Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences on Monday handed over former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s medical report to the state government. The report was made by doctors from AIIMS who had been flown to Chennai to treat the late All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader, PTI reported.

The papers contain the doctors’ analysis of Jayalalithaa’s health during their five visits to Chennai’s Apollo Hospital between October 5 and December 6, 2016. The state government made the report public hours after AIIMS Deputy Director (Administration) V Srinivas handed the document over to Tamil Nadu Principal Health Secretary Dr J Radhakrishnan in Delhi.

“It is clear that the best possible medical care was afforded to her,” the Tamil Nadu government said, adding that it made the report public to put to rest all speculation surrounding Jayalalithaa’s hospitalisation, treatment and subsequent death.

Radhakrishnan asserted that they had not held any information back and that it was a “self-explanatory report”. “There is no basis to the hearsay speculations,” the health secretary added.

Srinivas said that on Sunday, the Tamil Nadu government had sought the AIIMS delegation’s notes from their visits for its official records.

The move is significant as several people have raised questions regarding the secrecy surrounding Jayalalithaa’s health and her death on December 5. On Sunday, the Tamil Nadu government had dismissed former chief minister and rebel AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam’s allegations of foul play in Jayalalithaa’s treatment. Opposition party Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam has also moved the Madras High Court and sought a detailed inquiry into her death.

On February 28, 12 AIADMK MPs part of the Panneerselvam camp had submitted a petition to President Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi, demanding an investigation into the former chief minister’s treatment at Apollo.

Points from her medical reports:

  • Apollo Hospitals’ helpline received a call from her Poes Garden home late on September 21, 2016. She was in the emergency room by 10.25 pm that night. The report said she was “consistently not responding to calls” and was breathless. Her oxygen saturation was only around 48% at the time.
  • Besides the breathlessness, Jayalalithaa’s blood pressure was very high and she had fluid in her lungs. She had fever and a high white blood cell count when she was admitted at Apollo Hospital in Greams Road, Chennai. 
  • There seemed to be no mention of any physical injuries correlating to claims that she had been pushed down the stairs before she was taken to the hospital.
  • Her breathing worsened a few days after she had been admitted, and on September 28 she was placed on a ventilator.
  • Her condition continued to deteriorate, so Jayalalithaa received more oxygen support and sedatives on September 30. She was on medication for infections including atopic dermatitis and E. coli. Her diabetes (which had plagued her for many years) and heart had also led to her health deteriorating.  
  • Her kidneys had started failing around October 9. Since many of her symptoms and infections were not steadily improving, doctors had decided to bring in outside consultants too. 
  • By October 13, Jayalalithaa was responding to verbal communication and was able to move her legs. Apollo said her health had improved by November 19.
  • When the AIIMS doctors returned on December 3, 2016, Jayalalithaa was being given physiotherapy and was fully conscious. Her health had improved significantly, though she was coughing and showing symptoms of pneumonia. This was the day before she had suffered a cardiac arrest.
  • On December 4, Jayalalithaa needed supplementary oxygen. In the evening, around 4 pm, her breathlessness had worsened. She then suffered a cardiac arrest. She was surrounded by medical staff and a few family members.
  • Doctors had tried to revive her for 45 minutes, using CPR and later, open cardiac massage. She was then put on ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) and an external cardiac pacemaker.  
  • However, they found that the AIADMK leader showed no brain activity and she was not responding to external stimuli. The AIIMS team returned, and doctors informed O Panneerselvam, Sasikala, Thambidurai, the Chief Secretary, Health Secretary and Health Minister that she had suffered brain death.
  • They then withdrew life support late on December 5 and she was declared dead at 11.30 pm that night. The reports state the cause of her death to be Ventricular Fibrillation, Infective Endocardytis, and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.