More Covid deaths in no-comorbidity group

CHENNAI:  Within a month, 12 people in the State, who were under the age of 60 years and had no co-morbid conditions, lost their lives to Covid-19. This has raised concerns regarding early diagnosis and treatment. Though the daily toll has been reduced to single-digit figures from 127 on August 15, the highest single-day toll registered in the State so far, the deaths of those with no co-morbid conditions remains an enigma.

A 46-year-old man from Kancheepuram, who tested positive for Covid on February 8, was admitted to Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital the next day and died on February 10 due to Covid pneumonia. He did not have any co-morbid condition. In a similar case, a 54-year-old man from Thanjavur tested positive for the infection on January 28 and was admitted to a private hospital the same day around 1.50 pm. However, he died at 6.08 pm of Covid pneumonia and acute distress respiratory syndrome.

Also, among the 12 victims, at least three died on the same day of admission to hospitals. Doctors and officials blame the delay in getting admitted for this — either private hospitals refer them to government facilities too late, or the patients themselves choose to get admitted for treatment only after the condition has worsened. Speaking to Express, Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan confirmed that these two were the main reasons for the high death rate, as per an audit done by the government. 

“We also noticed that a few hospitals are careless while discharging patients. They should at least take blood profiles before discharging them and start interventions. In government hospitals, CT scan and blood profile test are taken for the patients,” said Radhakrishnan. The Health Secretary stressed the need to improve the behaviour of people in terms of seeking early medical intervention. “People should not wait till they develop lung complications before approaching a hospital,” he said.

He, however, said that the number of deaths had come down due to medical professionals and cooperation from the public. The deaths could be prevented by employing a multi-disciplinary approach, said Dr E Theranirajan, Dean, Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital. “Deaths occur mainly because of late referrals from a few private hospitals. When the patient reaches early within 30 minutes, all the investigations are done on them, including CT scan and blood profile, and we categorise the patient depending on the progression of the disease — mild or moderate or severe — and start the treatment.

This approach has helped us. The hospital has treated over 30,000 Covid-19 cases so far, and that has given us some experience,” he said. Theranirajan also noted, “The first 5-10 days are crucial to monitor the progression of Covid. So, people should not miss this period. Many of them go to the severe category after five days of showing minimal symptoms.”