Dr Rajiv Desai
An Educational Blog
NIPAH
Nipah: _____ Figure above shows burial of a victim of Nipah virus in Kozhikode, India. _____ Prologue: An outbreak of probable encephalitis hit Siliguri, India in 2001. All hell broke loose when a cardiologist by the name of Dr Ajit Maity and a nurse associated with Medinova Florence Nursing Home fell victim to this disease. It was reported that both had contracted it while treating a patient. A few other doctors, nurses and paramedics were taken severely ill in another hospital. Ten among those infected medics later died. Soon, Siliguri started resembling a ghost town. The roads were deserted, shops shut and schools were closed for a week. There was misinformation circulated based on rumour and gossip. But worst of all was that some doctors secretly fled. Some doctors were apprehended at Jalpaiguri Railway Station and Bagdogra Airports by citizens before they could slip away. Red-faced politicians had flown in […]
ORGAN DONATION & TRANSPLANTATION (ODT)
Organ Donation & Transplantation (ODT): ____ Jemima Layzell died of a brain aneurysm in 2012 and her organ donations have helped eight people including five children. ____ Prologue: In 1894, the surgeon Otto Lanz (1865–1935) warned his colleagues not to scoff at a treatment “which aims at replacing the organ that has lost its function in the organism”. Today, no one would doubt the seriousness of a surgeon who treats a disease by replacing an organ. However, it was only around 1900 that the idea of organ replacement became self-evident. The introduction of antibiotics, massive vaccinations of the general population to prevent infectious diseases, and organ transplantation may be considered the miracles of twentieth century medicine. Organ transplantation is the best therapy for terminal and irreversible organ failure. Transplantation has given many a new lease on life and, to many more, an extension that would have otherwise been impossible. […]
OXYGEN THERAPY
Oxygen (O2) Therapy: _____ While we inhale 21% of oxygen and 0.04% of carbon dioxide, we exhale 17% of oxygen and 4% of carbon dioxide. _____ Prologue: Oxygen (O2) is a vital element in human survival and plays a major role in a diverse range of biological and physiological processes. Oxygen therapy means using an oxygen cylinder or a machine to breathe in air that contains more oxygen than normal. Oxygen is widely available and commonly prescribed by medical and paramedical staff. In medical practice, it is among the most universally used agents for the treatment of critical illness and part of the routine treatment in acute shock and emergency medicine. Proper application of oxygen therapy and airway management is lifesaving. In the absence of O2 (hypoxia), cellular respiration ceases and irreversible cellular injury and death occur within minutes. Administered correctly it may be lifesaving. However, renaissance physician Paracelsus noted: […]
COMBAT CLIMATE CHANGE
Combat Climate Change (CCC): ______ A Houston interstate after Hurricane Harvey in August 2017 _______ Prologue: Recently more than 15,000 scientists from 184 countries issued ‘warning to humanity’. The scientists around the world are very concerned about the state of the world, the environmental situation and climate change. Experts say worldwide average temperatures have already risen 1 degree Celsius since pre-industrial times, largely due to carbon emissions from the United States and Europe over the past century. Many countries are already feeling the heat that is enveloping the globe, with dramatic floods, hurricanes and droughts across the world in recent months adding a sense of urgency to the climate talks. On June 1, President Donald Trump announced that the United States will pull out of the Paris Agreement, a 2015 deal to curb carbon emissions, invest in green technology, and take other steps to combat the existential threat of climate […]
DERAILMENT
DERAILMENT: _______ _______ Prologue: A tremor was followed by a “loud sound like an earthquake”. The carriages began to shake and inside them, passengers began falling on each other. Some carriages telescoped into each other, others rose vertically, “almost standing upright”. In a major train derailment accident, at least 23 passengers were killed and over 60 injured when 14 coaches of the Puri-Haridwar Utkal Express jumped the rails in Khatauli, India at 5.45 pm on19 August 2017 as seen in the figure above. Indian Railways has had the most derailments in a decade in 2016-17: 78 derailments with 193 people dead. On September 14, 2017 (coincidentally my birthday) Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe laid the foundation stone for $17 billion bullet train, the Jammu Tawi-New Delhi Rajdhani Express jumped the tracks at New Delhi station, the ninth derailment in 27 days, a consequence of […]
