PUDUCHERRY: In spite of overwhelming challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) has performed 376 major surgeries from the onset of lockdown till 30th of June 2020.
JIPMER takes care of COVID-19 patients in the exclusive 250-bedded hospital with 36 beds with ventilators and monitors and 142 beds with piped oxygen supply.
JIPMER Director Rakesh Agarwal in a statement said that most of these 376 have been operations for emergency conditions, life-saving operations such as those for cancer patients, those directed at saving a vital organ or limb, and complicated brain and heart surgeries.
A total of 3861 chemotherapy cycles have been administered for previously-registered cancer patients. Furthermore, 410 newly-diagnosed patients with various cancers were registered and started chemotherapy during this period. In addition, three patients each have received autologous and allogeneic bone marrow transplantation during the same period, and over 800 cancer patients have received blood transfusions in the Department of Medical Oncology. Also, the Department of Radiation Oncology has delivered 3351 radiotherapy sessions, 85 brachytherapy sessions, and 2574 chemotherapy sessions, he said.
JIPMER has admitted 1644 patients suspected for COVID-19 since the onset of the first lockdown. A large majority of these admissions have been for patients from Puducherry, but also include many patients from adjacent districts in Tamil Nadu. The institute tested 15333 specimens from patients, including those from Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh, for COVID-19 using RT-PCR.
As on 4th July 2020, a total of 142 confirmed and 12 suspected patients with novel coronavirus infection are admitted in the COVID block at the Institute. The Institute has continuously striven to provide tertiary health care facilities in all the non-COVID specialties as well as for the COVID-19 pandemic and is available to the most vulnerable population groups in the region, despite several significant constraints, he said.