Covid wards in Noida, Ghaziabad are empty, but ICU stays are getting longer

NOIDA/GHAZIABAD: Sadanand Pandey (55) tested positive on May 15 and was admitted to District Combined Hospital in Ghaziabad. The Shastri Nagar resident was found Covid negative just five days later, but his oxygen saturation level had still not improved.
A few tests revealed Pandey had developed lung fibrosis and his oxygen level had dipped to 70-75. He couldn’t walk even a few steps. It has been more than a month since then and Pandey is still admitted to the hospital.
As the second wave seems to be on the decline and general Covid beds are lying vacant in most hospitals, ICUs and post-Covid wards are filled with patients across Noida and Ghaziabad.
The average stay of a Covid patient in ICU has been much longer than that in the first wave, doctors have confirmed. According to doctors at the Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) in Greater Noida, the ICU stay for patients has been one and a half times longer during the second wave.
Dr Sanjay Teotia, the chief medical superintendent of the District Combined Hospital, said Pandey was their longest-staying Covid patient so far.
"His recovery is slow and the treatment involves antifibrinolytic medicines, physiotherapy and breathing exercises. However, Pandey is not alone. About 80 of 521 patients who had been admitted here stayed for more than 15-20 days because of Covid-related complications. About 90% of these patients needed oxygen therapy," he added.
Unlike the first wave, the infection not only spread rapidly during the second one but also lasted for a longer time in patients. Many of those who have recovered from Covid are still undergoing medicines. Such patients are suffering from persistent fever, dry cough, headache and body pain. Most patients who needed oxygen during the second wave have battled complications for 25-60 days, Dr Teotia said.
In contrast, the infection lasted around 10 days during the first wave. "We saw fewer people in the ICU last year. But this time, most patients were serious and needed an ICU bed. In the past two months, several patients have needed ICU care for 10-15 days on an average. A longer ICU stay also leads to a higher mortality," said Dr Rakesh Gupta, director of GIMS.
According to him, 30% of Covid patients admitted at GIMS had to be shifted to ICU in the past few months. Last year, the figure was just 10%.
Deaths have been a cause for concern too. Compared to 55 Covid patients who died at GIMS during the first wave, there have been 120 fatalities in the past two months.
Ghaziabad IMA president and senior pulmonologist Dr Ashish Agarwal, who is associated with Gayatri Hospital, said two patients had been admitted at his medical facility for the past 40 days. They are still being administered oxygen.
"Most patients have to stay for long in hospitals because of this issue. About 30% of over 500 patients admitted to our hospital had a longer stay (more than 25 days). This time around, there was more infection in the lungs, which took time to heal. Many of the patients panicked, which caused their recovery to take more time," he added.
At Noida Covid Hospital, there have been over 2,600 admissions since last year.
"We have seen several cases where patients have stayed in the ICU for two months. As of now, we have a total of 13 patients in the entire hospital. While eight have been in the ICU for long, the rest are in the wards with symptoms," said Dr Tritya Saxena, medical superintendent at Noida Covid Hospital.
He said that while the hospital saw just one fatality during the first wave, there were 142 deaths in the past two months. The severity of the second wave can also be gauged from the overall fatality rate. Of 466 deaths reported in Noida, 372 are in the past three months. Likewise, in Ghaziabad, 359 of 461 deaths took place in second wave.