City hospital gets approval to treat COVID-19 patients with low dose radiation

Guru Hospital in Madurai has obtained the approval for low dose radiation for treating COVID-19 positive patients.

A press release from S. G. Balamurugan, an oncologist from the hospital, said that one of the major reasons for fatalities in the second wave was systemic inflammation. The available treatment for this was increasing the oxygen supply to patients. However, this was not viable due to the sudden spike in positive cases. Also, there was a shortage in availability of drugs, oxygen and other medical equipment.

According to the release, Guru Hospital has already obtained the ethical board’s approval to carry out the trial. Approval has also been obtained from Clinical Trials Registry – India (CTRI).

Another viable solution is the low dose radiation for the whole lungs. This method has been used to treat pneumonia patients.

Under this treatment the patients will be treated with a low radiation dose for both lungs in a single day. This treatment with the help of radiotherapy LINAC is completely non-invasive.

The AIIMS Delhi has already tried this treatment and has found positive results.