Author: Dr Pankaj Kumar

I’m Dr Pankaj kumar, I entered medical school in 1984. postgraduate Int med 1994 and diploma Heath Management. presently a critical care specialist

Smoking in moderation also carries significant risk: World No Tobacco Day


Tobacco and heart disease

Every year, on 31 May, WHO and partners mark World No Tobacco Day (WNTD), highlighting the health and other risks associated with tobacco use, and advocating for effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption.

The focus of World No Tobacco Day 2018 is “Tobacco and heart disease.” The campaign will increase awareness on the:

  • link between tobacco and heart and other cardiovascular diseases (CVD), including stroke, which combined are the world’s leading causes of death;
  • feasible actions and measures that key audiences, including governments and the public, can take to reduce the risks to heart health posed by tobacco.

World No Tobacco Day 2018 coincides with a range of global initiatives and opportunities aimed at addressing the tobacco epidemic and its impact of public health, particularly in causing the death and suffering of millions of people globally

 Tobacco endangers the heart health of people worldwide

Tobacco use is an important risk factor for the development of coronary heart disease, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease.

Despite the known harms of tobacco to heart health, and the availability of solutions to reduce related death and disease, knowledge among large sections of the public that tobacco is one of the leading causes of CVD is low.

Facts about tobacco, heart and other cardiovascular diseases

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) kill more people than any other cause of death worldwide, and tobacco use and second-hand smoke exposure contribute to approximately 17% of all heart disease deaths. Tobacco use is the second leading cause of CVD, after high blood pressure.

The global tobacco epidemic kills more than 7 million people each year, of which close to 900 000 are non-smokers dying from breathing second-hand smoke. Nearly 80% of the more than 1 billion smokers worldwide live in low- and middle-income countries, where the burden of tobacco-related illness and death is heaviest.

  • Of the nearly 7 million who die each year due to tobacco-related causes, 6 million die from direct tobacco use
  • Another 890,000 are victims of second-hand smoke
  • Roughly half of those who lose their lives to tobacco each year succumb to cardio vascular diseases

Tobacco kills almost 7 million people across the world every year and nearly a million of them are not even smokers. It also costs the world about $1.4 trillion annually in healthcare costs related to tobacco-attributable diseases and in lost productivity due to death and illness.

Of the nearly 7 million who die each year due to tobacco related causes, 6 million die from direct tobacco use while another 890,000 are victims of second-hand smoke, according to the WHO estimates. Roughly half of those who lose their lives to tobacco each year succumb to cardio vascular diseases. In fact, tobacco is one of the major causes for heart diseases accounting for about 17% of all deaths due to them.

This is also true of non-smokers who die from exposure to tobacco smoke. Of the economic costs, around $400 billion is in direct medical care costs and nearly $1 trillion is in indirect costs, representing the value of lost productivity due to premature death and morbidity from exposure to second-hand smoke, the study estimated. The WHO material on tobacco has findings that may come as a surprise to many, particularly to those who use tobacco. For instance, it says that while there is some relationship between how much tobacco you smoke each day and the risk of heart diseases, it is not a linear one.

Thus, smoking even just one cigarette a day incurs half the risk of developing heart disease and stroke incurred by smoking a pack of 20 each day. In short, the idea of smoking in moderation is largely a myth. Similarly, the WHO concludes that there is no evidence to show that electronic nicotine delivery systems like e-cigarettes or vape pens are less harmful than smoking cigarettes in terms of the risk of heart disease.

This is despite the fact that on the whole such devices do contain fewer toxicants. The same caveats hold also for what are called heat-not-burn tobacco products. Another sobering fact is that despite tobacco being a major cause of heart attacks and stroke, a significant proportion of adults in several countries surveyed either do not know this or do not believe it. In India, for instance, 36% did not know or believe that smoking can cause heart attacks while 51% had similar disbelief or ignorance when it came to strokes. China was even worse with 61% of adults disclaiming knowledge of or belief in the connection between smoking and heart attacks and 73% in the connection with stroke. Like smoking, smokeless tobacco too is harmful and carries similar risk of cardio vascular diseases and stroke.
While smokeless tobacco is not a major issue in most parts of the globe, it is a widely prevalent form of tobacco use in parts of the sub-continent, like India and Bangladesh. Thus, while the prevalence of tobacco smoking is lower in India (particularly among women) than in many other large countries, those countries have virtually no use of smokeless tobacco. In India, in contrast, over a quarter of the adult population uses some form of smokeless tobacco.

0

Lawlessness strike docs: doctor attacked by mob SGM Hospital, Delhi


In reality violence against doctors is a law and order problem. But cleverly blame is put on doctors. Doctors can not treat mobs. That too with limited resources. Recent attack on doctors at  hospital is another example of lawless and uncivilized society.  Doctors have become punching bags for  all the malaise and inadequacy of prevalent health system. It is really appalling to see the impunity with which these incidents are happening.

Resident doctors of Sanjay Gandhi Memorial hospital in Mangolpuri   Delhi  are on  strike  for the second day. The doctors went on a flash strike on Monday after one of the  doctors  was attacked by a mob. They were  carrying  knives  and wanted to kill the doctor.

Government ‘s unwillingness or failure  to assure doctor’s protection will have deep ramifications on future of medical profession.  Role of organizations like Human right commission and other right’s bodies is also questionable.  Doctor bodies have also failed to take some concrete action other than showing some concern.  Role of media, celebrities, film stars in spreading the hatred against medical profession as a whole is unpardonable.

Every incident of verbal, legal, physical assault is a trust breaker.  It will hit  trust  and empathy of doctors  towards patients. Patients will get their revenge for naturally occurring disease, but society will be looser in the long run. Since the authorities, who matter have chosen to remain silent on the issue, doctors will have to find some way to save themselves.

0

Eating alone is Important cause of sadness?


As part of Sainsbury’s Living Well Index, developed in partnership with leading researchers Oxford Economics and the National Centre for Social Research, the retailer surveyed more than 8,000 British adults to investigate how people can live better day-to-day.

However, the data gathered inadvertently revealed that the mood of the nation has declined over the last six months with a drop of 0.5 points to an average of 60.7. While much of the drop appears to be linked to seasonal factors such as extreme weather and public transport chaos, the index discovered more surprising reasons for people’s unhappiness.

Interestingly, it found that eating meals alone is strongly associated with unhappiness  other  than having a mental illness. In this case, people who ate by themselves scored 7.9 points lower than the national average, compared with someone who always eats in company.
Mental health was found to have the strongest negative association with wellbeing, with those who reported conditions such as anxiety, depression, panic attacks or compulsive behaviour scoring 8.5 points below the average figure. Other issues associated with unhappiness included limited physical mobility where participants scored 5.4 points lower, while people with a learning disability scored 3.7 points lower.
Conversely, eating with others had one of the highest positive associations with wellbeing with a score 0.22 points higher, alongside having enough time to do enough time to things (0.36),a satisfactory sex life (0.44 higher) and sleeping well (0.93 points higher).
As such, the researchers say their findings highlight the importance of face-to-face contact with improved happiness. This is because other forms of social contact, including talking to neighbors and meeting with friends, were associated with higher happiness scores, while digital interactions such as social media, showed no association at all.

 

0

Nipah Virus : Karnataka at high alert: suspected cases of rare virus, fanning fears


The Karnataka ( south India) state is on high alert, especially in areas bordering Kerala, after 11 people died of the mysterious Nipah Virus in Kozhikode over the last few days.

The Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Department has directed primary healthcare centres in Chamarajnagar and Mysuru districts, which share the border with Kerala, to be alert and to report any patients from Kerala with suspected Nipah cases. A team from Delhi has been sent to Kerala and based on the report, national guidelines will be issued.

Those travelling to Kerala should be cautious when and if they come in contact with Nipah-infected people. Avoid eating fruits fallen on the ground and drinking raw date palm sap in Kerala. Avoid coming in contact with sick domestic animals and pigs.

Nipah Virus infection is zoonotic, which means the disease has spread from animals to humans, and can causes severe conditions in animals and humans. The natural host of the virus are fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family, Pteropus genus. The virus transmits through direct contact with infected bats, pigs or from other NiV-infected people through touch or body fluids. Disease is contagious and can spread from person-to-person.

The infection in humans can cause a wide range of clinical presentations, from asymptomatic (no symptoms) to acute respiratory syndrome (cough, breathlessness and respiratory distress) and fatal encephalitis (inflammation of the brain). After exposure to virus, symptoms start after an incubation period of 5-14 days. Usual symptoms are fever and headache for 3-10 days followed by drowsiness, confusion, seizures and altered sensorium. Signs and symptoms can progress rapidly to coma and death in 24-48 hours. Nipah Virus encephalitis is fatal with a high mortality rate.

Stressing should be on precautions. The people in affected areas should avoid eating or drinking date palm sap (raw date palm sap, a sweet drink popular in the winter, when the sap is easy to tap from trees pierced with a spigot. A bat clings to a palm tree as it eats sap just above a collection jar). Disease can be prevented by avoiding animals that are known to be infected and using appropriate personal protective equipment.

There is no vaccine for the Nipah virus, carried by fruit bats and spread  through contact with bodily fluids, the World Health Organization (WHO) says. Treatment for the virus, which has a mortality rate of about 70 percent, is supportive care.

0

Nipah virus scare: prevention and control of deadly virus


The National Virology Institute, Pune, confirmed that the contagious fever that has killed several people in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts over the last fortnight is due to Nipah virus ( NiV). Six more people succumbed to symptoms suspected to be that of Nipah virus on Sunday.
    It is the first detection in Kerala of the Nipah virus which has a high fatality rate and spreads mainly through bats, pigs and other animals. Its symptoms include fever, vomiting, headache, drowsiness, coma and respiratory problems.
Virus has an incubation period of 4 to 18 days. Health workers  need to  take the highest level of protection while handling patients. No specific treatment is available but intensive care support is required.

Origion and History of initial identification:

Nipah virus (NiV) is a member of the family Paramyxoviridae, genus Henipavirus. NiV was initially isolated and identified in 1999 during an outbreak of encephalitis and respiratory illness among pig farmers and people with close contact with pigs in Malaysia and Singapore. Its name originated from Sungai Nipah, a village in the Malaysian Peninsula where pig farmers became ill with encephalitis. Given the relatedness of NiV to Hendra virus,  bat species were quickly singled out for investigation and flying foxes of the genus Pteropus were subsequently identified as the reservoir for NiV .

In the 1999 outbreak, Nipah virus caused a relatively mild disease in pigs, but nearly 300 human cases with over 100 deaths were reported. In order to stop the outbreak, more than a million pigs were euthanized, causing tremendous trade loss for Malaysia. Since this outbreak, no subsequent cases (in neither swine nor human) have been reported in either Malaysia or Singapore.

In 2001, NiV was again identified as the causative agent in an outbreak of human disease occurring in Bangladesh. Genetic sequencing confirmed this virus as Nipah virus, but a strain different from the one identified in 1999. In the same year, another outbreak was identified retrospectively in Siliguri, India with reports of person-to-person transmission in hospital settings (nosocomial transmission). Unlike the Malaysian NiV outbreak, outbreaks occur almost annually in Bangladesh and have been reported several times in India.

Symptoms and investigation

Nipah virus’s (NiV) symptoms in humans are similar to viral fever such as fever, headache and muscle pain. Perhaps, these symptoms should be taken seriously as they were a part of rare viral fever – identified as the Nipah virus (NiV) – that claimed lives in Kerala.

NiV infection is associated with encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) and can lead to disorientation and mental confusion, or coma in some cases – encephalitis may present as acute or late onset. While the later may be difficult to diagnose, those who may have recovered from an acute episode may also have a relapse.

Since the symptoms of Nipah virus are similar to that of influenza, it can be difficult to determine whether the person is affected by NiV based on symptoms alone. According to WHO, procedures for laboratory diagnosis of Nipah virus include a series of tests – serology, histopathology, PCR and virus isolation. Serum Neutralization Test, ELISA, RT-PCR are used for laboratory confirmation. Also, magnetic resonance of the brain can help differentiate Nipah encephalitis from other encephalitis as well as in defining between acute and late-onset or a relapsed form of the disease.

Prevention and control

Till date, there is no effective vaccine for Nipah virus disease, treatment is mostly focused on managing fever and the neurological symptoms. Ribavarin may help alleviate the symptoms of nausea, vomiting, and convulsions. Severely ill patients require hospitalisation and may require the use of a ventilator. Therapeutics and vaccine are said to be under development.

Adopting standard infection control practices is vital in preventing the spread of person-to-person transmission of the disease. As the main strategy is to prevent NiV in humans, establishing appropriate surveillance systems is necessary to detect the disease outbreaks quickly so that appropriate control measures are initiated in time.

Research is needed to better understand the ecology of bats and Nipah virus, investigating questions such as the seasonality of disease within reproductive cycles of bats. Surveillance tools should include reliable laboratory assays for early detection of disease in communities and livestock, and raising awareness of transmission and symptoms is important in reinforcing standard infection control practices to avoid human-to-human infections in hospital settings (nosocomial infection).

A subunit vaccine, using the Hendra G protein, produces cross-protective antibodies against HENV and NIPV has been recently used in Australia to protect horses against Hendra virus. This vaccine offers great potential for henipavirus protection in humans as well.

https://www.cdc.gov/vhf/nipah/prevention/index.html

1

Doctors at J J Hospital Mumbai assaulted: Indicator of lawless and uncivilized society


           Attacks and assaults on doctors appears to be  one of the indicators of  a lawless,uncivilized society, poor governance and  health system. Doctor have become punching bags for all the malaise prevalent in the system. A failing system which is unable to provide health to people and security to doctors. The system  hides behind their working children and doctors and presents them as punching bags. The  impunity with which attendant easily and brutally assault doctors is really appalling, that too  all over the country should be  shameful  to law enforcing agencies. Are we a lawless society? More problematic is the government apathy and silence of human right commission. Here comes the point that what is the role of our doctor’s organizations and parent hospital and institute.

         Why  in each and every case of doctor’ s assault, doctor’s bodies and organization do not file a case in the court against the  responsible  authority for security. Non action by Doctor’s Associations, bodies and organizations, not able to take a stand for their children is  most disappointing.

                                unwillingness or failure of government  to prevent such attacks on doctors will have deep ramifications on future of medical profession. Silence of authorities, human right commission is really appalling.  Role of doctor associations, parent institutes have been spineless and not encouraging.  Role of media, celebrities, film stars in spreading the hatred against the medical profession and creating an environment of mistrust is unpardonable, where stray incidents were portrayed as normal routine just to earn money and fame. Ultimately doctors have been left to fend for themselves individually or with friend groups.

 Discussion always revolves around the trust of the patients on the doctor. But in reality, situation is getting opposite gradually. Empathy, sympathy, compassion and trust  of the doctor towards the patient, will definitely get a hit after these incidents. Everyday  the news of assaults on doctors, court cases against doctors, negative projection of the medical profession   in the media are viewed  by doctor’s community anxiously.  Attack  on doctor  at  J J Hospital Mumbai is just another shameful incident today. 

        Merely taking some token  action and showing  protest will not solve the problem. It does not compensate for the  damage done to medical profession. Sympathy, compassion and trust of the doctors towards patients will definitely reduce. Who will be  the ultimate sufferer, does not need a Einstein brain to predict.

          Formal and informal discussions among medical professional at various forums  have taken a centre stage about the changing scenario. It  gives a perception that patients are loosing faith in doctors. That perception is not incorrect. But what remains hidden is that every incidence of verbal, legal, and physical assault  brings some kind of feeling of insecurity in minds of all doctors, who deal with patients.

                    This insecurity or fear of the uncertainty tends to affect the thinking process of doctors and the way they practice medicine or deal with the patients. Many will like to be defensive in practice, or try not to treat very sick patients.  Why would someone try complex surgeries with risk involved? Few will limit themselves to follow protocols. Going extra mile with risk, which not everyone will like to take. Many will become health managers or  do something else than do active clinical work. Who should risk his life while doing routine work?

  Every incidence of verbal, legal, and physical assault is a trust breaker. It is not only erosion of patient’s trust on doctors but the vice versa is also true.  As  a rule of nature, as violence increases, compassion decreases.

    Patients might get their revenge for the  naturally occurring disease, but they will lose compassion and trust of doctors in the long run. If that is the way to impart justice in this era, doctors will have to find some way to save themselves.

0

Tragedy at Varanasi: comparison of multiple healthy deaths due to civic negligence vs one in hospital due to disease


                There is a stark  difference in  the kind of  media  projection, burden of negligence and accountability of preventable multiple healthy deaths by civic negligence   as compared to one hospital death by disease. In fact the burden of   negligence here in healthy deaths is massive and  these deaths are unpardonable. But reality is opposite.  Strangely   “alleged and perceived negligence” ( with no proof and no investigation )  in death of someone already having disease  and death in hospital  during treatment attracts more scrutiny and   stringent  punishment   a naked “negligence  in deaths of healthy people” in such cases  of civic negligence.  

In an unfortunate incident at Varanasi , at least 19 people were crushed to death and more than a dozen injured after two concrete beams fell off 40 foot-high pillars at an under construction flyover in Varanasi on Tuesday evening. Massive civic negligence  again leading to  entirely preventable loss of lives. These incidents bring fore to my mind the misplaced priorities of media and society  which too have  contributed to  some extent to these unabated ongoing preventable   deaths  of  hundreds of  healthy people.

Multiple  Deaths  in healthy people by civic negligence :

Large numbers of death and morbidity happen amongst absolutely healthy population due to preventable causes like open manholes, drains, live electric wires, water contamination, dengue, malaria, recurring floods  etc. These deaths  of people are in thousands, and are almost entirely of healthy people, who otherwise were not at risk of death. In fact the burden of   negligence here is massive and  these deaths are unpardonable.  It’s time media took it upon itself to bring to fore these issues before accidents, so that many innocent lives. Timely action can prevent these deaths. 

       Single  Death in Hospital due to disease:

The  media has always, instead, focused on the stray  and occasional incidents of perceived alleged negligence  in hospital deaths which could have occurred due to critical medical condition of patient. However an impression is created as if the doctors have killed a healthy person. It is assumed without any investigation that it was doctor’s fault.  Media has been responsible for  creating a misunderstanding about the whole process of treatment. They have ignored other important things like civic negligence and has instead trained their entire energy in  blaming the doctors  in an effort  to get something sensational out of nothing.

The whole blame  is cleverly put  on doctors. Even after doing everything possible, doctor may be running for his life, trying to save himself from goons. He may be an object for revenge. He may be running after lawyers, if a medical lawsuit is filed. Even if court give the judgement after decades in favour of doctor, harassment of the doctor is permanent and irreversible damage is  done  to doctor. He is already punished.

Here it will be seen later, whether some one can be punished or not.

Point to ponder-Misplaced priorities:

Who is to be  blamed for  the deaths of healthy people which occur because of civic negligence? Here relatives may be helpless and  the vital questions  may go unanswered or taken as a routine.  There are no punching bags like doctor  for revenge. Any stray incident of death of an already ill patient is blown out of proportion by media forgetting the fact that thousands of patients are saved everyday by  doctors. But media instead chose to defame medical profession by igniting the emotions of people by sensationalising death of diseased and ill,  who probably were already at risk of death and did not give due importance to highlighting prevention of healthy  and absolutely 100% preventable deaths.

Right issues raised at right time will save thousands of healthy preventable deaths. Multiple  healthy deaths should carry more burden of negligence than  one death due to disease.

      

 

1

Pharma- Malaise may get treatment: unique IDs of drugs soon to check fakes


Usually every problem related to health is called medical malaise, but that is a misnomer.  In fact health care comprises tens of different industries. Collective malaise of all these is conveniently projected as medical malaise, related to doctors. Rest remain invisible, earn money and  doctors are blamed. As doctor is a common universal link that is visible with patient. By an average application of wisdom, it is easy to blame doctors for everything,    that goes wrong with patient.

One such problem is presence of fake medicines.  If patient gets fake or low quality medicines and does not get well or gets side effects, doctor will face harassment. Whereas people involved and industry will be sitting pretty and  make money.

Therefore any such step  to correct Pharma –malaise should be a welcome step for  doctors. Although it will be a complex issue, because of complexity involved in implementation and execution of policies. But recognition and beginning to think of the problem is also an important step.

May be a time to treat Pharma- malaise.

India’s highest advisory body on drugs will discuss a mechanism to end the menace of counterfeit medicines at a meeting on 16 May.

According to the proposal to be discussed at the Drug Technical Advisory Board meeting, consumers will be able to check whether the medicines that they have purchased are genuine by texting a unique code to be printed on the medicine’s package to a number, said two people aware of the matter, both of whom requested anonymity.

The government plans to initially build a data bank of 300 medicine brands and their consumption pattern in various parts of the country.

Drug companies will then be asked to print a unique 14-digit alphanumeric code on the package of the drug. Consumers buying the medicine can then inquire via a text message whether the code—and therefore the medicine—is genuine or not.

Pharma firms may be asked to print a unique 14-digit code on drugs’ packaging; consumers can send a text message to find out if the code is genuine or not

A government survey conducted between 2014 and 2016 had found 3.16% of drug samples it tested to be sub-standard, while 0.02% were spurious

A WHO report in 2017 revealed approximately 10.5% of medicines in low- and middle-income countries including India are sub-standard or fake

 

The unique identification code will help consumers avoid buying fake products. The idea is that within seconds, the person should receive a reply indicating whether the drug is legitimate.

 

Fake medicines lead to drug resistance in humans and cause a significant number of deaths, according to public health experts. A government survey

conducted between 2014 and 2016 to check the proportion of substandard drugs in India had found 3.16% of the samples it tested to be substandard, while 0.02% were spurious.

Significantly, even samples from big drug makers were found to be not of standard quality during the survey carried out through the National Institute of Biologicals, according to regulator Central Drugs Standard Control Organization.

0

“Himalayan Viagra” or ‘yarsagumba’ (Ophiocordyceps sinensis)


It’s the time of the year that the mushroom called ‘yarsagumba’ (Ophiocordyceps sinensis), also known locally as ‘keerajari’, appears in the meadows when the snow starts melting.  it is also known as Himalayan Viagra.

The mushroom, which has a long history of use in traditional Chinese medicine (thousands of years), fetches a price of Rs 2 to 5 lakhs per kilogram or much  above locally, depending on quality. It plays a vital role in the local economy, that’s largely pastoral.

It is also called Yart Swa Gun Bu, which in Tibetan means ‘herb in the summer and insect in the winter’. In Nepali it is referred to by the colloquial term Yachagumbu or Yaxagumbu while the Chinese call it Dong cong xia cao.

Usually, as the month of May approaches, villagers from Dasholi, Ghat, Urgam valley, Niti valley, Deval and Joshimath blocks of Chamoli district start start moving into the the higher ranges, armed with essentials and rations. They camp there for at least two months while hunting for the prized mushroom, yarsagumba or Himalayan Viagra.

The heavy snowfall in the higher ranges of Himalayas earlier this week has disrupted the hunt for a prized aphrodisiac fungus popularly referred to as Himalayan viagra. There’s a lot at stake.

Heavy snowfall  has forced villagers to call off the hunt for yarsagumba and climb down from the higher reaches of Chamoli district in Uttarakhand. They will have to wait till the snow melts and that may leave only a handful days left in the Yarsagumba season.

Usually, as the month of May approaches, villagers from Dasholi, Ghat, Urgam valley, Niti valley, Deval and Joshimath blocks of Chamoli district start  moving into the higher ranges, armed with essentials and rations. They camp there for at least two months while hunting for the prized mushroom.

source

0

Clean chit to Max doctors in baby death : media reverse news, but mistrust generated in medical profession irreversible


After five months of the incidence, media has now decided to place the correct picture before public. A fact which was very clear to medical fraternity  at the onset, was presented by section of media in a twisted form.  Venomous propaganda and unilateral versions  by media were  projected as doctor’s error, maligning the profession fully. Now the media has to give the correct picture to public after DMC inquiry. But due to wrong information propagated at that time, an environment of mistrust has been generated. Media jumped to wrong  and premature conclusions,   which  created a sense of uncertainties in the minds of patients.  Untrue assertions  about medical profession and maligning of doctors  were propagated just to  create a sensation.  Projection of true picture  by media is   of  great importance and need of hour. If media propagates a stray incidence  and makes sensational news out of nothing, it will further erode trust of public in medical profession. Media people will earn fame and money at the cost of people lives. Mistrust thus generated is definitely detrimental to medical profession as a whole, but in the long run it  will cause  irreversible harm to society.

The Delhi Medical Council (DMC) has given a clean chit to the doctors at Max Shalimar Bagh in a case where a new born was allegedly wrongly declared dead. His parents discovered that the baby was still alive when they were going to cremate him.
The state medical council, in its report to Delhi Police’s crime branch which is probing the case, has stated that the parents of the new born, delivered at 23 weeks of pregnancy, had signed the Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) document.

“International medical literature clearly suggests that fetus less than 24 weeks, if born, is not viable and not likely to survive. The Delhi Registration of Birth and Death Rules, 1999, prescribe that 28 weeks is period of gestation for it to be viable,” said Dr Girish Tyagi, registrar of DMC.  He added that there were procedural lapses and inadequate documentation, which was probably due to absence of standard operating guidelines when managing such cases. “We have written to the Centre and the state to develop protocol for dealing with them in the future,” Tyagi said.

Media should be  show responsibility and refrain from making early conclusions specially in cases involving medical complexities. Defaming the medical profession just on unilateral version of the story may help  media make some money but can be highly detrimental for the society in future.   Damage to doctor patient relationship and trust is irreversible. Can now media undo the damage done to medical profession and mistrust generated between patient and doctor?

0

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑