On World Trauma Day, Apollo Children’s Hospital took the opportunity to recognize the “unsung heroes” of the emergency services who are available 24/7, selflessly catering to our emergency needs. According to WHO, trauma is the leading cause of death and disability across the world. World Trauma Day is recognized to consider the impact, prevention and treatment of traumatic injuries and deaths. Dr Prathap C Reddy, Chairman and Dr Preetha Reddy, Executive Vice Chairperson, were present at the event. A startling report by WHO reveals that one person dies on India’s roads every 5 minutes, projected to rise to one every 3 minutes by 2020. Exactly 2 years ago, a highway speeding accident left 14-year old Raghavi crippled, triggering the establishment of Paediatric Trauma Center at Apollo Children’s Hospital by Dr Indira Jayakumar, Senior Consultant Emergency & Intensive Care, Apollo Children’s Hospital. Doctors were able to save her life only because of timely intervention by emergency services. “It is unfortunate that more people die in road crashes than due to malaria or TB, but we choose to ignore this silent epidemic. India has the dubious distinction of having one of the worst road accident records in the world and we must collectively work together towards changing this image”” said Dr Preetha Reddy, Executive Vice Chairperson at the event. Not many are as lucky as Raghavi. Many bystanders prefer to ignore an accident and walk away fearing legal hassles and many victims do not get the appropriate treatment in time. Road Accidents apart, even unsafe living environment can lead to many fatal accidents. “Unsafe conditions at home could include careless stocking of kerosene, chemicals and other poisonous stuff. Even open electrical sockets, fire, hot liquids within reach of a child could be injurious. A bucket of water can also be fatal for a toddler. Open manholes, ill-lit roads, over-crowded school vans and autos can also lead to serious injuries,”” said Dr Indira. “”I am not saying we can totally prevent it but I am certain accidents can be significantly reduced if each one of us acts responsibly”, she added. Key Message discussed: Do not create a setting for an accident to happen. Avoid unsafe conditions and unsafe acts. If an accident does happen DO NOT PANIC. CALL THE AMBULANCE / CALL FOR HELP. Be a good Samaritan, offer help. First aid and CPR knowledge is definitely useful till help arrives.   WHO says 50% of road deaths occurring in developing countries could have been prevented with immediate pre-hospital care. While the city boasts of hospitals that provide quality healthcare services, very few cater to trauma needs of children who need specialised and quality treatment. Thanks to emergency services like 108 and 1066, timely action and effective first aid has now become a reality. Delegates present at the event opined that even though a lot is being said about “Golden Hour”, not much action takes place during that precious time because of delay by the public. A Good Samaritan law must be in place to insulate the helper who comes forward to aid the accident victim. With Diwali just a few days away, doctors advised the gathering to play safe and called upon the general public to come together to change the present scenario of road accidents and pro-actively engage in making the most of the “Golden Hour”.  

Using latest imaging techniques like Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR) and Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), the team found that a block in a patient had naturally recanalized and had multiple branches. The findings that were published in the Journal of American College of Cardiology highlights the case of a middle aged woman in whom the block was shown as mild in a regular angiogram. FFR helps gauge the intensity of the block and points out accurately if the patient needs a surgery or stent to correct it or not. FFR is calculated by analyzing the pressure of flow above and below a block. OCT is similar to doing an ultrasound inside a blood vessel but is guided by light instead of sound to detect vulnerable lipid rich plaques. A miniature probe which emits light is passed through the blood vessels and is used to detect clots and nature of calcification inside them. “She came in with severe chest pain but the angiogram showed only a 50% block which was treatable with drugs. But we had our suspicions and did a FFR only to find that her block was dangerous and there was a significant pressure drop. When we performed an OCT on her, there were multiple micro channels originating from the calcified block,” said Dr G Sengottuvelu, Senior Consultant, Department of Cardiology at Apollo Hospitals, Chennai who led the surgical team. The woman was treated with two stents and her blocks were removed. The doctors repeated the imaging techniques to ensure that her blood flow was restored to normalcy. “While technology helps understand heart blocks better, FFR and OCT imaging techniques have completely changed the management scenario,” said Dr N Sathyabhama, Director of Medical Services, Apollo Hospitals,Chennai.  

   

The Complete Heart Package includes: Electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG): Checks your heart’s electrical system and heart rhythm Exercise EKG: Checks for abnormal changes in your heart during exercise Makes sure your heart is healthy enough for physical activity, especially when you have not been physically active for a while and want to start a new exercise program. Sees how well you can handle exercise after you have had a heart attack or heart surgery Echocardiogram: Checks for signs of diseases that affect the walls and chambers of the heart Finds out how well your heart is pumping blood Regularly checks to see how your heart valves are working if you have a valve disease or you have an artificial valve Blood Work up: Includes a wide range of blood analysis that covers cholesterol, Sugars, Liver Function etc Chest X- Ray: Checks the Heart Structure and anomaly Ultrasound Screening, Whole Abdomen: Checks for aneurysm in the aorta. Evaluate liver functions and fat deposits in the liver. Checks for swelling of abdominal organs. Cardiologist Consultation: After the investigations are done, the cardiologist checks and talks to you. If required put together a treatment plan that may include medications, healthy lifestyle changes etc and refer you to the diet counselor Diet Counselling: There are so many foods to choose from today. How do you know which foods are healthy choices for you. Meet our diet counselor to understand your health and with their expertise create a super heart eating plan which suits your lifestyle. For more details contact: 040 6060 1066  

Apollo Hospitals and The International Congress on Patient Safety announce the Fourth edition of the International Congress on Patient Safety 2014 to be held on the 5th and 6th of September 2014. The Congress focuses on imparting knowledge on defining a strategy for patient safety improvement and imparting technical knowledge on the various aspects of patient safety. Patient safety lessons from across the globe and other industries will be discussed by eminent speakers thereby helping in setting objectives for the initiative “Patient Safety for 2030”. Click here for more details Event Schedule: Date & Time :05th and 06th September 2014 Venue :ITC Sonar, Kolkata  

HIMSS Analytics Asia Pacific announced that Apollo Specialty Hospital, Nandanam,Chennai has achieved Stage 6 of the HIMSS Analytics Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM).It is the fourth hospital from the Apollo Hospitals Group to achieve the internationally recognized benchmark. Apollo Specialty Hospitals is the first single specialty oncology hospital to have received this distinction. Only 8.49% of hospitals globally and less than 2.5% of hospitals in Asia Pacific have reached the stage 6 level. HIMSS Analytics developed the EMR Adoption Model℠ in 2005 as a methodology for evaluating the progress and impact of electronic medical record systems for hospitals in the HIMSS Analytics® Database. Tracking their progress on an 8-stage scale (0-7),hospitals can review implementation and utilization of IT applications.Stage 7,the highest stage,represents presence of an advanced electronic patient record, paperless environment and capability for community healthcare information exchange. Reaching Stage 6 is a result of focus, good direction and a steadfast commitment from leadership. Stage 6 institutions have established clear goals for improving safety, minimizing errors,and prioritizing IT implementations. Ms.Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director,Apollo Hospitals Group said, “Being at the forefront of healthcare delivery in the region, Apollo Hospitals had embraced technology early on to support its core organizational mission of making quality healthcare accessible to all and to empower provision of patient-centred clinical information across all its hospitals. An advanced health information system provides the underpinnings for decision-making and is critical to the journey of healing. HIMSS assists greatly in creating a clear frame work to assess the speed of evolution and we are pleased that four Apollo Hospitals have been recognized at level 6 which includes Apollo Speciality Hospital,the first single specialty Oncology hospital to have achieved this distinction. Ms.Reddy added, “A robust HIS impacts patient care and it is heartening that HIMSS and the clinician teams across Apollo Hospitals have been very successful in enhancing care outcomes and in developing architecture for greater efficiencies”. “”Congratulations to Apollo Specialty Hospital,Nandanam for achieving EMRAM Stage 6 accreditation in Asia Pacific”said Mr.JeremyBonfini,Vice President of HIMSS International. “”With four hospitals at EMRAM Stage 6, the Apollo Hospitals Group continues to serve as a role model that offers valuable best practices, insights and guidance for other healthcare providers in the region to emulate.”” Apollo Specialty Hospital,Nandanam will be officially recognised for their achievement at HIMSS AsiaPac14- Digital Healthcare Week (http://himssasiapac.org/14/)in Singapore,from the 15th to 18thSeptember 2014. For more information, please contact: Mr. Sukhjit Singh Manager, Marketing and Strategic Relations, HIMSS +91-92702594 Ms. RomiRajendran Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited +91-9444073206  

Apollo Hospitals, the pioneer of integrated healthcare delivery in India, along with the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) inaugurated an annual healthcare conference FICCI Heal 2014, with the theme “Innovation Enabling Access “at Delhi. The conference was held on 1st – 2nd September 2014 and focused on various opportunities and challenges to promote innovation which can change the current paradigms and move towards better, efficient and cheaper methods for accessible, affordable and quality healthcare in India. Elaborating on the conference theme, Ms. Sangita Reddy, Chairperson, FICCI Health Services Committee & Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group, said, “Across industries, disruptive innovations have brought forth greater efficiencies, efficacy, economy and higher quality. The healthcare sector too needs to nurture such innovations as they are the need of the hour. Our nation like most others across the world is standing at the precipice of crisis created by the burden of disease and woefully inadequate healthcare infrastructure. Over the last four years, FICCI has been making sincere efforts to encourage health innovators offering solutions to deliver care more effectively while improving access and quality from the grassroots level.” Dr. Didar Singh, Secretary General, FICCI while supporting the central theme of the conference announced, “We propose to create a virtual pooling of industry CSR funds by creating IISH (Indian Industry in Solidarity for Health) Kosh to channelize funds into priority areas in healthcare identified by the government. FICCI Health Services Committee is keen to work with the Health Ministry to develop a directory of healthcare activities based on the priorities of the government so that the CSR funds are channelized in the right direction to support the National Health Assurance mandate of the government”. To know more please visit: http://www.ficci-heal.com/  

An ICU admission is an extremely traumatic event for the patient as well as for their near and dear ones. To ensure maximum clinical care and to reduce the chances of infection, physical visits to ICU’s by relatives and friends are kept to the absolute minimum. It is also impractical for the primary consultant to make repeated physical visits to the ICU, in order to review the patients. The family would like a status report directly from the primary consultant in the presence of the patient. In an ICU setting sometimes, this is not always possible. The I-SEE-U™ facility has been designed with this in mind, to enable virtual Visits to individual ICU cubicles, both by consultants, relatives and friends using internet, through a PC, laptop and even a smart phone. The patient’s authorized relatives and friends can now virtually “”SEE”” an ICU patient by remotely switching on a camera installed over the ICU bed. Consultants can use this facility to make additional virtual visits 24/7 and remotely re-evaluate the patient in great detail. This facility would particularly be useful to NRI’s living abroad, who wish to actually see betterment in their near and dear in ICU. The consultant during a physical visit can also virtually interact with the relatives who will be in the Virtual Visit Room.  

Apollo Hospitals, Chennai has successfully performed a combined heart and double lung transplant on the oldest recipient recorded in the country’s medical history. The department of Cardiothoracic surgery at Apollo Hospitals, Chennai performed this rare surgery on a 67 year old, the patient is now on the road to complete recovery. Surgeries of this kind are very complex and rare and over the last 2 years only one patient over the age of 65 received a combined heart and lung transplant, anywhere in the world. The recipient, Mr.Hanifa from Kerala, was suffering from Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis with severe irreversible right heart failure (cor pulmonale) leading to a combined end stage heart and lung failure. He was completely dependent on oxygen and was put on the list for a heart and lung transplant. He was however admitted on a late evening with extreme breathlessness, very low oxygen content in his blood and a low blood pressure. Dr.Paul Ramesh, Senior Consultant, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Apollo Hospitals, Chennai said, “Hanifa is a strong willed person. He was clear that he would be put on a ventilator only if there was a prospect of a transplant and a possible, meaningful quality of life. He was fortunate that a matched donor was available within 12 hours. Thanks to the smooth coordination by the TNOS team of the Government of Tamilnadu and the provision of a quick transport of the heart and lungs by the efforts of the Chennai Traffic Police, it was possible to transplant both his heart and lungs in a smooth and efficient manner”. The team that performed this complex surgery comprised of Dr.Paul Ramesh, Senior Consultant; Dr.Sunder, Senior Consultant and Dr.Madan kumar Consultant, Cardiothoracic Surgery of Apollo Hospitals, Chennai.  

Apollo Hospitals collaborates with the Strand Centre for Genomics and Personalised Medicine through its own Sapien Biosciences to offer cutting-edge clinical genomic tests. These tests in Oncology, Cardiovascular disorders, Heritable eye diseases and Rare Genetic disorders shall be integrated into the clinical practice by Apollo’s subsidiary, Sapien Biosciences in partnership with Strand Life Sciences. These tests will help doctors diagnose diseases more precisely, identify the optimal treatment as well as monitor disease and treatment course for better outcomes. Genomics is integral to Apollo’s focus on research and innovations. Genomic testing involves analyses of patient genomes – genes and sequences of DNA/RNA. The analysis helps create better prognostic tools for improved disease screening and prevention strategies. The patient benefits from optimized clinical care, personalization of treatment and monitoring of outcomes. These tests come with comprehensive pre and post-test counselling to help patients and their physicians to integrate the tests results into the clinical care provided. Commenting on the partnership, Ms. Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals says, “Apollo has always believed that personalized medicine is the future of healthcare delivery. Our Chairman, Dr. P.C Reddy’s foresight of personalized health is becoming a reality today with the availability of such cutting-edge genomic tests. We are pleased that the Sapien team has drawn up a comprehensive plan for the introduction and integration of such diagnostic and genomic tests at Apollo. We are excited about this partnership with Strand Life Sciences. Under Dr. Vijay Chandru, Chairman & CEO, Strand Life Sciences, Strand is now translating their world-class expertise into the clinic through the introduction of these high-end genomic tests which will ultimately help us diagnose and treat patients with more precision and lesser suffering at Apollo.”  

Master Shivam had suffered from fever 5 months ago and later developed back pain leading to a deformity that made it difficult for him to walk. He also developed weakness in his legs and was unable to go to school or go out to play with friends. Later he was diagnosed to have tuberculosis of his spine and started treatment. As there was no benefit from the treatment with regards to his back pain and weakness, the family decided to come to Delhi for further treatment and explore the options of the latest treatments. Dr.Rajendra Prasad, Neurosurgeon, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals,New Delhi found that there was a collapse of his vertebra on the back at his chest level leading to compression of his spinal cord along with a large collection of pus in that area. Standard surgery involves a large cut in the chest and over the back with prolonged hospital stay. Pain after the procedure can make the recovery and return to normal activities slow. Robotic surgery had been performed in this area but not for this condition anywhere in the world. After review of the scans, robotic instrumentation and discussion, it was felt that the procedure can be attempted robotically and if successful , it would give the child the benefit of this latest technology. The family of the patient was counselled about the procedure and the fact that it has never been done before. They understood the risks and were keen on giving the benefit of the technology to their child. The child himself was excited about being the first child to undergo this procedure. The surgical team included Dr.Rajendra Prasad and Dr. Amit Kapoor from Neurosurgery and Dr Arun Prasad and Dr Abhishek Tiwari from Minimal Access Surgery, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi. The Robotic Surgery was performed on 15th July 2014. The procedure took about 2 hours and went off very well. Once he recovered from the procedure, the vertebras were fixed from behind a week later so as to enable early mobilization .He is now perfectly normal and healthy.  

A 34 year old patient with an unstable angina who was referred in for a bypass surgery alternatively underwent a simple keyhole angioplasty at Apollo Hospitals, Chennai. The procedure was completed in just 20 minutes. “The coronary angiogram taken at her native place revealed a 90 per cent critical narrowing of the left main coronary artery (LMCA), the main arterial trunk supplying the majority of the heart muscle due to high cholesterol levels. After discussing the options in detail, the patient opted for a non-surgical- keyhole angioplasty procedure. The procedure took just 20 minutes, the family and the patient were thrilled at the quick outcome, “said Dr. Y. Vijayachandra Reddy, senior Consultant and Interventional Cardiologist, Apollo Hospitals, Chennai who conducted the procedure. Dr.Reddy added, “The use of advanced techniques, new generation drug eluting stents and adjunctive imaging technology of IVUS (intravascular ultrasound) which allows a virtual view of the inside of arteries has helped make these procedures simple.”