Viral fever cases in OPD rise, but hospitalisations remain low in Bengaluru

Bengaluru hospitals are reporting high numbers of fever patients in the OPD, but hospitalisations remain relatively low. Admissions are mostly in general beds rather than the ICU.

At the government-run Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases (RGICD), while Outpatient Department (OPD) cases have increased by 10-15 per cent compared to January numbers, hospitalisation has increased by just 5 per cent, hospital director Dr C Nagaraja says. Most patients are in the ward on oxygen support. In the case of patients with prolonged illness, samples are sent for Covid and flu-panel tests (including H3N2 and H1N1), he added.

Though bed occupancy by fever patients has increased, there’s no bed shortage.

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At Fortis Hospitals, Cunningham Road, 15-20 per cent of the total beds are occupied by fever patients, says Dr Aditya S Chowti, Senior Consultant-Internal Medicine. “Only those with severe symptoms and secondary respiratory infections are hospitalised. Among them, only those with comorbidities usually need the ICU.”

Across the five Fortis Hospitals in Bengaluru, 1,000-1,200 patients came with flu-like symptoms in the past three weeks, of whom around 500 were hospitalised, he says.

At Aster CMI Hospital, around 25 per cent of the current medical (non-surgical) admissions are of viral fever patients, says Dr Parimala V Thirumalesh, Senior Consultant-Paediatrics.

She added that 10 out of nearly 70 children she sees daily are admitted for viral fever. “These are mostly children with pre-existing wheezing issues that get exacerbated. While adenovirus cases were higher among children earlier, now we see more flu cases.”

Dr Ravindra Mehta, Chief of Pulmonology at Apollo Hospitals, says, “Not more than 5 per cent of those who come with viral fever are getting admitted.”

Dr Satyanarayana Mysore, HOD-Pulmonology at Manipal Hospitals, said that most patients are managed on an outpatient basis, except for immunocompromised and risk groups.