My Story of the Pandemic

Dr. Pramod Ingale - Dean ( Academics),Professor & Head, Dept. of Biochemistry, LTM Medical college & Hospital, Mumbai

The situation when pandemic started…

In March 2020, with the news of COVID-19 virus spreading from Wuhan to other parts of the globe, there was a lot of apprehension. Being one of the very busy tertiary medical facilities managed by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, we anticipated a lot of challenges. We were following the guidelines issued by various State and Central government. Nothing much was planned at this stage and lab work continued at its usual pace.

Initial struggle: With the sudden surge in the cases that were being reported in Mumbai, there was panic due to massive shortage of everything required to manage COVID-19 – hospital beds, oxygen, doctors and nurses. As per the initial guidelines, senior staff and staff with co-morbidities preferred to stay home. Further, due to complete lockdown, transportation was not available due to which many were unable to report to work. This increased the burden on the existing staff. It was also difficult to procure reagents and other consumables. Equipment maintenance too was at stake. 

Alterations in personal and professional life: None of us had the privilege of "work from home", and each one of us was at equal risk of contracting the disease. However, we had understood very clearly that that the only way to safeguard us and our families was to follow Covid appropriate behaviour and never let our guard down!  

Standing instructions were given to staff to stay at home and get investigated if they themselves or if any of their close contacts exhibited even the slightest symptoms of COVID-19.

Emotional breakdowns: Fear of contracting the disease or passing it on to a loved one plagued doctors. The shortage of resources, long wait for beds or oxygen and deaths also caused the desperate friends and families of patients to direct their anger at doctors, adding to the pressure on them. Losing some one dear was traumatizing.

Role played by peers, staff and family: Arranging hospital beds, ambulances, enquiring on hospital stay and fluctuating oxygen saturation levels had become a routine. However, this phase further united us as a team. We were there for each other. We knew that, this too shall pass.

Extra ordinary activity during the pandemic: Being an academic institute, we had the challenge of updating ourselves, and hence trainings were frequently conducted. Personal safety was given the topmost priority. Training on COVID-19 and lab protocols in COVID-19 were evolving at a frantic pace. Going through the latest research articles had become a routine. Subsequently, administrative approvals were taken to initiate investigations required to manage COVID-19. After initial hiccups of getting the reagent kits, everything streamlined and the services were offered uninterrupted. 

Brief about the Scientific Study done during this period: We also initiated one scientific study with Transasia during this period. The study involved the role of Thyroid Hormones on Cardiac Markers, Lipid Metabolism and Renal Function. We screened around 300 patients who visited the OPD. It was a difficult time, as when we initiated the project we had anticipated this to be completed in a short timeframe. However, once pandemic started the flow of non-COVID patients to speciality OPD decreased drastically. Samples were evaluated for triiodothyronine, thyroxine, thyroid-stimulating hormone; urea, creatinine, total cholesterol, triglyceride, Apo A, Apo B, HsCRP, LpA, LDL, HDL. Significant increase was observed in TG, LDL, Apo A1, Apo B, LpA and HsCRP levels, while HDL levels witnessed significant decrease. Increased cholesterol levels too were observed in hypothyroid patients, irrespective of renal function results. The study will shortly be published in one the prestigious international journals of repute.