Team constituted at GMCH for treating first post covid Black Fungus patient of Barak Valley

A few days back Silchar Medical College and Hospital referred Barak Valley’s first post covid patient suffering from Mucormycosis to Guwahati Medical College and Hospital for better treatment. The patient was presented to SMCH on May 26 with post-covid complications. Shortness of breath, vision difficulty, headache and a protruding red eye were his primary complications.

Upon receiving the patient, the doctors performed nasal endoscopy and KOH (Potassium Hydroxide) test which revealed that the patient who came from Karimganj is positive for Black Fungus. The patient was on oxygen support and based on clinical supervision, the doctors started his treatment for Black Fungus. The patient’s condition was deemed to be critical at that time. However, after initial treatment at SMCH his condition improved drastically and he was able to breathe in normal room air.

The patient was subsequently referred to Guwahati Medical College and Hospital last Saturday for advanced treatment owing to lack of neurosurgical facilites at SMCH as his brain was also involved alongwith his nose and eye due to Mucormycosis or what is commonly referred to as Black Fungus.

A team has now been constituted at Guwahati Medical College and Hospital for supervising his treatment procedure. The team consists of :

1) Dr. B.K. Baishya, Professor and HOD, Neurosurgery as the Chairman

2) Dr. Basanta Hazarika, Professor of Pulmonary Medicine as the Member Secretary

3) Dr. Bharati Gogoi, Professor and HOD, Opthalmology as a Member

4) Dr. Kabita Kalita, Professor and HOD, Plastic Surgery as a Member

5) Dr. Lahari Saikia, Professor and HOD, Microbiology as a Member

6) Dr. Kalpana Sharma, Professor and HOD, ENT as a Member

7) Dr. Anuradha Deori, Professor of Medicine as a Member

Making a reference to the patient, Vice Principal of SMCH, Dr. Bhaskar Gupta said, “We made a contact with him. He is stable at present and his physical symptoms have reduced now. The task force constituted at GMCH recommended for conservative treatment only and no decision regarding surgical debridement has been taken till now.”