2 cured patients discharged from SMS hospital of Jaipur

COVID-19 Another 24-year-old patient also being given combination of swine flu, HIV and malaria drugs for treatment

JAIPUR: Two of the four coronavirus patients, who were cured of the viral infection, were discharged by the SMS hospital in Jaipur on Tuesday evening.

The patients, a 70-year-old Italian woman and an 85-year-old Jaipur resident, were treated by the hospital doctors reportedly through a combination of swine flu, HIV and malaria drugs.

The doctors have put a 24-yearold coronavirus patient on the same regimen of drugs that cured the other patients, said an official of the hospital.

SMS hospital medical superintendent Dr DS Meena said the Italian woman, who had recovered from coronavirus a few days back, was shifted from SMS hospital to the Rajasthan University of Health Sciences in Jaipur.

Meena said while the woman has been discharged, her husband, who is also cured of the coronavirus infection, is still in ICU due to a lung infection.

The Italian couple was part of a tourist group that was visiting Rajasthan last month when they tested positive for the coronavirus and were under treatment since.

The SMS doctors claim to have treated the three patients — the Italian couple and 85-year-old Jaipur resident — with a regimen of combination drugs used for swine flu, HIV and malaria. The patients were given a combination of ritonavir and lopinavir, used for treating HIV, along with oseltamivir used in the treatment of swine fluu and chloroquin, used for treating malaria.

The doctors claim that the drugs have cured the patients, who tested negative in two successive tests.

Regarding the Italian male patient, Dr Meena said, “Though he is clear of coronavirus, we have shifted him to another ICU as he still needs support. His lungs are compromised because he is a smoker and he will take time to recover.”

He said the 85-year-old Jaipur resident is also cured and wanted to go home. However, doctors said he needed to consult specialists as he has many underlying issues. “He is diabetic, hypertensive and has renal failure,” said Dr Meena. “We told him he could continue his treatment at SMS or consult doctors he has consulted in the past. He assured doctors