BENGALURU: After a controversy broke out over a very high number of deaths in the ICU of century-old Victoria Hospital three days ago, a senior doctor has attributed the fatalities to severe comorbidity and late referrals to the hospital in mid-July, while iterating that “the facts were projected in a wrong way” by a section of the media.
The doctor, who is privy to the details of cases coming to Victoria Hospital ICU, but preferred not to be named, told TNIE that of the 98 patients who died (until July 17), “We had intubated 91 patients due to inadequate support from non-invasive ventilation (which means their disease process was severe). One patient had an acute abdominal emergency requiring surgery, which is again a high risk in Covid-positive patient. The literature points to 20% more mortality among post-operative Covid patients.
He was intubated, successfully ventilated, extubated and discharged to the ward. Of the 98 deaths, 16 (11 intubated) were due to various reasons, like myocardial infarction, stroke, head injury, advanced stages of cancer, but were incidentally Covid-positive without symptoms,” the specialist said.
Another 15 patients died within 12 hours of admission to the ICU which suggests that there was a deterioration in their condition during transit, “and they cannot be considered as ICU deaths. Around 16 patients had chronic kidney diseases and were dialysis dependant. Their condition was worsening due to irregular dialysis, which had led to their respiratory failure,” the doctor said.
Victoria Hospital witnessed a surge in deaths in the post-lockdown period between June 1 and 15 when patients were referred from various hospitals as per the guidelines then. “Now, there are 247 ICU admissions, of which 39 patients are in various stages of recovery. In all, 110 patients were successfully discharged home from ICU. Among them, at least 30 were referred for intubations but were managed with awake proning, non-invasive ventilation and high-flow nasal oxygen.
“Quoting only the negative aspects will not only dent the confidence and drain the enthusiasm of the hard-working team of Bangalore Medical College & Research Institute (BMCRI) (of Victoria Hospital), but will also create panic and chaos among the public that will have repercussions beyond healthcare,” the specialist added.