There has been a sudden spurt in the number of critical COVID-19 patients in the State since Monday. From 16 ICU admissions on June 14, the number jumped to 72 on June 16. Of these, while 40 were moved to the ICU on Monday, 16 were shifted on Tuesday.
What is particularly worrisome is the fact that four of the ICU admissions are children and an equal number of pregnant women. Around 15 cases are those with severe co-morbidities, who require continuous monitoring and are under observation.
The four children include three aged four and one nine. While one four-year-old admitted to the ICU of a designated hospital in Bidar is also on ventilator for the past one week, another four-year-old admitted to the hospital on May 27 is battling for life for the last 18 days.
While Kalaburagi topped the list of ICU patients till Monday, Bengaluru Urban saw a sudden jump from 17 ICU patients on Monday to 35 on Tuesday.
With the numbers increasing, the format of reporting ICU patients in the health bulletin also changed on Tuesday. Earlier, Patient Number of every ICU case was mentioned in the bulletin. However, on Tuesday the bulletin only had the total number of cases in the affected districts.
Sources said none of the ICU patients is a new case. “They have been shifted from the general ward to the ICU as their condition deteriorated. It is not just children and the aged who are in the ICU. Apart from the children, at least 10 are aged below 40. Among those who have been put on ventilator, except for the four-year-old almost all are aged above 50,” sources said.
K.V. Trilok Chandra, who heads the State’s Critical Care Support Unit (CCSU), attributed the sudden surge in ICU admissions to late reporting and referral from private hospitals.
“Also with the increase in number of positive cases, those who are immunocompromised due to their co-morbidities are being shifted to the ICU as they require constant monitoring. Four pregnant women have also been shifted for better monitoring. Rest are under observation,” he said.
Self-medication
On the increase in the number of cases in Bengaluru Urban, he said this is because people tend to indulge in self-medication and seek medical advice only when their symptoms deteriorate. “Also, we have noticed they first go to the nearest private hospital and are referred to designated COVID hospitals from there. Apart from his, ILI and SARI cases are also adding to the burden,” he said.
C.N. Manjunath, Director of Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, who is also the nodal officer for labs and testing in the State’s COVID-19 task force, said while the mortality rate with COVID-19 remains low, it has been observed that the infection suddenly deteriorates in those with a compromised immune system. “People should see a doctor as soon as they develop symptoms,” he added.
