No lapses in treatment given to J Jayalalithaa at Apollo Hospitals: AIIMS report
From 1998, Jayalalithaa was under the care of surgeon Dr K S Sivakumar who had informed the panel that she had been eating grapes, cakes and sweets prior to hospitalisation. Dr Sivakumar examined her on September 19 and treated her until her admission on September 22, 2016.
Chennai: Late former chief minister J Jayalalithaa was given correct medical treatment and there have been no errors, concluded the medical board of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) constituted on the directions of the Supreme Court after her death turned into a controversy.
Jayalalithaa was admitted to Chennai’s Apollo Hospitals on September 22, 2016 and was there for 75 days till she passed away on December 5 that year. AIIMS’ three-page report goes into a sequence of events ascertained by the panel which details the treatment she had been receiving prior to her admission until her death.
The Supreme Court had, on November 30, 2021, agreed to Apollo Hospital’s plea to direct the AIIMS to constitute a medical board to assist the (retired) Justice A Arumughaswamy commission that is probing her death. The then AIADMK government formed the Justice Arumughaswamy commission following allegations of mystery shrouding her hospitalisation and subsequent death. AIIMS’ seven-member medical team was led by Dr Sandeep Seth, professor, department of cardiology.
Jayalalithaa had just won a second term as Tamil Nadu’s chief minister in May 2016 assembly elections in a historic victory but fell ill in a few months. Prior to her admission, Jayalalitha was being treated for diabetes, vertigo, atopic dermatitis, irritable bowel syndrome, hypothryoid and chronic bronchitis. She had received a short course of steroids for her skin problem. She also had a history of fever with increased bowel movements for at least a week before her admission.
From 1998 Jayalalithaa was under the care of surgeon Dr K S Sivakumar who had informed the panel that she had been eating grapes, cakes and sweets prior to hospitalisation. Dr Sivakumar examined her on September 19 and treated her until her admission on September 22, 2016.
At 10 pm an ambulance was called to Jayalalithaa’s posh Poes Garden residence, as per Apollo Hospitals. They found the then chief minister in an altered sensorium with a saturation of 48%, a pulse rate of 88 bpm and blood pressure of 140/70. She was treated and shifted to the emergency room in Apollo.
She was found with bilateral lung crackles. A temporary pacemaker was also inserted. Her health suddenly worsened so Jayalalithaa was intubated on September 28 . Her lungs infiltrates worsened initially post intubation so a group of doctors were consulted including UK-based Dr Richard Beale and a three-member AIIMS team agreed with the treatment. She underwent a tracheostomy on October 7, according to medical records.
She experienced increased breathlessness on December 4, so ventilation was re-started. The former chief minister suffered a cardiac arrest on the same day and she was put on ECMO support for 24 hours. With no brain and heart activity, Jayalalithaa had been declared dead at 11.30 on the night of December 5, 2016.
“The treatment of the former CM was as per correct medical practice and no errors have been found in the care provided. Based on the medical records, a final diagnosis was made of Bacteremia and Septic shock with respiratory infection,” AIIMS has said in its report dated August 4 which became available on Saturday. “There was also evidence of heart failure. There was uncontrolled diabetes at admission which was treated.”
The medical panel at AlIMS concluded that it agrees with the final diagnosis.
The Arumughaswamy commission constituted in 2017 has just got another extension for its tenure until August 24. The commission was formed on the insistence of O Panneerselvam who officiated through Jayalalithaa’s illness and was made chief minister following her death. OPS who then resigned to make way for Jayalalithaa’s close aide V K Sasikla to become CM, in a dramatic turn, revolted against her and once she was in jail, he joined hands with CM Edappadi Palaniswami based on several conditions which included a probe into Jayalalithaa’s death. The ruling DMK too had promised in its election manifesto that the “truth” behind Jayalalithaa’s death will be brought out.
