Dr Jitendra Nath Pande (78), the former head of the medicine department at AIIMS and an eminent doctor in the field of pulmonology, died due to coronavirus at his residence in Siddhartha Enclave on Saturday. After retiring from the country’s premier medical institute in 2003, Dr Pande had taken up the mantle of director and professor of the pulmonology department at Delhi’s Sitaram Bhartia Hospital.
Dr Pande and his wife tested positive for the infection on Tuesday with mild symptoms and they decided to remain in home isolation, said AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria.
But his wife was shifted to the AIIMS hospital on Saturday. “We were following him up regularly and he said he was improving. Yesterday, he had his dinner and went off to sleep and then passed away in sleep possibly because of an acute cardiac event,” Dr Guleria said. Dr Pande had co-morbid conditions.
Dr Pande had authored hundreds of papers on respiratory medicine, was a recipient of several prestigious awards, and was the personal doctor to President Ram Nath Kovind.