Rehydration first for dengue patients, say docs
ABOUT 20 barangays in Cebu City are recommended by the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CDRRMC) to be placed under calamity status due to the high incidence of dengue fever cases in their areas.
Guadalupe tops the 20 barangays by Pasil, Sambag 2, T. Padilla, Pit-os, Cogon Ramos, Mabolo, Zapatera, Hipodromo, Suba, Tisa, Tinago, Labangon, Lahug, Bacayan, Poblacion-Pardo, Tejero, Sambag 1, San Nicolas and Inayawan.
The declaration of calamity status in some barangays will enable the allocation of the Local Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (LDRRMC) Fund to them.
About 818 dengue patients were admitted in the Cebu City Medical Center.
Of that number, 688 of them were children while 170 were adults, said Dr. Lee Jamed Maratas, head of the hospital’s pediatrics ward.
Dr. Raymund Ogan, a medical specialist in City Health Office, said there are 1,000 recorded dengue cases in Cebu City as of January to May this year with five deaths.
Maratas said the high incidence of dengue cases “reflect on the poor environmental sanitation.”
He called on city residents to clean their surroundings of stagnant water, a breeding ground for dengue-carrying mosquitoes
For their part officials of the Philippine Blood Coordinating Council (PBCC) said rehydration, not blood transfusion, should be prioritized as a cure for dengue patients.
“Blood transfusion is not the primary cure to dengue fever. Intravenous (IV) fluids for those confined in hospitals and oral rehydration when at home are more appropriate ways for management,” said PBCC president Dr. Edwin V. Rodriguez.
During the orum, Regional Director Dr. Asuncion M. Anden of the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7) stressed the need for public awareness.
“Rehydration is very important to properly address dengue to avoid unnecessary blood transfusion,” he said.
Rehydration may consist of drinking clean drinking water or a salt and sugar solution for patients.
Rodriguez said this would save more blood supply for patients who actually need it.
Dengue virus attacks fluids in one’s blood thus increasing hematocrit while platelet drops, he said.
Hematocrit is the proportion of the blood that consists of packed red blood cells while platelets are irregular, disc-shaped elements in the blood that assist in blood clotting.
Rodriguez said rehydration will address the cause of bleeding to stabilize hematocrit and platelet, the PBCC president continued.
The DOH declared dengue as a year-round disease in the country, even during the summer.
