The Thoothukudi Medical College Hospital (TKMCH) authorities have clarified that a patient whose death took place TKMCH on Thursday was due to serious lung involvement following SARS – CoV-2 infection, causing COVID-19 and not due to the mucormycosis as being alleged by a section of the media and family members.
Steel fabrication unit worker Soundararajan, 59, of Narasimmapuram in Kovilpatti was admitted to a private hospital on May 10 with COVID-19 symptoms and the viral infection was confirmed on the next day. After doctors of the private hospital suspected that the patient had suffered infection in the eyes even as he was responding to the treatment for the viral infection, a CT scan was taken. Subsequently, Soundararajan was referred to Thoothukudi Medical College Hospital, where he died at 2.30 a.m. on Thursday.
While the family members of the deceased alleged that Soundararajan died due to mucormycosis, a serious fungal infection, Dean, Thoothukudi Medical College Hospital Revathi Balan denied it categorically.
Soundararajan’s son S. Vijayaraj said his father was under treatment in a private hospital in Kovilpatti for a week with COVID-19 symptoms since May 10. The viral infection was confirmed on admission in the private hospital. “After my father, with ‘watery eyes’ complained of vision problems, a scan was taken. However, the doctors, who could not diagnose the exact reason behind the vision problem, asked us to admit our father in Thoothukudi Medical College Hospital, where he tested negative for COVID-19 on admission and treatment for the issues in the eye continued even as he was in the COVID-19 ward. We suspect that we lost our father to mucormycosis, for which the doctors did not give any treatment,” Mr. Vijayaraj charged.
Denying it stoutly, Dr. Revathi Balan said Soundararajan, who died of the side-effects of COVID-19, was given due treatment by the ophthalmologists of TKMCH for the vision problems. “Though he tested negative for COVID-19 at the time of admission on May 17, his lung had been badly affected due to the mutated SARS-CoV-2. Only 20% of the lung was functioning due to the viral infection. The rapid lung involvement was due to the mutation of the virus. Hence, he did not respond to our treatment despite our best efforts. It is wrong to say that Soundararajan died of mucormycosis for which we have got all facilities to treat the patients,” she said.
