BENGALURU: Multiple death audits conducted at the Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital have revealed that late referrals from other private hospitals led to the death of Covid-19 patients within a few hours of admission. Between October 1 and November 30, there were 17 deaths in less than 24 hours of admission. Likewise, between May 16 and June 15 this year, there were 32 such deaths and between June 16 and July 20, six deaths were recorded.
“Private hospitals have referred patients to us in serious condition, causing them to be declared dead in our ICU within two or three hours of admission. We have had patients who were on ventilator being referred from private hospitals. The patients would have run out of money owing to the high cost of treatment there, and come to us at the last moment,” a doctor from Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital said.
During the peak, the hospital saw below poverty line patients presenting late and in critical condition. By this time, pneumonia had set in their lungs and their oxygen saturation dropped to 50-60. When pneumonia sets in, the lungs get consolidated (hardened), affecting the inhalation of oxygen and exhalation of carbon dioxide, further leading to a drop in saturation.
Owing to the shortage of beds, they were put in the triage area, given basic oxygen and steroids. However, they would succumb there. The highest number of deaths were reported in the over 72 hours category. These include eight between June 16 and July 20, 75 between May 16 and June 15, and 33 between October 1 and November 30 last year.
In one of the death audit analyses, the reason for this read, “Majority of the patients admitted in HDU (oxygen) for 3-4 days deteriorated and were shifted to the ICU where they have spent 2-3 days and have succumbed due to development of complications and associated co-morbidities”. Doctors said that these were cases of late presentation.
One of the audits recommended early identification of cases and early referral to the Covid-19 hospitals concerned. A separate analysis done by Bowring Hospital of Covid-19 ICU statistics for May 2021, found that 31 out of 93 ICU patients died within 24 hours. Among the referred patients, all three from Charaka hospital died within 24 hours.
Three out of the 14 who died from the 23 Gosha Hospital referrals were within a day. One out of the five deaths among the 10 referred from private hospitals were also within 24 hours. About 55.8 per cent of the ICU deaths were patients without comorbidities (19 out of 34 cases) and 66.10 per cent were with comorbidities (39 out of 59 cases).