AHMEDABAD: Till August 31,
Gujarat had recorded 3,022 deaths of
Covid-19 patients. Of the fatalities, 5.8% had died within the first 24 hours of hospitalization. With greater awareness and better treatment protocols and medical infrastructure, one would expect mortality within 24 hours of hospitalization to come down.
Ironically, from September to December, the state has recorded 1,222 deaths, out of which 7% had taken place in less than one day – indicating an upward trend.
If not for this aberration, analysis by the state health department indicates an improved trend in reduction in overall mortality and increase in hospitalization duration for the deceased. The average hospitalization stay before death went up slightly from 6.3 to 6.5 days. Till August, the longest hospitalization before death was 41 days, which touched 67 days in the past four months.
Dr Bharat Gadhvi, president of Ahmedabad Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association (AHNA), said that several city-based private hospitals continue to witness the alarming phenomena of patients coming in severely critical state at the time of admission. “Two factors were at play – the patients or relatives failed to identify early the signs of distress- flags for urgent medical attention, and there was delay in providing prompt care for some patients under home care who suddenly turned critical,” he said.
Maximum deaths took place between 4th and 14th days of hospitalization, revealed analysis. Compared to 62% of the deaths during this period till August, the last four months recorded 58% of the deaths during this time. The deaths beyond two weeks of hospitalization increased from 11.4% till August to 15% - indicating better resilience towards the virus.
Dr JP Modi, medical superintendent of Civil Hospital, said that the overall mortality has reduced for
Covid-19 patients in the past four months compared to earlier phase of the pandemic. “Early intervention can surely improve chances of survival. For any patient, the second week is critical and they should be watchful of any complications,” he said.
Age profile analysis revealed that maximum deaths were recorded in 60 years and above age group (64%), followed by 45-59 years (28%). There were only two deaths in the past four months of the patients below 15 years. About 50% of the deceased had one or more comorbidities, whereas 27% others had risk factors like age.