Lucknow is grappling with a rapid surge in dengue cases, with an alarming 100 new cases reported every 48 hours. This staggering growth has put immense pressure on government hospitals, which are racing to expand their capacity to accommodate the influx of patients.
“Lok Bandhu Raj Narayan Hospital is feeling the strain of a surge in dengue cases, prompting the administration to expand its dengue ward by 10 beds to accommodate the influx of patients. This decision was made after the initial 12-bed ward proved insufficient,” said Lok Bandhu Raj Narayan Hospital director Dr Suresh Kaushal.
“Currently, our dengue ward has 14 patients, all of whom were diagnosed externally and referred to us, prompting us to expand capacity by 10 additional beds,” he added.
He said, “Six new active dengue cases were reported at Lok Bandhu Hospital as of Thursday morning. In anticipation of further growth, we are prepared to expand our dengue ward by 20-25 beds, with potential for additional expansion.”
“We are grappling with an unprecedented influx of dengue patients, each requiring a minimum 5-7 day observation period before discharge,” he informed.
Meanwhile, The Shyama Prasad Mukherjee (Civil) Hospital’s dengue unit, with 24 beds, is currently operating at near-full capacity
Balrampur Hospital is feeling the strain of accommodating more patients than initially planned, according to Dr. N.B. Singh, the hospital’s chief medical superintendent.
“Our hospital’s dengue ward has increased its capacity from 22 to 35 beds, following the addition of 13 extra beds,” he said.
“As of this morning (Thursday), there are 20 Active Cases in the Special Ward, Morning Count is Likely to Surge by Evening.”
Dr Singh said, “A marked increase in dengue cases has been recorded in the outpatient department, underpinned by our dual-testing approach, comprising card tests and ELISA tests,” he said. Both tests detect dengue virus, but the card test’s rapid 20-minute results outpace ELISA’s 4-hour processing time.
However, medicine department of the King George Medical University, currently 72 patients are undergoing treatment in the medical ward.
“Most of the patients tested positive for dengue while the remaining are malaria positive,” said Dr. K.K. Singh, faculty of general surgery, KGMU. “OPD Handles 50-70 Blood Samples Daily, with 10-12 Testing Positive for Dengue”
Dr Singh further said monitoring dengue patients for about a week is crucial to ensure their platelet count returns to normal and stabilizes, a process that typically takes three to four days. This careful observation helps prevent complications and allows medical professionals to intervene promptly if necessary.
Despite the rising number of cases, hospitals like King George Medical University (KGMU), Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences, and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee (Civil) Hospital haven’t had to expand their wards yet. However, doctors are concerned about the increasing cases and are taking proactive measures.
As Dr. NB Singh noted, “We’re working to accommodate as many patients as possible and preparing to expand our wards if needed. We’re also closely monitoring our medicine stock to ensure all patients with feverish symptoms get tested in our OPD,” said Dr NB Singh.
