Reflections on Medicine and Life by Dr. S.P. Kalantri
Clinical stories and reflections on evidence-based medicine, research, and patient care.
Last week, the district collector called a meeting. The meeting was attended, among other, by local MLAs, MPs, bureaucrats and doctors from the two medical colleges in the district. The second wave had peaked and more patients were seeking hospital admissions than the hospital could provide. ICU beds were at a premium and hospitals were … Read the essay
In 2020, Covid virus— a black swan— wreaked havoc across the globe, killing more than 1.5 million people, infecting many more and causing economic devastation. And although research developments progressed very fast in 2020, the pandemic set the course of science afire. The coronavirus spread. And as fast did the scientists, researchers and public health activists move. No … Read the essay
India has the world’s second-largest COVID-19 outbreak. India desperately needs effective treatments. But the way the country’s drug regulator is handling potential therapies concerns many of us. The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has approved several repurposed drugs for ‘restricted emergency use’ for treating the disease. On what basis were these drugs approved? Was … Read the essay
My colleagues and I wrote our concern in Lancet Infect Dis about the inappropriate and irrational use of Hydroxychloroquine for preventing and treating Covid in India. We wrote this when the pandemic had just started. The Indian Council of Medical Research, under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, has recommended chemoprophylaxis with hydroxychloroquine for … Read the essay