“Age of Covid patients who died is over 60 years in most cases, and most had co-morbidities such as diabetes, high blood pressure, ischemic heart disease and lung diseases,” pulmonologist Dr K S Sathish said. (Express file photo by Prashant Nadkar)

More people have died of coronavirus in Karnataka than in neighboring Kerala primarily due to underlying illnesses—or comorbidity—and the age of patients, an audit panel, appointed by the Karnataka government to study Covid-19 deaths in the state, has found.

The death audit, being done by a special task force of 10 specialist doctors, has analysed 17 of 30 deaths that have occurred in the state due to coronavirus. They studied symptoms of the patients, time of their hospitalisation, comorbidity (or underlying illnesses) involved, treatment adopted and the nature of death.

The panel, headed by the vice chancellor of the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences Prof S Sacchidanand, has found that late presentation of patients in hospitals, the age of patients and co-morbidities involved were key factors in all the Karnataka deaths.

He said, “We are looking at symptoms in each case, what protocols were followed, if there were any deviations, if there was anything unusual.”

“One of the reasons (for deaths) is delayed presentation (at hospital),” said pulmonologist Dr K S Sathish, a panel member. “The second is co-morbidities and age. Age (of the deceased) is over 60 years in most cases, and most had co-morbidities such as diabetes, high blood pressure, ischemic heart disease and lung diseases.”

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One of the reasons for conducting the audit is to find out regional variations in outcomes of infection by the virus, Dr Sathish said. “For example, people may think why people are dying in Karnataka while there are few deaths in neighboring Kerala,” he said. In the neighboring Kerala district of Kasargod, over 100 coronavirus cases have been reported but there has been no death – there has been only four deaths out of 503 positive cases in whole of Kerala. In Karnataka, there have been 30 deaths out of 794 cases until May 9.

Kasaragod, he said, reported 100-per cent recovery because patients were all young, had minimal symptoms, and had no co-morbidities.