Ventilation is not a treatment, but a support system

Aurangabad, Aug 20:

“ There is a misconception among the people that when a patient is administered a ventilator, he is saved. However, ventilation is not a treatment but a support system. There are several aspects dependent on the life of the patient including the medicines, and immunity of the patient. Hence, there is a need to create awareness among the people to avert the attacks on the doctors”, opined the national president of the Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine (ISCCM) Dr Rajesh Mishra while speaking to the newsmen during the 2-day workshop on ‘Mechanical Ventilation: Basic and Advanced’ organised by ISCCM, Aurangabad branch here on Saturday.

Aurangabad Municipal Corporation medical officer Dr Paras Mandlecha, Senior ICU specialist Dr Sadhana Kulkarni, national general secretary Dr Rajesh Pande, Dr Ghansham Jagatkar, organising committee chairman Dr Shrikant Sahasrabuddhe, secretary Dr Sharad Biradar and Dr Ganesh Deshpande were present on the dais during the inaugural function.

Dr Mishra further said, people have a misconception that the doctors keep the patient on a ventilator even after he died for grabbing money. However, it is not the condition, ventilator plays a major role in saving the life of the patient. It is administered only when the patient has lesser breath or no breath at all. There are examples that several patients who were on ventilators for six months or for a year and then completely recovered and now leading a normal life, he said.

In the first session, Dr Mishra delivered a lecture on applied respiratory physiology and informed the doctors and the students about the pressure exerted on the lungs. How to administer ventilator and to what amount.

Dr Pande speaking on ventilator graphics informed that good quality ventilators are manufactured in foreign countries and it is a grave need that the government should concentrate on medical engineering sectors so that good machines can be manufactured in the country.

Dr Jagatkar said that presently good quality ventilators are available in the metro cities. However, there is still a dearth of ventilators in rural areas and small cities. During the Corona Pandemic, a greater demand for ventilators was fulfilled at the government level. Still, there is a need for training and handling of ventilators for doctors and medical students.

Dr Sadhana Kulkarni said that the Corona pandemic brought the rich and poor patients to an equal level. It has highlighted the importance of ICU and also made all realized that ICU is not for the rich but serious patients.

Dr Sahasrabuddhe said that the workshop has been organised so that the doctors from the city and nearby areas should get guidance from the experts. Around 200 delegates including doctors and students will attend the two-day workshop, he said.

Dr Dhananjay Khatavkar, Gitesh Dalvi, Ashish Kundalwal, Aniket Chate, Ajinkya Deshmukh, Umesh Gawali, Rahul Chaudhary, Sudhir Deshpande, Prashant Walse, Amol Kulkarni, Avinash Tribhuvan, Vinod Gosavi, Nahul Patel, Yogesh Devgirikar and others are taking efforts for the success of the workshop.