Allied hospitals register over 1,400 pneumonia cases, 6,000 plus patients with ARIs

Rawalpindi:Acute respiratory infections (ARIs) and pneumonia, a more fatal form of respiratory tract infection, have been hitting the population badly in this region of the country and the number of patients being reported at the three allied hospitals in town with the ARIs is registering a tremendous increase.

Data collected by ‘The News’ on Tuesday has revealed that the three allied hospitals in town including Holy Family Hospital, Benazir Bhutto Hospital and Rawalpindi Teaching Hospital have received well over 6,000 patients with acute respiratory infections in the last eight weeks while as many as 1406 patients have been reported with pneumonia at the medicine departments of the three hospitals from December 1, 2024 to date.

Data also reveals that the incidences of ARIs and pneumonia among the adult population have registered a sharp increase in January as compared to the number of cases reported in December last year. As many as 14 patients were diagnosed with pneumonia at BBH in December while in January so far, the number of pneumonia cases registered with the BBH is 167.

Principal Rawalpindi Medical College and In-charge Allied Hospitals Professor Dr. Jahangir Sarwar Khan informed ‘The News’ on Tuesday that in the last eight weeks, a total of 6002 patients with serious complications of ARIs have been reported at the three hospitals including 3,010 cases at BBH, 2,900 cases at HFH and 91 at RTH. The RTH, however, has diagnosed only 52 cases with pneumonia while HFH and BBH have diagnosed as many as 1173 and 181 pneumonia cases respectively.

He added that it is time for the general public to take extraordinary measures to avoid ARIs. All patients suffering from cough, fever, lethargy and thick viscid sputum for over three days should undergo a complete check-up and have chest X RAY if required to avoid complications of the infections they have contracted.

It is important that the ARIs that are classified as upper respiratory tract infections or lower respiratory tract infections including pneumonia are the major causes of mortality among elderly people especially in developing countries including Pakistan. Experts believe that according to rough estimates, 30 per cent mortality among aged persons can be attributed to respiratory tract infections predominantly pneumonia associated.

In dry and cold weather conditions like the existing one, the atmosphere is filled with pollutants including dust and toxins that may cause serious respiratory tract infections among the population. The most fatal and dangerous complications of ARIs are pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome, in which a patient with chest infection may not maintain oxygenation level due to lungs’ dysfunction. The accumulation of fluid and secretions in airspaces impair the transfer of oxygen to blood.

Experts say that such patients should immediately report to the nearest healthcare facility. Patients having severe air hunger and suffocation must undergo a complete checkup to avoid losses.