There’s good news for thousands of patients in Himachal Pradesh who used to visit private hospitals in Chandigarh, Delhi, or Jalandhar for treatment of mysterious muscle and skin diseases.
The Department of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology at AIIMS Bilaspur has begun procuring state-of-the-art LIA Immuno Assay kits to address these complex diseases. 150 unique test profiles for potentially fatal diseases like myositis and systemic sclerosis will soon be available at the department. This will reduce testing costs by 70 to 80 percent.
Patients will no longer have to wait weeks for accurate results. Previously, when symptoms of these diseases, such as sudden muscle weakness or hardening of the skin, appeared, doctors had to perform multiple tests to make a diagnosis.
The new LIA kit being ordered by AIIMS is unique in that it contains more than 15 antigens on a single strip. This means that by giving a single blood sample, more than 15 dangerous indicators (antibodies) hidden within the body can be detected.
Tests to be done at cheaper rates
It is being reported that patients previously had to spend between 8,000 and 12,000 rupees for these tests in private labs. Even then, samples were sent to Delhi, and the results took 10 to 15 days. With the introduction of this facility at AIIMS, the cost of tests will be significantly lower due to the government rate. Instead of 10 days, reports will be available in just 48 to 72 hours. The kit will help detect silent killer diseases like myositis, in which the body’s immune system attacks its own muscles, making it so weak that even sitting, standing, and walking become difficult.
Systemic sclerosis, also known as stone-forming disease, causes the skin, blood vessels, and internal organs like the lungs to harden like stone, which can prove fatal. Early identification and treatment will be initiated.