained a doctor on condition of anonymity.
Furthermore, the hospital lacks basic CT scan machines and lab facilities for assessing damage in patients without comorbidities. “As the hospital doesn’t have a CT machine, the ventilators also cannot be used. TIMS also doesn’t have the facility to conduct D-dimer test,” added another doctor. Doctors have to make do with x-ray and ultrasounds.
A D-dimer test is a blood test used to monitor blood clotting problems and is important because blood clots and inflammation are common occurrences in Covid-19 patients. Without the test, the doctors cannot decide whether to put the patient on blood thinners or not to prevent clotting, which can lead to stroke and a leading cause of death world over. At present, for few cases the samples are being sent to private labs, others are being shifted to Gandhi Hospital, which is 20km away.In fact, due to these limitations, TIMS has made a strict admission criteria wherein only those with oxygen saturation level above 90 are admitted. Elderly patients and those with severe comorbidities are taken in only after thorough checks at the admissions ward.