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My goal is to reach the end satisfied and at peace with my loved ones and my conscience.
We have two lives and the second begins when you realize you only have one.
My Soul Has A Hat By Mario de Andrade.
Here is an update on this from my critical care team looking after nearly 32 new cases of Covid currently admitted to the hospital.
The presentation is with fever for most, lasting only a few days. Various types of upper respiratory symptoms including hoarse voice and throat pain (laryngitis > pharyngitis), which also go away within a day or two.
But here is the main symptom. Many are coming in with diarrhea. Painless, watery stools for a day or two followed by severe lethargy or fatigue. Lethargy can persist for weeks post discharge from hospital.
So any patient comes with unexplained diarrhea, please check for Covid 19. The most common variant here is Omicron Jn.1 as per experts here.
Now there are patients landing up in the ICU. But they are not going to the ICU because of severe Covid or because of pneumonia...pneumonia is almost nil in these patients.
They are going to ICU because their pre-existing chronic diseases are worsening once Covid strikes.
For example, patients entering ICU because of a major cardiac event or worsening diabetes. One of my patients had to be in a high dependency unit because he developed a reactivation of chronic hepatitis B virus and developed severe jaundice after he got infected with Covid. So the chronic metabolic disease, heart and brain disease and other oee existing disease worsening is the main concern for ICU admission and not direct Covid related severe disease.
The majority of patients are recovering. Many are shifted out of the ICU and are on follow up. Major problems noted during follow up is weakness, low mood, poor sleep, recurrent hives and some with effort intolerance, that is even the mildest of activity makes them breathless and tired. Sleeping does not restore energy. No idea how long this is going to be.
For any Bengali, this face needs no introduction — Bantul the Great. But during the India–Pakistan wars of the last century that split a subcontinent and birthed a nation, this comic book hero became something else: a symbol of hope and resistance.
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