Doctors at KIMS Hospitals, Secunderabad, have successfully treated a 32-year-old woman doctor from Solapur, Maharashtra, who had developed severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) following influenza pneumonia, using advanced Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) support and comprehensive critical care.
The patient was initially admitted and put on a ventilator at a hospital in Solapur. Despite intensive care, her condition deteriorated as investigations confirmed influenza pneumonia with severe ARDS, leading to respiratory failure, said Dr. Vishal Kumar Chitikeshi, Clinical and Interventional Pulmonology, KIMS Hospitals.
Retrieval team travelled to Solapur
The KIMS ECMO retrieval team, led by Dr. Vamsi Krishna, travelled to Solapur and initiated ECMO support at the referring hospital. The patient was then transported overnight by road to KIMS Hospitals, Secunderabad, while remaining on ECMO support throughout the transfer.
Following her admission, she received intensive treatment on ECMO and mechanical ventilation for nearly a week. A multidisciplinary team of doctors from various specialities was involved in her care. After 25 days of intensive treatment and rehabilitation, the woman doctor recovered and was discharged in stable condition, Dr. Vishal said.
ARDS, doctors explain, is a life-threatening condition in which the lungs are unable to supply the body with sufficient oxygen, even with mechanical ventilation, often as a complication of severe respiratory infections such as influenza. ECMO functions as a temporary substitute for the lungs and, if required, the heart, by oxygenating blood outside the body while the affected organs are given time to recover.
Doctors said the case highlighted the role of specialised retrieval teams in stabilising and safely transporting critically ill patients between hospitals, particularly when local facilities are not equipped to provide advanced life support.
