Check-up for Covid-19? Get full body check done, too: Experts

A BMC medical staffer conducts RT-PCR and antigen tests at Jain Health Centre, Dadar on June 4. File pic

As COVID-19 cases are rising again, health experts are of the opinion that people, while getting screened for COVID, should also get a basic health check-up done, as majority of the population do not get regular health check-ups and thus are unaware of any underlying comorbid condition they may have. They also added that the civic body and public health department, while doing door-to-door screening for the infection, could also test citizens for basic health conditions such as blood sugar, kidney and liver function among others. They said the data from this will help the authorities come up with better healthcare plans and help arrest the spread as well as monitor high-risk patients better.

Dr Wiqar Shaikh, professor of Medicine, Grant Medical College and Sir J J Group of Hospitals, expressed concerns about people with comorbidities not being traced and added that the infection may prove severe for such people, leading to prolonged hospitalisation or even death.

He quoted an article published in the British Medical Journal on June 15 which concluded that the risk is highest in people suffering from diabetes, obesity and mental disorders. Dr Shaikh also quoted the article which stated that 20 per cent people worldwide are estimated to be at higher risk of adverse COVID outcomes due to comorbidities and that the risk of death due to COVID-19 in patients with comorbidities is four-fold in the age group of 50 to 64 years and 10-fold in the age group above 85 years.

An Indian study, published in the journal Biomed Research International on April 6, concluded that in India, the risk of complications increases with comorbidities and the effect is magnified due to the contribution of single or multiple comorbid conditions. The study also concluded that diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and chronic kidney disease conferred the most severity in COVID-19 associated with an increase in hospital stay as well as an increase in deaths, said Dr Shaikh.

Dr Shaikh asked the authorities to wake up and insisted that a door-to-door survey be conducted urgently to enumerate those who have comorbidities as well as those who have fever. He added, "The civic body along with conducting door-to-door RT-PCR tests, should also screen people from slums, chawls, etc. for basic comorbidities by doing routine blood tests which will help ascertain the high-risk category of people. Such basic tests are cheap and won't pinch the common man."

Dr Santosh Bansode, Head of the Department, Emergency Medicine, Wockhardt hospitals, said, "Most people in our country don't do preventive health check-ups and don't know what comorbidities they may have. We have seen that people with comorbidities suffer more, so I feel that along with COVID tests, the government should do basic blood tests like blood sugar, creatinine level for kidney, liver function tests so that we know which residential pockets have more people with comorbidities, so we can keep advanced COVID centres with all facilities to tackle serious illness ready."

Dr Ketan Vagholkar, Professor of Surgery, at DY Patil Medical college, is also of the opinion that citizens should get basic health check-up done as "this will enable the authorities to identify high-risk groups requiring prompt and urgent medical attention, in case of being diagnosed with COVID-19. Health authorities, while conducting door-to-door screenings should also consider free screening for comorbidities in areas which have a vulnerable population."

20
Percentage of people globally at risk of adverse COVID outcomes