Allied hospitals receive over 30,000 patients every summer

Health education — a must to avoid burden of gastroenteritis

Rawalpindi

Health experts believe that by creating sufficient awareness among public about preventive measures to avoid gastroenteritis, the incidence of infection among population in the district can be controlled to a significant level.

Gastroenteritis causes extraordinary burden of patients on public sector healthcare facilities in this region of the country particularly the three teaching hospitals in town every year in summer.

Data collected by ‘The News’ has revealed that the allied hospitals in town including Holy Family Hospital, Benazir Bhutto Hospital and District Headquarters Hospital receive 30,000 to 40,000 cases of gastroenteritis every year in summer.

Data also reveals that 10 to 15 per cent of the total patients reaching allied hospitals with gastroenteritis needs admission and majority of these cases are of children.

The three teaching hospitals in town have already started receiving significant number of cases of gastroenteritis while up to 30 per cent of all child cases being presented to paediatrics departments of the allied hospitals are with gastro or related infections.

Complications of gastroenteritis claim a number of lives every year in the country and according to health experts, the major reasons behind death among gastroenteritis patients include late presentation to the hospitals, acute kidney failures and ignorance of the patients and their families.

Gastroenteritis (also known as gastro) is an infection of stomach and intestine. It is a group of diseases caused by various viruses, bacteria, their toxins and parasites. The most common symptoms are diarrhoea and vomiting.

Deaths from condition are common in the developing world like Pakistan especially in children under five years of age and it is mainly because of unawareness among parents, said Head of paediatrics Department at Rawalpindi Medical College Professor Dr. Rai Asghar.

Poor hygienic conditions at food places and vendors contaminate locally prepared drinks and foodstuff while flies in summer help spreading infections further because of sale of uncovered food, cut fruits and uncovered drinks and these must be avoided, he said.

He added that the outbreak of gastroenteritis can be avoided with the use of clean drinking water and by avoiding consumption of contaminated foodstuff. Boiled water after rolling boiled for at least five minutes should be consumed throughout summer to avoid seasonal infections including gastro, he said.

Chlorination of drinking water can minimise the number of gastro cases to a significant extent and it is need of the time to create awareness among public on the need of chlorination of water wells, said RMC Principal Professor Muhammad Umar while talking to ‘The News’.

He said people should be aware of the fact that hot and humid weather allows bacteria to grow faster particularly the bacteria causing gastroenteritis.

According to Dr. Shafiq Sarwar, there is a need to create awareness among public on danger signs and factors that include intractable vomiting, altered consciousness, decreased or absent urine formation, diarrhoea with bleeding, post diarrhoea obstruction and intestinal perforation and age of patient over 65 years or below five years. If any of these factors are present, the patient must be taken immediately to hospital for lifesaving management, he said.

Health experts say that Oral Rehydration Salt (ORS) is the standard therapy for a patient suffering from diarrhoea. Many studies have revealed that initial six hours of the onset of acute gastro is the golden time to save the life and gastrointestinal tract of the patient. If a patient is treated within six hours with IV fluids and medicine, the chances of complications are reduced to less than five per cent.