Vijayapura: D-Dimer kits, essential in one of the four tests normally conducted in checking presence of the Covid-19 virus, is running out of stock in the district owing to limited supply.
According to some of the leading suppliers of testing kits and diagnostic materials of the district, many labs of the district are turning the patients away as they are not having D-Dimer kits for testing. “D-Dimer is one of the tests conducted to check the presence of Covid. D-Dimer values can help providers determine which COVID-19-positive patients. Today most of the doctors prefer to get this test conducted first when the patient shows any symptoms of Covid. The test gives near clarity whether the patient has Covid infection or not. But in the absence of kits, it is difficult to conduct the test and treat the patients immediately,” said one of the suppliers of D-Dimer kits on condition of anonymity. He added that even they are facing shortage of the kits too and are unable to supply to labs in the district.
It is learnt that some of the labs have limited stock of the kits and they need more in coming days. The district indeed has shortage of D-Dimer kits and that the government labs too are not getting enough supply of the kits from the government itself, admitted Deputy Commissioner P. Sunil Kumar and added that they are so far purchasing it from private suppliers. “We are indeed facing shortage of the kits as we are not getting supply from the government. Meanwhile, to meet our demand, we are purchasing it from local private suppliers to ensure that tests are conducted without interruption,” he clarified.
With regard to reports of shortage of ICU beds in government hospitals for critical Covid patients, he said that as of now, they have not faced any serious issues as the ICU beds are meeting the needs of patients. “We are still left with 2-3 ICU beds every day, but in case we need more, as per the norms, we will have to refer the patient to a private hospital where we have adequate ICU. As far as oxygenated beds are concerned, we have more than sufficient beds in government hospitals itself,” he said.
