Number of hospitalised Covid-19 patients declines in KP.

Byline: Ashfaq Yusufzai

PESHAWAR -- The number of Covid-19 patients visiting public sector hospitals for admission declined in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the last one week, according to a report of World Health Organisation.

On June 30, the total number of admitted patients was 907 and 362 of them were stable, 442 were critical, 83 were on ventilators while 11,667 were in isolation in home or elsewhere.

On July 6, the number of admitted patients dropped to 495 and 151 of them were stable, 269 were critical and 75 were on ventilators while 9,803 were in isolation.

The three major hospitals in Peshawar recorded decline in admission during the last one week. Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) has 47 patients compared to 70 a week before. In July, the number of patients admitted in isolation ward declined from average 80 to 63 in Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH).

In Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC), 105 out of 144 Covid-19 beds remain occupied, showing 50 per cent decline of patients as compared to last week.

Prof Khalid Mahmood of LRH attributes it to expertise of doctors

Prof Khalid Mahmood of medicine department at LRH attributes decrease in number of hospitalised patients to the experience of doctors in dealing Covid-19 patients.

The experience of managing Covid-19 patients has given more time to doctors to correct the oxygen deficiency in the blood and a better survival chance in recent months after onset of the pandemic.

'Many Covid-19 patients die not only because of the virus but also due to their own immune system responding in an exaggerated manner called cytokine storm. This stormy strong immune response not only kills the virus but also kills the patients,' said Prof Khalid.

He said that in February 2020, they didn't know how to prevent it from happening but after four months, they came to know that easily available medicines called steroids that doctors around the world were using for almost 80 years could be used to prevent the cytokine storm in some patients.

'Now, we also know that people with hypoxia become better just by making them lie down on their belly--...