Health

The eighth coronavirus-linked death in the country took place in Kolkata today. The patient, a 57-year-old, had no history of foreign travel, said sources in the private hospital where he was admitted - injecting concern about the chain of transmission. Inability to trace the chain of transmission indicates that the virus has entered the third stage. This was the seventh case of COVID-19 in the state, where the virus made a late appearance last week.The first patient detected in Bengal was a student who returned from UK. The young man was out and about and even visited a mall before…

Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals, Kolkata today introduced a health check programme that uses Artificial Intelligence and draws on a colossal repository of medical records to predict health risks from non-communicable diseases in a simple score sheet and pledges to bring the threat down to the threshold of safety. It also provides each patient with a personal health mentor to guide them through the process of investigations and remind them of the scheduled consultations and repeat tests to monitor the diminishing risk factors. The check-up programme, christened Apollo ProHealth, was formally launched today at Kolkata by Mr. Rana Dasgupta, CEO, AGHL along with…

 Insulin therapy is often a crucial part of diabetes management. Type 2 diabetes patients ultimately require insulin therapy in the course of the disease for effective glycemic control and injection technique remains crucial in the process. To enhance awareness on safe insulin injection practices, a multi-city educational campaign was organised by BD-India with leading endocrinologists onInsulin Injection Day. Insulin Injection Day commemorates the 98th anniversary of first successful insulin administration on 11th January 1922, at Toronto General Hospital, Canada. At the conference, Prof. Debasish Maji President, Calcutta Diabetes & Endocrine Foundation & Past President, Endocrine Society of India said, “The success of insulin injection therapy and the…

Much more than in the past, the number of pre-term babies is on the rise lately. WHO reveals that an estimated 15 million babies are born preterm. Dr. Sumita Saha, Consultant Paediatrician and NICU in-charge at Fortis Hospital Anandapur said, a baby is called as premature if he/she is born before 37 weeks of gestation period as against a normal term of 40 weeks. However, those born between 32-37 weeks generally do not need much support. Those born below 32 weeks are the ones who need a good amount of intensive care support. However, if born over 24 weeks, the…

Fortis Escorts Heart Institute (FEHI), New Delhi performed India's First Coronary Shockwave Lithotripsy to open up a severely blocked artery in a 67 year-old patient who had recently had a heart attack.  It was done by a team of doctors led by Dr Ashok Seth, Chairman, FEHI, New Delhi. The patient had 90 percent blocked artery which could not be opened by the standard technique balloon angioplasty at extremely high pressures with balloon bursting and it became impossible to open the blockage. Then the novel shockwave balloon was inserted inside the heart artery and sonic pulses delivered to break the…