BENGALURU: After coming across several cases of newborns and children (under 18) contracting Covid-19, Vani Vilas Hospital, under Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute, has come up with a paediatric Covid testing protocol. This has been shared across medical associations, doctors’ groups and government authorities.
There are nine aspects covered in it — screening, testing strategy, laboratory tests, sample collection, clinical spectrum, investigations, treatment, discharge policy and pediatric inflammatory multi-system syndrome. Talking about the protocol, Dr Mallesh K, professor and head, Department of Paediatrics, Vani Vilas Hospital said, “There are high-risk cases coming in where minors are on immunosuppressants due to HIV, kidney problems, renal failure and severe asthma, or those suffering from malignancy, severe malnutrition, etc.
The guidelines explain how to triage patients, and state that no procedures must be delayed even if a Covid test hasn’t been conducted on the patient,” Dr Mallesh said. The protocol, co-authored by Dr Anitha K, assistant professor, Department of Paediatrics, BMCRI, also details investigations to be done on day-1, additional investigations for severe and critically-ill cases, criteria for risk of cytokine storm, chest X-ray and CT thorax for cases with pneumonia and/or the critically-ill.Given that coronavirus is relatively new to the medical fraternity, the protocol will be updated and revised regularly.