Mumbai marathon: 18 hospitalised, most due to dehydration

Amarjeet Singh Chawla who ran his 45th marathon. Express photo

At least 18 runners were hospitalised by the end of the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon on Sunday, with most suffering from dehydration. While 17 were subsequently discharged after primary treatment, one runner named Amitava Sen continued to remain admitted at Gokuldas Tejpal Hospital with low sugar levels, dehydration and low blood pressure.

The runners requiring x-ray or intensive support were rushed to city hospitals such as Bombay, Saifee, Cumballa Hill and Jaslok. Few were wheeled in unconscious and others suffered from vomiting. “None of the runners is serious though,” said Dr Nilesh Gautam, head of preventive cardiology at Asian Heart Institute, which had organised two medical camps for marathon runners. Over 4,000 runners were treated at these medical camps during the course of the run.
With runners complaining of delayed medical response last year, the organisers set up 11 medical stations throughout the route and seven mobile vehicles with doctors this year. Additionally, 12 ambulances were stationed at different points. A team of 100 doctors and 200 nurses and physiotherapists monitored runners or anyone who collapsed along the route.

At Bombay Hospital, a runner named Kshitij Mule (38) was rushed in a state of unconsciousness after he collapsed while running on the track. “I do not remember what happened after I fell. The run made me dizzy,” he said. He was administered IV fluids.

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According to an on-duty casualty medical officer, two runners named Sanjay Jarande (22) and DP Yuvraj (35) were admitted in the ICU for observation for a brief duration. “Both of them were suffering from giddiness. We administered IV fluid to both,” he said.

Yuvraj suffered a bout of vomiting, acidity and weakness. Doctors suspect that he started running with an empty stomach and suffered low glucose levels. According to organisers, 40 runners were treated with IV fluids and 22 for vomiting.

tabassum.barnagarwala
@expressindia.com