Covid-19: ICMR Report Says 6.5 Per Cent Patients Died Of Post-Covid Complications Within A year Of Hospital Discharge

Morbidity owing to post-covid complications is a very widely known fact in today's world. But a recent research revealed a very worrisome rate of susceptibility to death due to post-Covid medical complications. According to a research conducted by a network of hospitals under the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), people who are experiencing post-Covid conditions after being discharged from the hospital were nearly three times more likely to die during the following year compared to the asymptomatic ones.

According to the ICMR report, 6.5% of the patients admitted to hospital with moderate to severe Covid-19 infection, died at the end of the one-year follow-up period.The research findings were based on a sample size of 14,419 patients across 31 hospitals who were followed up over the phone for a year.

Currently, the EG.5 variant has been found in over 50 countries while another variant — BA.2.86 — has been reported in four other countries.

All about the ICMR study

It has been reported that the mentioned ICMR report did not follow the WHO or US CDC definitions of “long-Covid” as the study has alredy started enrolling patinets by the time it was introduced.

The research instead considered a particular list of symptoms including persistent or new onset of fatigue, breathlessness, or cognitive abnormalities such as difficulties in remembering or concentrating and brain fog.

The participants were considered undergoing post-Covid conditions only if they reported these symptoms during the first follow-up after discharge at four weeks.

The Findings

According to the research, 17.1% of those hospitalised since September 2020 experienced post-Covid conditions.

The study categorically revealed that the male patients above the age of 60 were more susceptible to death in the year after discharge from the hospital after Covid-19.

The research also emphasised on the positive role of even a single vaccine when it comes to long-term mortality. It elaborated that those who received at least one dose of the vaccine were at a 40% reduced risk of death between the first follow-up at four weeks.

“This study relates to mortality in those hospitalised with moderate to severe Covid-19,” a senior scientist formerly associated with ICMR said.

“This 6.5% mortality rate will not be applicable to those who had, or at present have, a simple upper respiratory infection and are ambulatory (able to walk). These findings cannot be extrapolated to mild cases that are not being reported.”

The scientist said, “It is also important to note that higher mortality — even after recovering from Covid-19 — was seen in comorbid people. This means people with conditions such as liver cirrhosis and chronic kidney disease should take care because they are likely to get complicated Covid-19 and post-Covid symptoms…”