Bengaluru, Aug 12: When one goes on vacation the last thing you want to encounter is a serious medical emergency. That’s what happened in the case of a 46-year-old homemaker who decided to spend a few days in Coorg, away from the hustle and bustle of city life.
Her holiday turned out to be a nightmare in the form of a life-threatening emergency soon after she returned back. What initially appeared to be a common flu resulted in respiratory failure and cardiac complications. The sudden development had her family members worried but help arrived quickly.
Healthcare experts at Vaayu Chest & Sleep Specialists intervened promptly and provided her with advanced Pulmonary Critical Care. She was diagnosed with acute influenza-associated Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) and viral myocarditis.
Within a couple of days of returning from the trip, she developed breathlessness, her lips turned bluish in shade and her oxygen levels dropped enormously. She was taken to the emergency department at Vaayu, where the pulmonology team evaluated her.
By then she had developed a severe influenza infection made worse by ARDS. There was extensive inflammation and injury to the lungs that severely curtailed oxygen exchange. Her respiratory condition worsened and doctors advised intubation and advanced lung-protective mechanical ventilation. She had to be taken into the ICU for close monitoring and protocol-based ARDS management under specialists in the Pulmonary Critical Care wing.
Later she developed chest pain and cardiac instability and a multidisciplinary evaluation by the Pulmonology, Critical Care and Cardiology teams revealed viral myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle caused by a viral infection.
While her respiratory failure was managed with advanced ventilatory support and lung-protective strategies, the cardiac condition was treated by the multidisciplinary team.
The next five days were crucial. As her lung function got better, the Pulmonary Critical Care team weaned her from mechanical ventilation and was transitioned to portable breathing support. Soon she was discharged following a steady recovery.
“I cannot over-emphasise the importance of early diagnosis, timely escalation of treatment, advanced Pulmonary Critical Care and multidisciplinary intervention in managing severe viral respiratory infections,” said Dr. Ravindra Mehta, Interventional pulmonologist, Founder & Director-Vaayu Chest & Sleep Specialists, Bangalore. “It also shows the significance of coordinated critical care in treating complexities involving multiple organs,” he added.
The doctors ensured that structured rehabilitation continued at the Vaayu Rehabilitation Centre, where she worked towards regaining her strength. She’s now able to walk independently into the Pulmonology OPD, and is even looking forward to travelling again, richer by awareness around her respiratory health.