The Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) — one of the State’s largest COVID-19 facilities — has treated 9,161 COVID-19 patients till now. The hospital saw the State’s first COVID-19 patient in the first week of March.

The hospital, which has 1,000 beds allocated for COVID-19 patients, is readying another 790 beds with oxygen facilities for COVID-19 patients, according to E. Theranirajan, dean of RGGGH.

Over four months, the RGGGH has treated several COVID-19 patients with malignancies and co-morbidities. COVID-19 patients with malignancies are among high-risk groups, with high mortality. Being in an immuno-compromised condition, patients with malignancies are highly susceptible to COVID-19, he said. At RGGGH, doctors have treated 37 COVID-19 patients with malignancies of varied degrees. In fact, two of them underwent radiotherapy, he said.

Uncertain prognosis

He noted that prognosis for COVID-19 patients with severe co-morbidities, especially chronic kidney disease and chronic neurological diseases, was uncertain. “Till now, 42 patients with chronic neurologic diseases, who tested positive for the infection, have been treated and discharged,” he said.

The hospital has also treated 153 COVID-19 patients with heart diseases and 20 with acute myocardial infarction, with successful outcomes, he added.

Among those treated for COVID-19 were two persons with HIV/AIDS, and two more are still under treatment. Apart from this, critical emergency surgeries were performed on COVID-19 patients, including eight “major life-saving neurosurgical procedures”.

He added that the hospital had been providing non-COVID-19 essential and life-saving services without interruption. A total of 234 major and life-saving neurosurgical operations have been performed during the period, while almost 1,930 emergency neurology services, including for stroke and seizures, have been provided.