Surge in patients with respiratory issues in past twodays, say doctors

With Delhi grappling with the season's worst air quality, there has been a surge in the number of patients with respiratory issues at city hospitals in the past two days, according to doctors. Resurgence of health issues has been noticed in patients whose conditions had stabilised, they added.

Doctors pointed out that persistent dry cough, fatigue, and difficulty inbreathing were common issues facing people ofall ages. Thesewere particularly severein the elderly, children, and those with comorbidities, they said.

There has been anincrease in patient footfall by 25% in the lastcouple of days, according to Dr. Neeraj Gupta, a pulmonologist at Safdarjung Hospital.

"Majority of the patients have existing respiratory issues. In the last two days, symptoms have resurfaced even in those who had been stabilised in the past few days," Mr.Gupta said.

He said majority of patients are those with issues such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma. Elderly patients and children have been frequenting the out-patient department, he added.

Doctors have advised patients to stay indoors, wear masks, and, in some cases, prescribed steroids to ease symptoms.

This spike in patients comes withina week after the Union Health Ministry informed the Rajya Sabha that there is no conclusive data to establish a direct correlation to death or disease due topollution.

'Conclusive evidence'

Doctors, however, said while there are no conclusive ways to determine that a death was caused by pollution, there are ample studies and conclusiveevidence to show the links.

"The lack of figures is probably because it is not easy to classify deaths. Hence, we do not write pollution as the reason for thedeath.However, we have seen how pollution is responsible for worsening symptoms among patients with existing health issues," said a pulmonologist at a Delhi hospital who did not wish to be named.

Another pulmonologist pointed to a U.S.-based think tank's 2023 study that stated that residents of Delhi are likely to lose 11.9 years of their lives if the current levels of air pollution in the city persist.

"There are enough studies to show that pollution leads to comorbidities and sometimes, unfortunately, to death. But because of many variables involved, it is difficult to ascertain if a person has solely died due to it," the doctor said.

Long-term impact

Dr. Manju Puri, Obstetrician and Gynaecologist in SGT Hospital, Gurugram, said that the worst pollution days have a long-term impact on pregnant women. "We might not see the results immediately, but there are many babies who have foetal distress, and we conduct a lot more C-Sections during this season," she said.

She added that while doctors witness it in their clinics, more studies need to be undertaken to show the direct links between pollution and foetal distress, and an increase in C-sections during pollution season.