Kolkata: Two main takeaways of revised protocols in Covid patient clinical management – Steroid use and screening for TB (TB) – can help reduce steroid abuse and increase TB detection, health experts said.
The Indian government on Tuesday issued a revised guideline on the treatment of Covid-19 patients which are expected to be followed by all doctors who manage these patients.
The revised guideline has included people who suffer from TB into a high-risk category of patients who develop severe Covid-19 infections.
The doctor who cared for a positive patient through three waves of pandemic said they had found a case of sporadic Covid-19 and TB as co-infection in patients.
“In some covid patients, which cough for a longer period, we see changes in chest infections, resemble TB and then disease detected in several.
In addition, the use of steroids can worsen and open the tuberculosis layer.
Therefore, the modified protocol is.
Step Welcome, “said the infectious disease specialist Yogiraj Ray Ipgmer.
“This protocol is also a reminder that TB is the main health problem.
We need to capture earlier cases for timely interventions that will limit the development of the disease and transmission,” Ray added.
TB and Coronavirus infection involves lungs and both of them are contagious.
The doctor said that it would be a double whammy for someone who suffered from tuberculosis, known or latent, if infected by the virus.
“The majority of TB patients already have problems with lung fibrosis.
So, if they get Covid-19 infection they have a greater risk of developing severe diseases that result in poor care results.
New guidelines can also increase TB detection.
So it is a step Positive, “said Pulmonologist King Dhar, Director of Wing Pulmonology in CMRI.
The new protocol says patients must be screened for TB and other respiratory diseases if cough continues for more than two to three weeks.
The use of rampant steroids is always a concern when doctors also say that the indulgence of steroids can cause more damage than the benefits of some patients.
For the use of steroids, new guidelines have motorists that there is no steroid evidence in patients who do not need oxygen support and continuation after being released.
“Steroids must be used in the lowest possible dose in the shortest possible duration in the patient chosen in observations.
The protocol is needed, “said Asis Manna, MSVP, infectious diseases, and buying public hospitals.