Updated: December 19, 2020 11:48:54 am
MP CM Nitin Patel with Devendra Parmar at Sola Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad on Friday. (Photo Express)
A 59-year-old man discharged from the hospital after 113 days of Covid-19 treatment was among 1,155 patients discharged on Friday, when the state added 1,075 new cases, the lowest in a month, to its count. total of 2,33,543 cases.
Devendra Parmar, the man who spent almost 90 of the 113 days in the hospital on a ventilator at the Civil Hospital in Sola, was admitted to the Sharnam Multispecialty Hospital on August 26, with a fever and shortness of breath. He was later referred to Sola hospital after testing positive for Covid-19, his daughter Himangi said.
Chief Deputy Minister Nitin Patel, who also has the health portfolio, said: “I think this may be the first case (in terms of length of hospitalization) in the entire country.”
Patel, who was present at the hospital when Parmar was discharged, exemplified the case as testimony to Gujarat’s “excellent health and medical services”.
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According to Patel, according to information provided by Parmar’s wife Induben, the family resides in Kalikund in the Dholka block, Ahmedabad. Parmar worked as an accountant in a private company. “He was referred to the Sola Civil Hospital from a hospital in Dholka on August 28 and was in critical condition … fortunately, his wife is an employee of our health department and is aware of the care required in Covid-19 .. They kept him on a ventilator for a long time and his lungs were fragile and damaged, requiring up to 75 liters of oxygen per minute at any given time … but very little of that was absorbed due to lung damage. “
The Minister of Health added: “Little by little he showed improvement, encouraging our doctors and his family. Today, on the 113th day, he leaves the hospital and he still needs four liters of oxygen per minute, and the hospital provides him with an oxygen cylinder at home … He will have to be on oxygen for some time. “
Induben is a field health worker in the Gujarat health department.
Among the treating physicians in Parmar were the pulmonologist Dr. Kiran Rami, the anesthetist Dr. Ira Patel and the head of the department of general medicine, Dr. Parul Bhatt. Nitin Patel said that Parmar was treated free of charge, which would have “cost Rs 30 lakh in a private hospital”, adding that “you cannot put a price on human life.”
Speaking to The Indian Express, Dr. Kiran Rami said the patient needed oxygen in the range of eight to 10 liters per minute and was in a non-rebreather mask (NRBM) as the initial CT scan showed significant lung damage.
In the last week of September, Parmar tested negative for Covid-19. However, on October 3, a CT scan showed extensive fibroids in her lungs, Dr. Rami said. October was manageable with Parmar maintaining his oxygen saturation levels with assistive devices, he said.
On November 7, Parmar complained of chest pain and a severe respiratory problem, with an oxygen saturation level dropping to 80 percent. The CT scan showed a collapsed left lung or what is medically known as a pneumothorax. An intercostal drainage tube (ICD) was surgically inserted to drain air from the lungs, added Dr. Rami.
In 12 days, his lungs were back in shape and on November 20, Parmar was transferred to the non-Covid ICU with physiotherapy. After constant vital signs and reports of blood, and Parmar expressing a desire to recover at home, the 59-year-old was discharged on December 18.
Dr Rami added that “it is still a long battle” given the fibroids in his lungs even on the latest CT scan. Fatigue, muscle loss and exhaustion will remain for some time, he added.
Himangi (27), who is preparing for the government exams, said that as a single child, she stayed strong at home while her mother was in the hospital. “At first, my fiance would deliver food to his house, but that was not sustainable … we were very tense, no one knew what would happen … we are glad that he is back now …”
She said her mother, who was absent to be with Devendra, would soon return to work while Himangi would take over the care duties.
Meanwhile, Gujarat reported nine deaths due to Covid-19 on Friday, four of which were reported in the city of Ahmedabad. Three districts, Tapi, Valsad and Dangs, did not report a single new case. In three other districts where six cases were reported each (Botad, Devbhoomi Dwarka and Gir Somnath), no patients were discharged.
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