Latest news with #SreeChitraTirunalInstituteforMedicalSciencesandTechnology
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Health
- The Hindu
Kerala needs to support transplant patients for immunosuppressive therapy
Last July, 13-year-old Anushka with severe cardiomyopathy, her heart's pumping capacity reduced to just 18%, was nearly dying at Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, when a donor heart saved her life. This first paediatric heart transplant at SCTIMST was a much-celebrated event. A year later, Anushka is doing very well. But the last one year has been marked by anxiety, along with financial and emotional distress for her parents, Ramesh and Vijitha. They had to uproot themselves from their home town at Engandiyoor, Thrissur, to a small rented house in the capital city for her treatment. Anushka's case is just one example of how life-transforming and positive an experience organ transplant can be, for a patient and his/her family. But the road ahead is tough and scary for the family which is already in dire straits and which has to find close to Rs. 30,000 a month just for life-long immunosuppressive therapy to ensure the survival and best post-transplant outcome for their child Catastrophic health expenditure and rising out of pocket expenditure on health has been pushing families into impoverishment in Kerala . Post-transplant care is one such catastrophic health expenditure causing much financial distress to many families. Organ transplants are life-saving and life-transformative but it is just the beginning of a long road ahead, for the patient as well as the family. The high cost of immunosuppressant drugs a patient has to take for a lifetime, post-transplant, is not an affordable proposition to most families. The State Government has been promoting organ donation and transplantation in a big way since 2012-13 but even a decade later, there is no universal State-wide project which provides immunosuppressants free of cost or takes care of the financial burden incurred by organ transplant recipients for the same. There have indeed been some isolated initiatives by some district panchayats (Kollam, Ernakulam and Kannur) or NGOs and a token support through Kerala Social Security Mission for transplant patients, but this has not been enough. Kerala has fairly good survival rates for solid organ transplants, with the five-year valid kidney transplant survival rate pegged at 85.3% and that of liver transplants at 77.3%, according to a 2018 study. But non-adherence to immunosuppressive therapy because of financial constraints of families is increasingly becoming the single most cause of poor transplant outcome and organ rejection, which is extremely distressing, says Noble Gracious, Executive Director of K-SOTTO. Shammy Sajeev, a 43-year-old housewife from Changanassery, who underwent a renal transplant two years ago at Alappuzha Government Medical College Hospital is now back at the hospital because her transplanted kidney has failed. 'My father is an auto driver and he had donated one of his kidneys to my mother. We had to spend close to ₹14 lakh for her treatment, transplant and medicines. Her medicines cost about ₹10-15,000 every month. Because of extreme financial hardships, we were unable to buy her medicines for the last four months,' says her son, Abhishek, a Plus Two student, who has temporarily discontinued school now. The family knew that the immunosuppressants were important but they were in no position to borrow money anymore. Shammy will now have to go back to dialysis till another related donor as well as funds for the transplant can be arranged, he says. Maintenance immunosuppression drugs with antibacterial, antiviral prophylaxis varies from Rs. 20-30,000 per month in the first year for renal transplant patients, which stabilises to Rs. 8,000- 15,000 per month for subsequent years, for life. For liver transplant patients too, the approximate monthly medicine expenses would be around 15-20,000, according to doctors. The transplant patients would also have to spend another Rs. 10-15,000 per year for the routine check ups and blood tests that they need 'The State will have to think about a comprehensive project to ensure equitable access to free immunosuppressive therapy for those who really need it,' a senior Health official says. In Kerala, a majority of patients undergoing maintenance haemodialysis have some form of financial assistance or are being subsidised by the Government. But the care needs of a minority which has access to transplants is something the State has to prioritise. Non-adherence to immunosuppressive therapy because of financial barriers resulting in the waste of precious organs is not something that any health system can afford, he says. A recent national review meeting on organ transplantation activities, jointly by National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation and the Union Health Ministry had pointed out that the high cost of immunosuppressant drugs was a significant concern as patients often do not get financial support for drugs beyond the first year. It had strongly recommended that liver and heart transplantation, including the lifelong cost of immunosuppressants for post-transplant recipients, be comprehensively included under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana scheme
Time of India
10-06-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Study to explore impact of indoor air pollution on heart failure patients
T'puram: Air pollution is increasingly being recognised as a serious threat to heart health, contributing to heart failure and other cardiovascular conditions. To explore whether cleaner indoor air can lead to better health outcomes for heart failure patients, the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) launched a new study. The research is part of the Indo-US collaborative agreement on environmental and occupational health and focuses on one key question: Can reducing indoor air pollution improve the health of people with heart failure? The study is being carried out at three major medical centres in India: All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi; Dayanand Medical College (DMC), Ludhiana; and SCTIMST, Trivandrum. As part of the study, air purifiers were installed in the homes of 10 heart failure patients in Trivandrum and Kollam districts. The plan is to expand this number and install a total of 200 air purifiers in patients' homes across these districts. "Air pollution is often seen as a problem of cities and traffic, but indoor air pollution is equally dangerous, especially in places where people spend most of their time — their homes. For patients with heart failure, who are particularly vulnerable to environmental stressors, breathing cleaner air could significantly reduce complications, hospitalisations, and even death," Dr Harikrishnan S, the principal investigator, said. He said if successful, it could lead to new guidelines for managing heart failure, emphasising the importance of air quality at home. It may also inform national health policies, making air purifiers a potential part of patient care for high-risk groups. The findings could benefit millions of people living in polluted regions, not just in India, but globally. With heart disease being the leading cause of death in India, innovative, evidence-based interventions are urgently needed. By focusing on the connection between clean air and cardiac health, this research places India at the forefront of an emerging area of public health. SCTIMST and its partners are hopeful that the study will provide valuable data to shape the future of care for heart failure patients — one breath at a time, Dr Harikrishnan added.
United News of India
09-06-2025
- Health
- United News of India
Emergency surgeries stopped at country's prestigious Sree Chitra Institute
Thiruvananthapuram, June 9 (UNI) Several emergency surgeries were stopped indefinitely due to a shortage of equipment at the country's prestigious 'Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST). Surgeries in the Interventional Radiology department were stopped for the last few days as the patients admitted for emergency surgeries have also been discharged, sources told UNI. The companies supplying equipment say that they are not able to supply it at the old rate following the increase in price of foreign-made surgical equipment. Sree Chithira purchases surgical equipment only through the Government e Marketplace (GeM) Portal as per the Central Government's instructions. There is also a serious allegation that an unholy nexus between the supply companies demanding a price hike of surgical equipment and a top few in the Institute led to the current crisis. UNI DS ARN
New Indian Express
05-06-2025
- Health
- New Indian Express
Sree Chitra to explore link between indoor air pollution, heart health
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Over the next year, 200 heart patients in Kerala will sleep with a drum-sized cylindrical air purifier beside their beds. This is part of a major study being undertaken by the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) to explore the link between indoor air pollution and heart health. The air purifiers -- supplied by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi -- will continuously monitor indoor air quality even as clinicians track each patient's heart condition. The goal: to understand whether cleaner indoor air can reduce complications in people suffering from heart failure. The Kerala-based project is part of a larger multi-centre research initiative involving AIIMS, New Delhi, and the Dayanand Medical College, Ludhiana, in Punjab -- regions known for far worse air quality than Kerala. Funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the study is significant as cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in India. 'Air pollution is not just a city or traffic issue. Indoor air, where people spend a majority of their time, can be just as hazardous, especially for those with heart failure,' Dr Harikrishnan S, principal investigator and professor of cardiology at SCTIMST, told TNIE. 'This study asks a crucial question: can reducing indoor air pollution improve outcomes for patients with heart failure?' Each home will be equipped with one of two types of purifiers, distributed randomly. One has a basic bacterial filter while the other comes with both bacterial and dust filters. The devices will measure pollutants from environmental sources and household practices such as cooking. 'Patients will return for clinical review every three months, during which doctors will assess changes in their heart function, specifically the heart's pumping efficiency,' Dr Harikrishnan said. A baseline reading from a central monitor installed at SCTIMST will help interpret the data collected by the homebased machines.
New Indian Express
05-06-2025
- Health
- New Indian Express
How does air pollution affect heart? Sree Chitra to find out with purifiers
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Over the next year, 200 heart patients in Kerala will sleep with a drum-sized cylindrical air purifier beside their beds. This is part of a major study being undertaken by the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) to explore the link between indoor air pollution and heart health. The air purifiers -- supplied by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi -- will continuously monitor indoor air quality even as clinicians track each patient's heart condition. The goal: to understand whether cleaner indoor air can reduce complications in people suffering from heart failure. The Kerala-based project is part of a larger multi-centre research initiative involving AIIMS, New Delhi, and the Dayanand Medical College, Ludhiana, in Punjab -- regions known for far worse air quality than Kerala. Funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the study is significant as cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in India. 'Air pollution is not just a city or traffic issue. Indoor air, where people spend a majority of their time, can be just as hazardous, especially for those with heart failure,' Dr Harikrishnan S, principal investigator and professor of cardiology at SCTIMST, told TNIE. 'This study asks a crucial question: can reducing indoor air pollution improve outcomes for patients with heart failure?' Each home will be equipped with one of two types of purifiers, distributed randomly. One has a basic bacterial filter while the other comes with both bacterial and dust filters. The devices will measure pollutants from environmental sources and household practices such as cooking. 'Patients will return for clinical review every three months, during which doctors will assess changes in their heart function, specifically the heart's pumping efficiency,' Dr Harikrishnan said. A baseline reading from a central monitor installed at SCTIMST will help interpret the data collected by the homebased machines.
