Docs keep close watch on health of colleagues on hunger strike

Kolkata: Snigdha Hazra, Sayantani Ghosh Hazra and Arnab Mukhopadhyay, who have been on hunger strike at Esplanade since Oct 5, continued to defy the odds and their vitals remained stable after 11 days on Wednesday. Three others — Anustup Mukherjee, Pulastya Acharya and Tanaya Panja — who had also begun their fast on Oct 5 have had to be hospitalised.Aniket Mahata, who joined the fast on Oct 6, has also been hospitalised.
Doctors are closely monitoring the health of all the seven. They are keeping a special watch on Snigdha, Sayantani and Arnab’s pulse, blood pressure, capillary blood glucose and ketone measure in urine and its colour to identify signs of distress. “We have become wary of the physiological condition of our colleagues ever since Anustup, who had appeared healthy and resilient, suddenly fell ill on Oct 12,” said Soham Samanta of MR Bangur, who is at the protest site when not on duty.

A check on Wednesday morning showed Snigdha, Sayantani and Arnab were alert. “In a patient, we assess three things: alertness, consciousness and cooperation. None of the three has displayed any incoherence yet,” said Aqeeb Ashraf of CNMCH. Priyabrata Singha, also from CNMCH, and Agnibin Kundu from Howrah District Hospital, who have been monitoring the health of the fasting doctors, believe Snigdha, Sayantani and Arnab have so far been faring better than the others because they have been sleeping better at night. “A good sleep reduces metabolism and prevents the breakdown of glucose,” said Singha.
Doctors suspect Aniket, who had suffered an IVC collapse after his BP became critically low, may have been pre-diabetic. Anustup had developed gastritis with bleeding in the GI tract. Tanaya had collapsed while returning from the washroom and Pulastya had suffered from extreme dehydration. While hydration has been a concern since Pulastya’s hospitalisation, the fasting doctors now are trying to maintain a fine balance of drinking just enough and not too much that can trigger an electrolyte imbalance.