Guillain Barre Syndrome: The increasing incidence of Guillain-Barre syndrome is a matter of concern which will force you to think how much money you will have to spend if you get it treated.
GBS Treatment Cost: The fear of Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) is increasing in Pune, Maharashtra. This is a rare neurological disorder whose number of patients has crossed 100, while a person suffering from GBS has also died in Solapur district of the state. It is being told that the deceased had come to Pune, but he died in Solapur. In this disease, body parts suddenly become numb and muscles start getting weak, that is, your body also becomes weak. In such a situation, the question must be coming to your mind that how much will it cost to cure this disorder, is it so much that your pocket cannot allow the treatment.
AIIMS concerned about the cost of treatment
Doctors at AIIMS Hospital, Delhi have raised concerns over the rising cost of healthcare. They have written a letter to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) requesting to set up a task force to identify and validate low-cost options. A senior doctor from the hospital said, "We have proposed a task force to promote affordable healthcare in neurology. If it is successful, similar research can be done for other departments as well."
How much does it cost to treat GBS?
According to TOI, many doctors are already using cheaper alternatives. For example, a single cycle immune therapy for Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), an acute inflammatory disorder of the peripheral nervous system, costs between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 8 lakh. But many doctors are treating the poor with steroids that cost less than Rs 5,000 and are equally effective. Doctors say that cheaper alternatives are also available for diseases like Multiple Sclerosis and Ischemic Stroke.
Need for affordable treatment
Dr Kameshwar Prasad, professor and head of neurology at AIIMS, told TOI, “One of our residents, Dr Bhavna Kaul, recently conducted a survey of doctors across India to assess the use of affordable alternatives for GBS. We were surprised to find that most doctors and neurologists were prescribing them as the standard treatment in this case, immunoglobulin, was not affordable. They also claimed that the response of the patients was satisfactory.”
"Government should support"
Dr Prasad said, "Anecdotal experiences of the effectiveness of cheap treatments are available, but very little research has been done to validate it. Pharmaceutical companies are not interested, probably because such treatments cannot be patented. But, I believe that the government should support research to reduce the cost of health care."
