38 patients in JNMC, none serious

NAGPUR: Patients with raised creatinine levels (kidney problem) in blood from Asola village in Yavatmal district are continuing to pour in Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College (JNMC), Sawangi Meghe, located at about 110km from the village.
Over 14 residents of Asola village have died apparently due to kidney failure in the last few years and many more are complaining of abdominal pain and bodyache.
On Monday, there were 38 patients admitted in JNMC hospital. Dr Chandrashekhar Mahakalkar, chief medical superintendent of the hospital, told TOI these admissions were from March 10 and the patients came with symptoms of bodyache, abdominal pain, vertigo, urinary tract infection, osteoarthritis and lumbar disc disease, and loss of appetite. “These cases were screened for problems in the hospital by our doctors who had gone to the village after reading about the issue in the media. A third of them have high creatinine levels that indicates initiation of process of renal damage,” he said.
The normal creatinine levels must be between 0-1.4mg/decilit but 13 of those admitted had higher levels. Although there are no life-threatening cases among them, ultrasonography reports have shown early changes in nine patients. “There are cortico-medullary differentiations indicative of renal damage. We want to rule out all other reasons. There are patients with swollen ureter and kidney. So more investigations are needed.,” said Dr Mahakalkar.