Who is dying from COVID-19 and when? An Analysis of fatalities in Tamil Nadu, India

Who is dying from COVID-19 and when? An Analysis of fatalities in Tamil Nadu, India

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Background: As the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise, public health efforts must focus Twin Bookcase Bed on preventing avoidable fatalities.Understanding the demographic and clinical characteristics of deceased COVID-19 patients; and estimation of time-interval between symptom onset, hospital admission and death could inform public health interventions focusing on preventing mortality due to COVID-19.Methods: We obtained COVID-19 death summaries from the official dashboard of the Government of Tamil Nadu, between 10th May and July 10, 2020.Of the 1783 deaths, we included 1761 cases for analysis.

Results: The mean age of the deceased was 62.5 years (SD: 13.7).The crude death rate was 2.

44 per 100,000 population; the age-specific death rate was 22.72 among above 75 years and 0.02 among less than 14 years, and it was higher among men (3.5 vs 1.

4 per 100,000 population).Around 85% reported having any one or more comorbidities; Diabetes (62%), hypertension (49.2%) and CAD (17.5%) were the commonly reported comorbidities.

The median time interval between symptom onset and hospital admission was 4 days (IQR: 2, 7); admission and death was 4 days (IQR: 2, 7) with a significant difference between the type of admitting hospital.One-fourth of (24.2%) deaths occurred within a day of hospital admission.Conclusion: Elderly, male, people living in densely populated areas and people with underlying Quarter Zip comorbidities die disproportionately due to COVID-19.

While shorter time-interval between symptom onset and admission is essential, the relatively short time interval between admission and death is a concern and the possible reasons must be evaluated and addressed to reduce avoidable mortality.