Three months after the death of late Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa, the Tamil Nadu government has released medical details which rubbish allegations that Jayalalithaa was administered "wrong medicine".
The documents made public by the Edappadi Palaniswamy-led TN government on Monday read, “Certain insinuations have been made that administration of wrong drugs over a period of time prior to hospitalization had led to health complications for the late Honorable Chief Minister.”
The report said that Jayalalithaa was only given oral hypoglycemic (medicine for diabetes), and anti-hypertensive drugs in addition to corticosteroids administered for atopic dermatitis.
“In this context, the medical reports indicate that except for corticosteroids administered for atopic dermatitis, the late Hon’ble Chief Minister was only taking oral hypoglycemic and anti-hypertensive drugs to control pre-existing diabetes mellitus and hyper tension,” it added.
Atopic dermatitis is a chronic eczematous skin disease that usually begins in childhood.
Acute atopic dermatitis produces weeping, oozing plaques of very itchy skin. Often an inherited condition, patients with atopic dermatitis seem to have a misguided immune response.
“While in hospital, the late Hon’ble Chief Minister had responded well to the multi-disciplinary care in the Critical Care Unit of the Apollo Hospital,” the release noted.
“The late Hon’ble Chief Minister’s clinical course deteriorated later and subsequently recovered substantially to being able to take food orally. On this basis, late Hon'ble Chief Minister was shifted from the advanced Critical Care Unit of the Apollo Hospital to the High Dependency Unit of the Apollo Hospital where her health and vitals continued to improve under the close monitoring by the panel of experts. This improvement in the late Hon’ble Chief Minister’s health condition is brought out in the reports of the AIIMS teams which visited on 13.10.2016 to 15.10.2016 and again on 3.12.2016,” the report read.
However, the report went on to say, “The late Hon'ble Chief Minister suffered a massive cardiac arrest on the evening of the 4th December 2016, even while the intensivist from the Apollo Hospital was in her room.”
“Every possible clinical attempt was made to sustain her revival as per prescribed medical protocols. A team of doctors, including experts from Apollo and AIIMS assessed the situation. It was clinically concluded that there was no heart function and there was also no neurological improvement denoting futility of life support,” the report said, explaining the medical decision to discontinue life support.
The facts presented in the documents released on Monday are in line with the version presented by the doctors from Apollo and London-based Dr Beale who had held a press conference on February 6 regarding the medical treatment given to the late TN CM.
Dr Richard Beale was the consultant intensivist from the London Bridge Hospital who was called in to assist the treatment of Jayalalithaa.
“There's no question here about poisoning. Anyone who goes through medical history properly will realise how silly this question is. It is clear what the disease progression was. There was nothing mysterious,” Dr Beale had told reporters on February 6.
Soon after Jayalalithaa's death, there were allegations that she had died due to poisoning.
Even founder member of the AIADMK PH Pandian alleged that Jayalalithaa had not died under natural circumstances. Pandian alleged that Jayalalithaa was suffering from depression and that she had had an argument with someone in Poes Garden. He also alleged that Jayalalithaa had been poisoned.
The Madras High Court had also expressed doubts over her death.
The release by the government was expected after the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) earlier in the day handed over documents and reports regarding the five visits made by its specialists to give expert advice.
Jayalalithaa was declared dead on December 5 after suffering a cardiac arrest a day earlier.
Doctors had then maintained that she had been hospitalised on September 22 with fever and dehydration.