‘Covid-19 patients visiting hospitals with 30%-80% lung damage’

In recent times, some Covid-19 patients had been visiting hospitals when they had 30-80% lung damage, said physicians.

At an e-Mentoring platform launching program at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), they said that at present, the rate of infection was decreasing all over the world, including Bangladesh.

Also people are recovering at home by using medication but they are coming to the hospitals when they are facing serious respiratory problems.

The e-Mentoring platform was launched through a digital meeting to help doctors and clinicians in Bangladesh to treat Covid-19 patients on Monday morning.

The platform is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through its MaMoni Maternal and Newborn Care Strengthening Project: Emergency Response to Covid-19 Pandemic, implemented by Save the Children in Bangladesh. The USA-based e-Mentoring initiative Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) is providing support to conduct the e-Mentoring sessions.

Professor Kanak Kanti Barua, vice-chancellor (VC), Professor Debabrata Banik of the department of Anesthesia, Analgesia and Intensive Care Medicine, and many doctors of BSMMU and upazila health complexes attended the event virtually. 

Dr UH Shahera Khatun, president of Bangladesh Society of Critical Care Medicine, said the situation was critical when a patient came to the hospital to seek treatment after a lot of damage to the lungs.

She said: “We consult Covid-19 patients who come to us after having terrible breathing problems. Then it is found that 30-80% of their lungs are infected.”

Prof Kawsar Sardar, secretary-general of the Bangladesh Society of Anesthesiologists, said: “We encourage Covid-19 patients to get medication at home. However, they must keep their doctors updated regarding their situation. So that they can be treated before extreme situations arise.”

Professor Kanak Kanti Barua said: “The frontline fighters in Bangladesh are those doctors who are providing services to the coronavirus patients. To ensure international standard services for the Covid-19 designated hospitals in Bangladesh and to treat such critically ill patients, this platform would be useful.”

Through Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), more than 40 local hospitals will be brought under the platform.