Hospital out-patient blocks high-risk areas for Covid spread; take precautions, say doctors

Hyderabad: There is a surge in Covid infections and nothing can be worse if a non-Covid person contracts the virus from visits to the hospital. Though Hospital hospital-acquired infections (HAI) are quite common in India, there has been no study exclusively on Hospital-Acquired Covid in the country.

However, in a British study published in the Nature Journal titled ‘The burden and dynamics of hospital-acquired SARS-CoV-2 in England,’ it was found that 1 per cent to 2 per cent patients have acquired Covid between June 2020 to March 2021 in the hospital environment. Most of these cases have been in-patient to in-patient transmission.

Even though the JN.1 Covid sub-variant has not been too severe and the requirement for hospital admission has been minimal, doctors caution against the rapidly spreading virus and urge people to strictly follow Covid-appropriate behaviour especially when outdoors.

Opt for teleconsultation whenever feasible

Dr Viswesvaran Balasubramanian, senior pulmonologist at Yashoda Hospital pointed out that in a hospital, it’s usually the out-patient departments (OPD), which are high-risk areas.

“Most of the Coronavirus cases that we are seeing during this wave are mild OPD cases and unless the patient is severely infected and has other comorbidities, hospital admission is not required. It is recommended that if the patient is not too sick but suspects Covid or any viral infection, they should initially do a tele-consultation with a doctor instead of visiting a hospital,” he said.

Hospital OPD is a high-risk area

“If anyone is inside a hospital waiting for their turn at the OPD, it’s advisable to wear a surgical or N-95 mask, maintain a distance of at least two metres from others, use hand sanitisers whenever required, especially before eating anything, avoid coughing in an open place and cover the mouth while coughing,” added the doctor.

General physician Dr P Saketha Reddy said, “The OPD is a risky area because one doesn’t know if the other person waiting for consultation is already infected by Covid or not. Not all infected persons get tested. So, there are chances of getting infected from the hospital OPD. People with comorbidities, senior citizens and other immunocompromised persons are more vulnerable and should be very cautious. Patients should also avoid getting dental procedures done unless it’s urgent because in the absence of a mask, while getting treated at dental centres, the risk of exposure is higher.

Hospitals and dental clinics should always be mindful of sterilising their medical equipment at the required temperature to avoid the spread of infections.

When to visit the hospital?

If apart from the usual symptoms of viral infection, one has high-grade fever (above 1010F), which has not subsided for four to five days despite taking paracetamol tablets, has severe cough, dehydrating loose motions, experiences shortness of breath, such patients should consult doctors or visit a hospital without delay, said Dr Saketha and adds that patients should refrain from using antibiotics on their own and can take booster dose of vaccines to minimise the severity of Covid.