160 positive dialysis patients successfully treated at Mumbai's Nair hospital amid coronavirus outbreak

Nearly 150 Covid positive chronic renal failure (CRF) patients have been administered dialysis treatment in the midst of the COVID-19 scare at the BYL Nair hospital since April.

Senior doctor said the nephrology department of the hospital is performing 1,000 dialysis sessions daily since the hospital has been converted to a dedicated Covid hospital. “So far 160 Covid patients with kidney ailments have undergone dialysis at the hospital,” said Dr Mohan Joshi, incharge of Nair hospital.

Dr Kalpana Mehta, head of the department, Nephrology of the hospital said they had to enrol more technicians as per the need and were ably supported by the administrative team and the head office. Moreover, a patient with kidney ailment needs to undergo dialysis thrice a week. Due to low immunity, these patients are most vulnerable to Sars-Cov-2— the virus that causes Covid-19.

“Since the time of the admission of the Covid patients to their discharge, they undergo dialysis on alternative days. We have nine machines that run around the clock in three shifts daily,” she said. So far, the hospital has performed 1,083 daily dialysis sessions on the admitted patients.

The dialysis unit functions as a part of the intensive care unit (ICU) of the hospital which is being monitored regularly. “After every patient undergoes his/her dialysis, we have to sanitize the surfaces of the chairs, tables and the floor before the starting the next session for other patients,” she added. “All the medicos including the class IV employees are given safety gears.”