Many Covid patients in home isolation ignore initial signs of complications and react only when the condition turns severe, doctors involved in Covid treatment in Calcutta have said.

Patients should consult a doctor immediately if the oxygen saturation level falls below 94 and they have breathlessness. Getting admitted to hospital at the right time can cure a patient quickly; late admission can even prove fatal, the doctors have said.

The tendency among some people to avoid going for a Covid test despite clear symptoms should be discouraged. People should get themselves tested so that the treatment is right and they should isolate themselves from others if they test positive for Covid-19.

The Indian Medical Association’s Bengal chapter held a meeting with senior health department officials on Tuesday regarding better management of patients in home isolation.

“The IMA will train doctors looking after patients in home isolation and update their knowledge,” Santanu Sen, the secretary of the IMA’s state chapter, said.

This is one way in which patients in home isolation can be better managed, Sen said.

The state government has engaged ASHA workers and self-help groups to make people more aware of what they should do when they stay isolated at home after testing positive for Covid-19. While ASHA workers have been doing the work for months, self-help groups have been engaged in awareness campaigns recently, a government official said.

“There are many patients who don’t consult any doctor when they are in home isolation. They ignore symptoms like breathlessness or dip in oxygen saturation levels,” Sudipto Mitra, a doctor and the chief executive officer of Peerless Hospital, said.

“When their condition becomes severe, they land up at hospitals. We have been encountering multiple patients reaching the hospital a week after having tested positive for the virus.”

Many people don’t even go for Covid tests but take medicines based on hearsay or messages received on WhastApp, Mitra said.

Rahul Jain, an internal medicine specialist at Belle Vue Clinic, urged people not to experiment at home. “There are people who despite having breathlessness are buying oxygen cylinders and taking oxygen at home. This should never be done without the supervision of a doctor. Speak to a doctor and follow their advice or visit a hospital when you feel there is any complication. Timely hospitalisation can cure people with multiple complications quickly whereas delayed hospitalisation can be fatal for someone who has ignored initial symptoms.”

Sanjib Bandyopadhyay, a doctor at Beleghata ID Hospital, said the hospital had received patients with oxygen saturation levels between 50 and 60. “That cannot happen in one day. It can happen only when someone has been neglecting the drop in the oxygen level in blood for many days.”

An oxygen saturation level of 94-95 is fine, he said.

Staying in touch with a doctor means more diagnostic tests can be done if needed. These tests will help determine the condition and prevent unnecessary hospitalisation, Bandyopadhyay said.

“A doctor can recommend tests like CT-chest, D-dimer, IL6 and Ferritin to patients in home isolation. These tests help determine various parameters; knowing which can be necessary for a doctor to change medicines and treat accordingly,” he said.

He cited the example of a patient who got admitted to hospital recently after spending a few days in home isolation. “The patient’s oxygen saturation level was normal but the CT-chest result was not good. The doctor advised hospitalisation. This was possible because the patient had stayed in touch with the doctor.”

A lot of people are now recovering at home and this has given rise to a lax attitude among some people, a public health specialist said. “They think they will get well just by staying in home isolation.”

People are getting cured by staying at home but under doctor supervision, a government official said.

Several doctors said they had seen people with multiple comorbidities not consulting a doctor while staying in home isolation. When complications arose, these people landed up at hospitals, the doctors said.