NOIDA: The scorching heatwave has taken a toll on public health, with city hospitals overwhelmed by a surge in heat-related illnesses. Emergency departments and outpatient clinics at both private and public hospitals have witnessed a staggering 50% increase in cases compared to a typical summer footfall.
At some hospitals TOI visited on Wednesday, doctors said they have been seeing five critical heat-related cases being admitted every hour with dehydration, high fever, diarrhoea, and vomiting – all common symptoms of heat exhaustion.
Till Tuesday, the Noida district hospital reported 14 deaths due to “unknown causes”. Most of them were found unconscious on roads by pedestrians or police and brought to the hospital and are suspected to have had heat strokes, Renu Aggarwal, chief medical superintendent (CMS) of District Hospital said.
Demand for medicines has also shot up, with the daily requirement for IV fluid packs (saline) skyrocketing to 5,000 at most hospitals, including the District Hospital. It’s usually around 2,000 in the summer months.
“The demand for IV fluids has shot up by nearly 40% as smaller hospitals, who were purchasing around 1,500-2,000 IV fluids on average, are now getting 5,000 to 6,000 IV fluids per day. Superspeciality hospitals are picking up 10,000-12,000 IV fluid packs per day, up from an average of 4,000 seen last year. As a result, the waiting period for the supply of fluids and medicines has also extended. What we could deliver in one day is now taking 3-4 days,” said Nikhil Trivedi of Getron pharmaceutical company that supplies medicines and IV fluids to hospitals in Ghaziabad, Noida and Bulandshahr.
As most hospitals are recording a surge of heat-related patients, some have started to flag a shortage of beds in emergency wards and long admission queues.
A passerby who rushed a septuagenarian he found unconscious on a roadside at Sector 11 to the District Hospital on Wednesday said he had to wait for nearly 2 hours before the patient could get a bed at the emergency ward. Vipin, who lives in Sector 11, said Vijay Singh was unresponsive when he found him around noon.
“We have never seen such an impact of heatwave conditions before. All heat exhaustion patients are administered IV fluid as soon as they are wheeled in. Critical patients are referred for intensive care. We are recording at least 3-4 such patients daily over the last few days,” a doctor at a private hospital in Sector 71 said.
Over the last two days, six persons were brought to the District Hospital by cops from various parts of the city — some found along roadsides and others near parks — all suspected to have collapsed due to heat exertion and exposure.
Doctors, however, have not ruled out underlying diseases as cause of death.
“Officially, we have not received any cases of heatstroke death yet,” deputy CMO Dr Tikam Singh told TOI.
A 60-year-old man was found on the roadside near Taksal in Sector 1 on Tuesday, while five more were found dead near sectors 58 and 57, police said.
At least two persons were also found dead under the jurisdiction of the expressway station after they collapsed suddenly on Tuesday. Among them was Brahmanand (51) of Nangli Shakpur, who worked as a security guard in Noida. The man was taken to Rajya Bima Model Hospital after he complained of queasiness after the day’s work, but doctors declared him dead.
Shyamlal Bashak (45) of Nangloi Wajidpur village, a labourer, was also taken to a Bhangel CHC but could not be resuscitated.
The District Hospital CMS said most patients showing signs of heat-related ailments were working for prolonged hours under the sun, like labourers, who could not understand the early symptoms of heat-related illness.
“Several patients, coming to our ERs and OPDs, have undiagnosed heatwave symptoms. Neuroimaging tests, including CT head and MRI brain scans, are advised to rule out any other potential pathologies. Patients with electrolyte imbalances are given intravenous treatments,” said Dr Ajay Kumar Gupta, the director of internal medicine at Max Vaishali.
Gupta advised people to stay hydrated, avoid direct sunlight exposure and seek immediate medical attention if they have a throbbing headache, fever, are feeling confused, nauseous or dizzy.
“Patients can also have abdominal pain, loose motion, recurrent vomiting and high-grade fever. Sometimes they are reported only with severe headache, neck pain and generalized weakness, but few patients are also complaining of extreme fatigue and loss of appetite. There is a surge in cases of acute gastroenteritis, heat exhaustion and typhoid too,” Dr Ajay Agarwal, director of internal medicine at Fortis Noida said.
“There has been around 40-45% increase in heat-related cases compared to previous years. The current extreme temperature conditions are having an impact on patients with pre-existing conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension, and chronic diseases as well and they must exercise caution,”Kumar said.
At some hospitals TOI visited on Wednesday, doctors said they have been seeing five critical heat-related cases being admitted every hour with dehydration, high fever, diarrhoea, and vomiting – all common symptoms of heat exhaustion.
Till Tuesday, the Noida district hospital reported 14 deaths due to “unknown causes”. Most of them were found unconscious on roads by pedestrians or police and brought to the hospital and are suspected to have had heat strokes, Renu Aggarwal, chief medical superintendent (CMS) of District Hospital said.
Demand for medicines has also shot up, with the daily requirement for IV fluid packs (saline) skyrocketing to 5,000 at most hospitals, including the District Hospital. It’s usually around 2,000 in the summer months.
“The demand for IV fluids has shot up by nearly 40% as smaller hospitals, who were purchasing around 1,500-2,000 IV fluids on average, are now getting 5,000 to 6,000 IV fluids per day. Superspeciality hospitals are picking up 10,000-12,000 IV fluid packs per day, up from an average of 4,000 seen last year. As a result, the waiting period for the supply of fluids and medicines has also extended. What we could deliver in one day is now taking 3-4 days,” said Nikhil Trivedi of Getron pharmaceutical company that supplies medicines and IV fluids to hospitals in Ghaziabad, Noida and Bulandshahr.
As most hospitals are recording a surge of heat-related patients, some have started to flag a shortage of beds in emergency wards and long admission queues.
A passerby who rushed a septuagenarian he found unconscious on a roadside at Sector 11 to the District Hospital on Wednesday said he had to wait for nearly 2 hours before the patient could get a bed at the emergency ward. Vipin, who lives in Sector 11, said Vijay Singh was unresponsive when he found him around noon.
“We have never seen such an impact of heatwave conditions before. All heat exhaustion patients are administered IV fluid as soon as they are wheeled in. Critical patients are referred for intensive care. We are recording at least 3-4 such patients daily over the last few days,” a doctor at a private hospital in Sector 71 said.
Over the last two days, six persons were brought to the District Hospital by cops from various parts of the city — some found along roadsides and others near parks — all suspected to have collapsed due to heat exertion and exposure.
Doctors, however, have not ruled out underlying diseases as cause of death.
“Officially, we have not received any cases of heatstroke death yet,” deputy CMO Dr Tikam Singh told TOI.
A 60-year-old man was found on the roadside near Taksal in Sector 1 on Tuesday, while five more were found dead near sectors 58 and 57, police said.
At least two persons were also found dead under the jurisdiction of the expressway station after they collapsed suddenly on Tuesday. Among them was Brahmanand (51) of Nangli Shakpur, who worked as a security guard in Noida. The man was taken to Rajya Bima Model Hospital after he complained of queasiness after the day’s work, but doctors declared him dead.
Shyamlal Bashak (45) of Nangloi Wajidpur village, a labourer, was also taken to a Bhangel CHC but could not be resuscitated.
The District Hospital CMS said most patients showing signs of heat-related ailments were working for prolonged hours under the sun, like labourers, who could not understand the early symptoms of heat-related illness.
“Several patients, coming to our ERs and OPDs, have undiagnosed heatwave symptoms. Neuroimaging tests, including CT head and MRI brain scans, are advised to rule out any other potential pathologies. Patients with electrolyte imbalances are given intravenous treatments,” said Dr Ajay Kumar Gupta, the director of internal medicine at Max Vaishali.
Gupta advised people to stay hydrated, avoid direct sunlight exposure and seek immediate medical attention if they have a throbbing headache, fever, are feeling confused, nauseous or dizzy.
“Patients can also have abdominal pain, loose motion, recurrent vomiting and high-grade fever. Sometimes they are reported only with severe headache, neck pain and generalized weakness, but few patients are also complaining of extreme fatigue and loss of appetite. There is a surge in cases of acute gastroenteritis, heat exhaustion and typhoid too,” Dr Ajay Agarwal, director of internal medicine at Fortis Noida said.
“There has been around 40-45% increase in heat-related cases compared to previous years. The current extreme temperature conditions are having an impact on patients with pre-existing conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension, and chronic diseases as well and they must exercise caution,”Kumar said.
