CHENNAI: VIZAG MAN WITH 99% LUNG DAMAGE CURED BY CITY DOCS

A Vizag-based doctor who was airlifted to a city hospital with severe Covid-19 infection and nearly 99 percent lung involvement, has recovered thanks to timely medical interventions, a doctor at Kauvery Hospital said on Tuesday.

A Vizag-based doctor who was airlifted to a city hospital with severe Covid-19 infection and nearly 99 percent lung involvement, has recovered thanks to timely medical interventions, a doctor at Kauvery Hospital said on Tuesday.

Hospital’s interventional pulmonologist Dr Srinivas Rajagopala, also the head of transplant pulmonology and lung recovery unit, said the patient had a history of myasthenia gravis - a disorder characterized by weakness and fatigue of muscles for which he was administered steroids and immunosuppressants.

He was diagnosed with Covid-19 from the Omicron Variant in the last week of January 2022 and was treated with medications such as remdesivir and steroids at a hospital in Vizag. Initially, the patient did not require oxygen support as CT scans showed only 40 percent lung involvement. He was discharged within five days.

Four days after his discharge, he developed progressive breathing difficulty, high fever and chills. He was admitted to the same hospital but his condition worsened. Diagnosis showed 99 percent lung involvement, with Covid-19 related damage.

He was subsequently shifted to Kauvery Hospital. “We tweaked his prescription to minimize side effects and clear the body of the viral infection. His condition stabilized and he was managed in the ICU for the next few days on stable oxygen and proning,” he said. “He did not require an ECMO or lung transplant,” he said.

In the next few days, blood tests showed improvement in his health condition. With improvement in lung function, he was initiated on pulmonary rehabilitation and endurance training. He was discharged after 5 weeks with complete lung recovery.

-       Health ET