JOIN USSurge in SARI admissions in ICUs leaves Bengaluru doctors alarmed
A surge in people with serious respiratory problems requiring ICU support has alarmed medical practitioners in the city.
Since December 24, hospitals have been reporting a 15 to 20% increase in the occupancy of their ICU facilities by patients with respiratory diseases like acute bronchitis, Influenza and Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI), which over the last year, has become closely linked with Covid-19.
While doctors took pains to explain that the surge in SARI hospitalisations cannot necessarily be correlated to Covid-19, they said the rise in ICU admissions suggested that many people, including potential Covid-19 sufferers, are not seeking medical help until the problem reached an advanced stage.
“There has been a marked increase in the number of people with severe respiratory problems this winter when compared to last year,” explained Dr Sunil Karanth, chairman, Critical Care Medicine, Manipal Hospitals (Old Airport Road). All 20 of its ICU beds allotted for SARI have been occupied since December-mid. “This was not the case last year,” Dr Karanth said.
However, the number of people with SARI and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) has been lower than last winter, said Dr K S Satish, president of the Karnataka Pulmonologist Association.
“There has been no rise above the baseline. We think this is due to an increased tendency among people to wear masks,” he clarified, adding that the preliminary information also showed that the number of TB cases would be less this year than it was in 2020.
However, other experts pointed to the low numbers coupled with increasing ICU usage as being a red flag.
People wary of getting tested
“Most of the SARI cases that we see have a severity which is brought on by delay. There is a fear among people about getting tested. They know that if they come to the hospital with respiratory symptoms, they will be tested for Covid-19, which they don’t want,” said Dr Jagadish Hiremath of Ace Suhas Hospital.
At least one other expert, Dr H Paramesh, a paediatric pulmonologist and a professor with the Divecha Center for Climate Change at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), said the number of people suffering from respiratory problems was likely unchanged from previous years, with numbers possibly bolstered by Covid-19.
“Respiratory infections increase during winter because viral activity increases in cooler temperatures. In addition to this, air pollution from traffic, industries and even road construction results in oxidative stress. This damages the wind pipes. The eventual result is increased mucus build-up. If this build-up is not cleared, it results in a viral infection, not just by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, but any of the 150 respiratory viruses known to science,” Dr Paramesh said.