Doctors point out that patients with Covid infection, who have recently been reported to be more prone to pneumonia, are in dire need of several ECMO machines. According to medical sources, a pregnant mother is in a critical condition due to Covid at Specific Treatment center for Covid pregnancies established in Easter Colombo Base Hospital in Mulleriyawa.
According to the medical sources, the need for this machine has arisen while giving her emergency treatment and steps are being taken to connect the patient’s mother to the one machine at the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital in Galle, which is currently the only machine that can be used for such patients.
An increase in the number of patients with various complications has been reported with the new Covid strain reports, and doctors have observed an increased risk of developing pneumonia with pulmonary inflammation.
These conditions can be fatal and the ECMO machine is able to supply the body with the oxygen it needs to treat them. However, at present these machines are only available at the Karapitiya Hospital in Galle and the Lady Ridgeway Children’s Hospital in Colombo.
When inquired about this from Dr. Mayuramana Devolage, Chief Obstetrician and Gynecologist at the National Center for the Treatment of Covid Infected Mothers, a mother who is currently in critical condition with a need for such a machine is being treated at the hospital.
Specialist Dr. Devalage said that steps have been taken to provide her with the necessary treatment and that steps should be taken to refer her to the Karapitiya Hospital. Preventing maternal deaths should be considered a priority in such an epidemic situation.
In view of the new developments in the Covid epidemic, it is imperative that at least the IDH Hospital or the Colombo East Base Hospital be provided with such a machine to save the lives of patients suffering from acute respiratory illnesses.
If at least five such machines are added to the hospital system in the country, it will be extremely important, he added.
