AIIMS Delhi constitutes task force to research on diverse aspects of COVID-19

The All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) Delhi on Tuesday said it has constituted a task force for research to oversee various initiatives that facilitate research on COVID-19.

As per a press statement, AIIMS was among the first institutions to launch a call for intramural proposals on COVID-19 research. It also facilitated fast track project evolution by holding weekly ethics committee and Institutional Review Board (IRB) meetings.

Most of the research projects require collaboration between different departments overseeing diverse aspects of COVID-19. As an institution of medical science AIIMS has the advantage of having both basic science experts as well as clinical experts. To date, AIIMS has sanctioned 49 research projects and is also participating in international trials.

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The projects range from discovering new methods of silico drug designing, epidemiological and public health aspects, assembling clinical cohorts with protean manifestations, and immunophenotyping patients. These may include asymptomatic and those suffering from varying degrees of severity. The projects also explore artificial intelligence, the effect of disease on health care workers, the effect of COVID on non-COVID related patient consultations, rapid diagnosis, and intervention trials related to the repurposing of drugs and equipment related innovations.

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AIIMS planning to start OPD and non-emergency surgeries 

An AIIMS sub-committee was asked to prepare a blueprint for the smooth restoration of OPD and non-emergency operation services, with the administration planning to resume them in the next ten days, sources said on Tuesday.

Also, non-COVID services, other than an emergency, for a limited time is likely to be predominantly referral only where the hospital will cater to only those patients who will be referred from peripheral hospitals, they said.

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"This can curb the crowd inside the hospital premises to an extent but needs to come out with a well-thought plan considering the pros and cons," a source said. 

"The plan is to re-open OPD services in a phased manner. If the number of coronavirus cases surges in the near future and, if need be, we will switch back to the previous roster," an official said.

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(Image: PTI)