It’s nothing short of a miracle. A 38-year-old woman from Haveri district, who was hypertensive and infected with Covid-19, was admitted to KLE Suchirayu hospital in Hubballi with an oxygen saturation level of only 38%. Her road to recovery was fraught with difficulties. The patient won the battle against the infection after 49 days of treatment and will be discharged today.
Speaking to hubliexpress.com, Dr Naveenkumar Hosalli, a physician and visiting consultant at KLE Suchirayu hospital, Hubballi, said “The patient’s oxygen level was only 38% when she was hospitalised. There was little chance of surviving the patient. but we, without wasting any time, put her on NIV with high oxygen support and her lungs completely infected and with submassive pulmonary thromboembolism. As her condition did not improve, she was supported with invasive mechanical ventilation later. She was managed with appropriate antivirals, antibiotics, immunomodulators, therapeutic anticoagulants, and other supportive therapy with ARDS protocol ventilation.”
She was extubated after being weaned from the ventilator. She remained stable for a few days before going into cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated with CPR and placed on a ventilator with inotropic assistance. The doctor stated that at this point, the patient’s haemoglobin level had fallen from 11gm% to 4gm%.
To improve her condition, she was given blood products and all anticoagulants were discontinued. Following stabilisation, an upper GI endoscopy was performed, which revealed large ulcers in her small intestine and stomach, told Dr Naveenkumar.
Her X-ray, which had shown improvements, now showed increasing opacity, indicating secondary infection. As a result, Cytomegalovirus (CMV) enteritis and pneumonia were suspected, and a qualitative DNA PCR for CMV was sent, which came back positive and was treated with IV Ganciclovir, he explained.
The patient’s health improved, and she was taken off the ventilator. She is now being sustained with little oxygen and will be discharged from the hospital today, said Dr Naveenkumar.
intensivists. Dr Anand Mathad, Dr Rohit Ramesh, and Dr Prashanth BC were among the doctors who actually saved the patient from the jaws of death. According to the doctor, this was the first case of CMV reported in the Dharwad district.
