Karnataka: Paediatricians scarcity could prove challenging in Covid third wave

Bengaluru: The high-level committee stated their concern that there might not be enough paediatricians and trained healthcare workers to provide treatment to the possible 3.4 lakh children (0-18 years) that could be infected at the peak of the third wave if Covid 19.

Projection suggests, Bengaluru will be worst affected by the third wave as the majority of 3.4 lakh children, about 45,958 cases, will be from here, followed by Belagavi (28,546) and Kalaburagi (17,338).

A panel led by Dr Devi Shetty, in an interim report to the government of the high-level expert committee for prevention and management of Covid Wave -3, stated that there are 3000 members in the Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP) while another 1000 fresh graduates are yet to become IAP members.

The committee suggests skill enhancement and training modules for healthcare workers. It also says that training doctors, nurses and paramedics are the most essential component using well-drafted modules of national bodies like IAP.

A committee member said, “MBBS doctors, interns and other speciality doctors, nurses and paramedics should take a basic course in paediatric Covid 19 care. Even Anganwadi workers, ASHA workers, auxiliary nurse midwives, and members of gram panchayat taskforce should take the course.”

Apart from equipping every district hospital with Paediatric wards, special drives to fill all vacant posts in the district has been suggested by the committee. The report states, “Recruit assistant professors in various departments like paediatrics, general medicine, pulmonology, ENT, anaesthesia and radiology through direct recruitment.”

Dr Preeti M Galagali, chairperson executive committee, IAP Karnataka, said many paediatricians and physicians are already being trained. She added, “All doctors must learn a little basic paediatric care for triaging. They should be able to differentiate whether throat pain is caused by a bacterial infection or Covid.”

According to the report, nearly 85% of the children infected will have mild symptoms or will be asymptomatic and will not require hospitalisation, although they still required to be monitored. IAP Karnataka will provide telemedicine services as a social initiative to thousands of children across all CCC’s for children.

Dr Galagali said paediatricians will be required in hospitals, whereas paediatric care of kids who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms can be improved by training general doctors.

Dr Galagali said, “It won’t be a problem handling variants or mutants of the virus currently in circulation, but a new variant which is highly invasive could be a different ball game.”

She said, even while dealing with adults, ICU care is difficult. Medicines are not administered in standard doses but based on body weight. She added that the health department is yet to provide the total number of neonatal ICU’s in the state.

Another committee member said that neonates and infants cannot use the same machines such as ventilators, which are currently available for adults and children too. The committee has suggested special workshops in neonatal and paediatric ventilation, which is required while treating patients on high flow nasal cannula and noninvasive ventilator.