New protocol: Telangana health department lets off steam

Hyderabad: Amid spurt in Covid-19 cases, health department officials have issued fresh treatment guidelines with latest protocols to doctors.

As part of the guidelines, asymptomatic patients would be given vitamins and simple antibiotics, if needed. They would be advised to isolate at home, but would be asked to have pulse oximeter with them to monitor their oxygen level in case they start to display symptoms.

Another important guideline is not to advise patients for steam inhalation as many have been thinking that the process would help them clear the virus.

“On the contrary, scientifically speaking, in Covid-19, lungs will become stiff when hot steam reaches them,” director, medical education, Dr Ramesh Reddy said. Though there have been divergent outcomes from different studies, he added.

Dr Ramesh Reddy said the current wave of Covid cases was only due to negligence of people not wearing masks and flouting social distancing norms.

Patients would not be given hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), but those who need treatment would be given Remdesivir and only in serious cases, prescribed steroids. The doctors were cautioned about spike in sugar levels in diabetic patients, who receive steroid treatments. They have been asked to keep them under monitoring for a long time. The recovered elderly patients also would be under monitoring for a long time.

Health department officials have directed hospitals and doctors that serious patients with comorbidities should take their regular medicines.

“In many cases, patients are hurriedly rushed to hospitals without their regular prescriptions. While undergoing treatment, it becomes difficult for treating doctors to continue their regular medicine regimen,” sources said. However, health officials said the number of people needing intense treatment and hospitalisation was much less than last year.