New Delhi, October 23: Legendary filmmaker Yash Chopra's death due to dengue has left many Delhiites panicky. Doctors say they are getting constant calls from patients suffering from suspected or confirmed dengue infection, seeking medical advice or admission to the hospital.
"Many patients with near-normal platelet count have insisted on getting admitted. They do not want to take a chance," said Dr Suranjit Chatterjee, senior consultant, internal medicine department at Apollo Hospitals. He said that the renowned filmmaker's death due to dengue was surprising for him too. "There must be some other co-morbid condition, which led to multi-organ failure and death," Chatterjee added.
Delhi has seen a rise in the number of dengue cases over the last one month. On Monday, 33 new cases of the vector-borne infection were reported, taking the total number of those afflicted to 682. The deputy director of AIIMS is also reported to be admitted in the hospital after suffering from the infection.Two children-Tabassum (9) from Sangam Vihar and Chanchal (1)-have died due to dengue in the city.
"Unnecessary panic and insistence on getting admission by patients who can be managed at home will derail the health infrastructure. Already, we are facing a bed crunch due to increased dengue, viral fever, typhoid and other cases which have engulfed the capital," said Dr Sandeep Budhiraja, head of the internal medicine department at Max Hospital, Saket.
He said that one needs to get admitted if there is recurrent vomiting and the patient is not able to take fluid or the fever is not going down despite medications. "If there is a rapid fall in platelet count or the patient has internal bleeding, he or she has to be admitted for constant monitoring of the vital parameters. Also, elderly people, children and those suffering from additional health problems like diabetes, heart disease, kidney failure or cancer have to be admitted," Budhiraja added.
"There is indeed a crisis situation. We are struggling to accommodate patients as there is heavy rush," said Dr C M Khanijo, medical superintendent, B R Ambedkar Hospital in Rohini. The hospital had to convert the disaster ward into a special facility to handle the large number of patients coming with dengue. "Some patients we are getting have typhoid and dengue both," the medical superintendent said.
The private labs are also are flooded with patients coming for dengue tests.
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