By Joymala Bagchi |
Updated: December 14, 2020 1:00 PM IST
New Delhi [India], Dec 14 (ANI): In a post-COVID recovery, ear, nose, and throat surgeons at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital have encountered more than 12 cases of coronavirus caused by the deadly mucormycosis fungus in 15 days, causing loss of sight , removal of the nose and jaw. bone and 50 percent mortality, where there is brain involvement.
Sir Ganga Ram’s Otolaryngology and Eyes team has had to perform a resection procedure on about 10 patients in the past fortnight, and about 50 percent have lost their sight permanently. Five of these patients required intensive care support due to other associated complications. So far, there have also been five unfortunate deaths in this subgroup, according to the official version of Ganga Ram Hospital.
According to experts, patients with COVID-19 are more susceptible to this virus, adding that it is in the air. They say that it is a ubiquitous fungus and is present in the plant, animals and air, but it is attacking patients recovered from covid because they have been administered steroids and have comorbidities, which are getting worse.
Dr Manish Munjal, Senior Otolaryngologist Surgeon at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, told ANI: “This is a virus and it occurs in people with weak immune systems. This fungus enters the body and destroys the part it came from. Patients they are given a large dose of steroids to slow the cytokine storm that allows opportunistic fungal infections like deadly mucormycosis to enter the body. “
“It allows mucormycosis to travel through the root of the nose to the eyes and brain and, if undetected, can cause death in more than 50% of cases within days. In addition, it can cause severe loss of medical morbidities such as loss of eyes, jaw bones and cosmetic disfigurement, ”said Dr. Munjal.
If caught early, the loss can be prevented through early clinical intervention.
According to Dr. Shaloo Bageja, Senior Ophthalmic Surgeon at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, “Orbital involvement is a serious development in the course of this disease, pointing not only towards the possibility of permanent loss of sight but also of life because brain involvement is the main cause of death in mucormycosis “.
Symptoms are numbness of the face, blockages on one side of the nose, or swelling of the eyes or pain. The otolaryngologist surgeon here takes samples for culture and begins definitive medical treatment that could prevent medical loss.
However, the doctors stated that the treatment should be early and fast, as the patients are already weakened by the covid and require a long hospitalization. (AND ME)
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