Nearly 50 percent patients at Rajdhani COVID-19 Hospital (RCH) in Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS) have been found to have diabetes as the co-morbid condition.

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According to Prof R.K. Singh, medical superintendent (RCH), "Diabetes is the commonest comorbidity seen in patients at our centre, followed by hypertension. Patients with organ dysfunction, particularly lungs and kidneys, form the next big chunk."

The pattern speaks for a national trend observed by the Union ministry of health and family welfare, which has come up with specific guidelines for management of COVID-19 patients having a history of diabetes. "Diabetes affects each part of the body in different degrees and ways. Therefore, when the body is under attack by any infection, COVID-19 in this case, the management is as challenging as filling water in a bucket with several holes," he said.

About the visibly high death rate, Singh said, "We keep track of every case at our centre at two levels -- physically by attending doctors and virtually by a team of experts comprising the director. But the fact that we are a tertiary care centre and attend to the most serious cases not only from Lucknow but also other districts cannot be denied. Over 75 percent of the deaths can be attributed to comorbid conditions."

SGPGIMS director Prof R.K. Dhiman said, "We have had nearly 850 positive persons till now, of whom 71 percent are male. Of the total patients, about 70 percent have recovered. An eight-month-old baby was our youngest case, while a 90-year-old woman was our oldest patient to beat the pandemic virus."