Over 2,500 gastro patients visit PIMS in Ramazan

Islamabad: Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences has received over 2,500 patients with gastroenteritis, the water and food-borne infections, in the first four days of holy month of Ramazan.

Majority of the patients being reported at PIMS with gastro are those who are fasting and it was observed that they contracted water and food-borne infections mainly because of carelessness in eating either at the time of ‘Sehr’ or ‘Iftar’, said Deputy Director at PIMS Dr. Waseem Ahmed Khawaja while talking to ‘The News’ on Sunday.

He added the PIMS received a total of well over, 3,000 patients with gastro since the first of Ramazan this year however nearly 500 of the patients were children below the age of 12 years.

He said that on average, as many as 500 to 700 patients with gastro were reaching PIMS daily of which 20 per cent were found to be suffering from severe dehydration and they needed admission to the hospital.

He added that nearly 50 per cent of all cases of gastro being reported at the PIMS reach hospital in emergency within an hour after ‘Sehr’ in the morning or after ‘Iftar’, in the evening. He said majority of patients being reported at PIMS with gastro are with electrolyte imbalance and the hospital has to give intravenous fluids for rehydration to over 50 per cent of the gastro patients reaching hospital.