In this AVF Podcast: Behind-The-Scenes ICU Stories episode, Professor Jigi Divatia reflects on how ICU healthcare workers fought India’s second COVID-19 wave for their patients – and for their team mates. Professor Divatia is Head of the Department of Anaesthesia, Critical Care & Pain at Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai, India. He is Past-President of the Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine, Past Editor-In-Chief of the Indian Journal of Anaesthesia, and a current Board Member of the Asia Ventilation Forum.

Issues discussed in this interview:

• Reported versus actual number of COVID-19 deaths in India
• How COVID-19 affected ICUs in different states differently  
• Estimates for ICU capacity in India
• Triage when resources are limited
• Evidence-based and non-evidence based medical treatment
• Impact of the second wave on ICU healthcare workers’ physical and mental health
• How the ICUs are doing now
• Lessons learnt and words of advice for all

Work cited:

1. Center for Global Development. Three new estimates of India’s all cause excess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic. 2021. https://www.cgdev.org/sites/default/files/three-new-estimates-indias-all-cause-excess-mortality-during-covid-19-pandemic.pdf.
2. Phua J, Faruq MO, Kulkarni AP, et al. Critical care bed capacity in Asian countries and regions. Crit Care Med 2020;48:654-62.