Challenges in the delivery of critical care in India during the COVID-19 pandemic

Bharath Kumar Tirupakuzhi Vijayaraghavan; Sheila Nainan Myatra; Meghena Mathew; Nirmalyo Lodh; Jigeeshu Vasishtha Divatia; Naomi Hammond; Vivekanand Jha; Balasubramanian Venkatesh

doi:10.1177/1751143720952590

Challenges in the delivery of critical care in India during the COVID-19 pandemic

J Intensive Care Soc. 2021 Nov;22(4):342-348. doi: 10.1177/1751143720952590. Epub 2020 Aug 28.

Authors

Bharath Kumar Tirupakuzhi Vijayaraghavan^{1

2

3}, Sheila Nainan Myatra⁴, Meghena Mathew¹, Nirmalyo Lodh⁴, Jigeeshu Vasishtha Divatia⁴, Naomi Hammond^{5

6}, Vivekanand Jha^{3

7

8}, Balasubramanian Venkatesh^{5

9

10}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Critical Care, Apollo Hospitals, Chennai, India.
² Asia Pacific Sepsis Alliance, Newton, New South Wales, Australia.
³ The George Institute for Global Health, New Delhi, India.
⁴ Department of Anaesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain, Tata Memorial Hospital, Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai, India.
⁵ Division of Critical Care, The George Institute for Global Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
⁶ Malcom Fisher Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Royal North Shore Hospital, New South Wales, Australia.
⁷ School of Public Health, Imperial College, London, UK.
⁸ Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India.
⁹ Department of Critical Care Medicine, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia.
¹⁰ Wesley Hospital, Auchenflower, Brisbane, Australia.

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 cases in India continue to increase and are expected to peak over the next few weeks. Based on some projection models, India is expected to have more than 10 million cases by September 2020. The spectrum of disease can vary from mild upper respiratory tract symptoms to life-threatening acute respiratory distress syndrome and multi-organ failure requiring intensive care. Even if less than 5% of patients require critical care services, this will still rapidly overwhelm the healthcare system in a country, where intensive care services and resources are scarce and unevenly distributed. In this perspective article, we highlight the critical care preparedness of India for the pandemic and the associated challenges.

Keywords: COVID-19; India; critical care.