Steroid should be kept for serious coronavirus cases, WHO says

By Kate Kelland and Emma FargeLONDON/GENEVA: A cheap steroid that can help save the lives of patients with severe COVID-19 should be reserved for serious cases in which it has been shown to provide benefits, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday.WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said research was at last providing "green shoots of hope" in treating the virus, which has killed more than 400,000 people worldwide and infected more than 8 million.,Trial results announced on Tuesday by researchers in Britain showed dexamethasone, a generic drug used since the 1960s to reduce inflammation in diseases such as arthritis, cut death rates by around a third among the most severely ill coronavirus patients admitted to hospital....read more

CMAAO Coronavirus Facts and Myth Buster: Acute Kidney Injury

950: Update on COVID-19IMA-CMAAO Webinar on “Acute kidney injury in COVID-19”,13th June, 2020, 4-5pm ,Participants: Dr KK Aggarwal, President CMAAO; Dr RV Asokan, Secretary General IMA; Dr Ramesh K Dutta; Dr Jayakrishnan Alapat; Dr Uday Kakroo; Dr K Kalra; Mr Vivek Kumar; Mr Anil Ahuja; Mr Saurabh Aggarwal; Mr Dheeraj Kumar; Mr Sanjeev Khanna; Ms Ira Gupta; Ms Vandana Rawat; Dr Sanchita Sharma ,Faculty: Dr SK Agarwal, Prof & Head, Dept. of Nephrology, AIIMS, New Delhi,This webinar was dedicated to Mr Sanjay Sharma, Asst. Manager - IT & Election Work, Indian Medical Association (IMA) who passed away due to COVID-19....read more

World Covid Meter 17th June - 213 Countries affected; Crosses 8 Million, Doubling Rate 8 days

Cases: 1M April 2, 2M April 15, 3M April 27, 4M May 8; 5M May 20, 6M May 30, 7M June 7, 8M by June 15Ground Zero: Wuhan - in live animal market or cafeteria for animal pathogens: 10th January; Total cases are based on RT PCR, 67% sensitivity ,Doubling time India 17 days, USA 33 days, Brazil 13 days, Russia 18 days, Spain 47 days, UK 35 days, Italy 55 days, France 49 days, Turkey 37 daysLikely minimum deaths (445957 + 54595 x 15 = 8189) = 454146 ,Coronavirus Cases: 8,256,659 ,Deaths: 445,957,Recovered: 4,306,406,ACTIVE CASES: 3,504,296....read more

Astik Vs Nastik

Traditionally, people believe that Nastik are people who do not go to temples or related places of worship. They also do not believe in God.To differentiate between Astik and Nastik, we need to first understand the concept of Sanatan Dharma and Arya Samaj Dharma. People who believe in Sanatan Dharma consider God as separate from the self and worship him in the form of an idol. They believe in Dualism theory.Arya Samaj followers do not do idol worship and believe in non-dualism and treat God and self as one. ....read more

Healthcare News Monitor

No shortage of dexamethasone in India, Chinese raw materials remain key

Viswanath Pilla

Dexamethasone, the low cost and widely available medication used to treat allergies and pain, has emerged as a dark horse in the race to find therapies to save people from the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, pandemic. The drug is now being touted as the first life-saver against COVID-19.The initial clinical trial results from the United Kingdom show dexamethasone, a corticosteroid, can be lifesaving for patients who are critically ill with COVID-19. For patients on ventilators, the treatment was shown to reduce death by about one-third, and for patients requiring only oxygen, death was cut by about one-fifth, according to preliminary findings. The full data of the trial is not yet out and it expected shortly.

Lifesaving coronavirus drug Dexamethasone costs less than 30 paise; 20 cos sell in India

PB Jayakumar

India has at least 20 established brands selling the drug; a strip of ten tablets costs less than Rs 3 in India,Indian exports the drug to over 107 countries; in FY20 India exported Dexamethasone worth $15.34 million,Dexamethasone is used in the treatment of rheumatic problems, skin diseases, allergies, asthma, chronic obstructive lung disease, dental and eye inflammationThe corticosteroid Dexamethasone, which is believed to be effective in coronavirus treatment, is likely to be the next repurposed drug that may bring Indian drug makers like Zydus Cadila, Wockhardt, Cadila Pharmaceuticals, GLS Pharma and Wyeth Ltd in the spotlight. Fortunately for coronavirus patients, the drug is cheap and costs less than Rs 3 for a strip of 10 tables.

COVID-19 patient saved using convalescent plasma therapy in Kerala: Doctors

PTI

A 51-year-old man, who was battling for life after being infected by coronavirus has recovered after undergoing convalescent plasma therapy at a government hospital in Thrissur, in a first such instance in Kerala using the experimental medical technique.The beneficiary, who had been on ventilator for almost a week was taken off the support after a team of doctors administered the plasma of a person cured of the disease. The man is now recuperating in the ICU, doctors said.The therapy involves separation of anti bodies from a person cured of coronavirus and its subsequent infusion into the COVID-19 patient in a critical condition.Performed as a medical emergency, the technique was used at the Government Medical College (GMC) in Thrissur. The benefactor was a Delhi-returned Malayali. He tested positive for COVID-19 on June 6 and faced acute respiratory complications five days later, warranting the use of a ventilator.

Chennai Super Kings suspend team doctor over insensitive tweet on Indian martyrs in Galwan Valley

India Today

Chennai Super Kings on Wednesday said it has suspended the service of team doctor, Dr. Madhu Thottappillil over his remarks on the death of Indian soldiers in Galwan Valley, Ladakh.20 Indian Army personnel, including a Commanding Officer, lost their lives in what is termed as one of the worst clashes between the Indian Army and Chinese troops in over 5 decades. Government sources said the Chinese side too suffered proportionate casualties but chose not to speculate on the number.Reacting to the news of the violent scuffle, CSKs team doctor, Madhu Thottappil had put out a distasteful tweet that received quite a bit of flak on social media on Tuesday.