‘Losing ground’: Veteran actor Soumitra Chatterjee’s condition worsens, say doctors

Veteran actor Soumitra Chatterjee's condition deteriorated on Sunday night with doctors treating him at a private hospital in south Kolkata trying to stop internal bleeding. Since his haemoglobin level fell, the actor had to undergo blood transfusion.

Chatterjee's overall condition was not good and the doctors said he was losing ground.

The Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner was admitted on October 6 after he tested positive for Covid-19. Chatterjee tested negative for Covid-19 on October 14 but his neurological system was affected by Covid encephalopathy.

"We conducted CT angiography to detect the exact location of the bleeding. We have found that. Since a dye had to be used for the angiography we had to do a dialysis to filter out the contrast media. This CT angiography was done to find out the location of the bleeding and had nothing to do with the heart," Dr Arindam Kar, head of the team of doctors treating Chatterjee, said on Sunday night.

"We tried to seal the bleeding. It was somewhat successful but is yet to be fully successful. We will look into the matter tomorrow (Monday) and figure out how to completely contain the bleeding. But due to the entire situation, his level of consciousness is still the same. His organ functions are holding on," said Dr Kar.

"His electrolytes have stabilized. His urea and creatinine levels have stabilized. This is his 26th day in the hospital. For an 85- year-old man, with so much of comorbidity and background disease coupled with non-improvement of level of consciousness due to Covid encephalopathy, it is not a very good news. With every passing day we are losing ground," said Dr Kar.

Chatterjee's condition drastically deteriorated over the past week. The noted actor has been in a drowsy state since last Monday.

Millions of people in Bengal and beyond have been praying for Chatterjee's recovery ever since he was admitted.

In a bid to offer a holistic treatment, the doctors initially made Chatterjee listen to music and literature of his choice. He even communicated with his daughter Poulomi Basu.