Bhubaneswar: Doctors who are part of the state government’s awareness programme on COVID-19 have said that diabetes patients who have kept their sugar levels under control are in a better position to fight the novel coronavirus.
Anuj Kumar Baliarsingh, an endocrinologist at SCB Medical College and Hospital, said that diabetes patients are equally vulnerable to COVID-19 infection as others are. He, however, said that if their blood sugar levels are under control, then there is least to bother.
“Complications will develop if their blood sugar level is not under control when they are infected with COVID-19. The diabetics thus need to control their sugar levels to reduce the chances of complications,” he said.
All diabetes patients who have their sugar levels under control can opt for home isolation once they are infected with COVID-19, he added.
Mahendra Kumar Tripathy, a senior cardiologist at CARE Hospital here, said that heart patients are likely to get more complications if infected with the virus. He said, “People with cardiovascular diseases can see more impact of COVID on their system. Such patients may see some complications if they are infected with the disease. Their blood vessels may see some blockages.”
He also added, “They need to track their symptoms like breathlessness and heart rate irregularities. Routine cardiac proceedings could be postponed in such times. But important and emergency cardiac surgeries could be done at these times.”
When asked about kidney patients on dialysis during the pandemic, Jayant Panda of Medicine department at SCB Medical College and Hospital said that for such patients who are under dialysis has now COVID earmarked dialysis machines.
“These are available in many government hospitals. All kidney patients who come to dialysis are first tested for COVID now. Kidney patients are administered dosage of their COVID drugs (if infected) as per their conditions,” he said.
