Treat every fever as Covid, says Goa Medical College dean
Goa Medical College (GMC) dean Dr. S M Bandekar said on Wednesday that “every case of fever should be treated as a Covid fever”, and advised people not to take fever or any other symptom lightly as it could be a “proxy Covid”.
Goa Medical College (GMC) dean Dr. S M Bandekar said on Wednesday that “every case of fever should be treated as a Covid fever”, and advised people not to take fever or any other symptom lightly as it could be a “proxy Covid”.
“The sensitivity of the RT-PCR test is 65%, and if the patient is in (negative) 35%, there are good chances that they will land in the hospital with low oxygen saturation level,” he said. Bandekar’s comment came after the GMC’s death audit of Covid victims stated that people continue to be brought to the hospital in a serious condition, resulting in them dying.
“Many people, including the educated, are in denial and say nothing is wrong with them,” Bandekar said. He added that although the economic status of a patient plays a role in how early medical help is sought, it’s seen that people from other (more affluent) sections too are not prompt in reporting to the hospital.
The dean also said that another troubling category of patients is those who test Covid positive on a TrueNat or antigen test but don’t have symptoms. “In these cases, it’s seen there’s a likelihood of patients treating it as a joke,” he said. “Many people have told me so. The person has to be vigilant till the thirteenth day.”
This week itself, four people were declared brought dead in hospital, and two died within a few minutes of admission.
The audit said that many people land up in hospital in a critical state since they don’t take their status seriously even if they are positive but don’t have symptoms.
Bandekar said that initially, doctors believed that patients cytokine development can be seen in a storm between the seventh and 10th day, but as per new criteria, patients must keep serious watch on their condition from the fifth to 13th day. “Be sensitive towards even small symptomatology,” he said.
“We have observed that all patients have fever, 99% experience body ache, and around 90% lose their sense of smell and taste,” Bandekar said. “Breathlessness will come at a later stage. Patients have to be vigilant during the critical period, and those who are negative should also be careful if they have symptoms.”
The death audit committee also observed that persons with any comorbidity such as alcoholic liver disease, asthma, indigestion, and diabetes will first be attacked by the virus in community spread, irrespective of whether their blood sugar is low or high.
“It is not necessary that a family member or neighbor has to be positive,” Bandekar said. “Four cases were seen this week in which case no family member or anyone close to the victims of Covid.”
It is also advised that persons having comorbidities be treated in institutional care. “We do a chest X-ray and observe the patient for 10 days,” he said. “If their condition permits, they can go home after 10 days and stay in home isolation for a further period.”
