Eight-year-old recovers after 36 days on ECMO support at Rainbow Children’s Hospital

An eight-year-old boy from Guwahati suffering from severe Influenza B infection recovered after spending 36 days on ECMO support at a Hyderabad hospital. The child was airlifted nearly 1,800 km and received intensive multidisciplinary care before being successfully weaned off support

Hyderabad: An eight-year-old boy from Guwahati suffering from a severe Influenza B infection, who was struggling to breathe, has recovered following a complex cross-country rescue mission by Rainbow Children’s Hospital, Hyderabad.

The child was airlifted on ECMO support from Guwahati to Hyderabad and went on to survive 36 days on advanced life support, making it one of the country’s most remarkable paediatric ECMO recoveries, the hospital said in a press release.

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The child was admitted to a local hospital in Guwahati with severe pneumonia caused by an Influenza B infection. Despite being on a ventilator for nearly a week, his condition continued to deteriorate and his oxygen levels remained critically low.

A team led by paediatric ECMO specialist Dr Kapil B. Sachane travelled from Hyderabad to Guwahati, where it established and initiated ECMO support at the referring hospital. Once the child was stabilised on ECMO, he was airlifted nearly 1,800 kilometres to Hyderabad for advanced critical care.

The child remained on ECMO support at Rainbow Children’s Hospital for more than five weeks, requiring round-the-clock multidisciplinary care from various paediatric specialties. Despite the odds, the young patient gradually improved. After 36 days on ECMO support, he was successfully weaned off the system and continued to make steady progress.