9-YEAR OLD GIRL RECOVERS FROM ACUTE LIVER FAILURE AT SUM ULTIMATE

Bhubaneswar, Aug. 6: Astute handling of a critical case of liver failure using Plasma Exchange has helped a 9-year-old girl recover at the SUM Ultimate Medicare (SUMUM) here.

The girl was brought to the hospital recently complaining of jaundice caused due to viral infection and got admitted under Dr. Ayaskanta Singh, Senior Consultant and Head of department of Gastroenterology in the hospital.

The patient was subsequently shifted to the NICU under Dr. Pradip Kumar Dey, Head of the department of Pediatrics and Neonatology, as her condition deteriorated.

As the patient was experiencing respiratory distress it was decided by the team of doctors to go for Plasma Exchange, also known as liver dialysis, as the liver transplantation option was not available. “This process is not generally attempted in case of children,” Dr. Gadadhar Panda, Associate Consultant in the department of Gastroenterology, who was leading the procedure, said.

“The death rate in such cases is close to 90 per cent,” Dr. Dey said.

Dr. Sambit Bhuyan, Associate Consultant in the Gastroenterology department said the procedure was conducted on the patient after explaining the risk factor and benefit to the parents.

Dr. Singh described Plasma Exchange as a rare procedure.

After four cycles of the procedure supported by medical management, the patient became conscious with her liver functioning much better. She was subsequently discharged from the hospital in a stable condition. She was able to consume normal food, Dr. Panda said.

Mohammed Nasim, father of the patient, said that though he had taken his ailing daughter to several hospitals, she was not provided the required treatment. Her problem was properly diagnosed and treated at SUMUM leading to her recovery, he said.