Archit Jain of Andheri was in the ICU for 25 days; the case is likely to draw the attention of experts since the third wave is predicted to be harsh on children
Archit and SRCC staff celebrate his 9th birthday on May 19
As Archit Jain headed home on Thursday, the doctors and staff at SRCC Children’s Hospital, Haji Ali, were emotional as well as ecstatic. They had developed a bond with the 9-year-old who received their care for five weeks, including 25 days in the ICU. At the same time, the case was a feather in their cap as Archit is one of the youngest and longest staying paediatric cases who beat Covid-19.
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The Andheri child is likely to draw the attention of administrators and health experts considering the third wave of the pandemic is predicted to be harsh on children.
Dr Vinay Joshi, senior consultant in critical care and emergency medicine and under whom Archit was admitted, said the kid was brought from a western suburb hospital in a critical state and his oxygen requirement was 80 per cent even on a ventilator. “His lungs looked bad then. We started him on medications like remdesivir and steroids. We also gave him anti-clotting agents. He wasn’t maintaining blood pressure levels and we had to give him BP supportive medications,” said Dr Joshi.
Archit with his parents at the hospital on Friday
Took 48 hours to stabilise
It took 48 hours for Archit to stabilise after which he was kept in a prone position — making a person lie flat with chest down and the back up — which they claim helped him heal. “For 18-20 hours a day, we kept him in a prone position. After almost 4 weeks of being in ICU, he finally came out and was shifted to the ward,” said Dr Joshi.
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The boy developed ICU weakness for his long stay there. “We had to make a hole in his windpipe. He underwent rigorous physiotherapy for his limbs and chest.” Dr Joshi said the team fell in love with Archit. “We were amazed by his self-confidence. He has a hole in his windpipe and couldn’t walk but that didn’t deter his willpower. He religiously did his exercises and kept requesting us to discharge him so that he could go home,” said Dr Joshi.
The Andheri boy with Dr Vinay Joshi at SRCC Children’s Hospital on Friday. Pics/Bipin Kokate
Three weeks to be back to normal
Archit celebrated his 9th birthday on May 18 and cut a cake and was discharged on Friday. Doctors say while he has started walking and showed marked improvement, it will take another three weeks for him to return to normal life. SRCC has seen a significant rise in Covid-19 cases this year and seen more than 60 ICU admissions since March. While paediatricians claim severe Covid-19 cases in children are less, doctors say Archit falls in the 1 per cent of paediatric population that got affected severely in the second wave.
“In the first wave, we saw 300 admissions of which only 1 per cent were ICU admissions. Since March this year, we had 60 ICU admissions of which two-third were critical,” said Dr Joshi. The hospital has 18 beds for Covid-19 patients of which 8 are for ICUs.
Dr Joshi, who is part of a nine-member paediatric task force that’s helping the state government prepare for the third wave, said many kids are coming with gastrointestinal symptoms like diarrhoea and vomiting, while some get seizures. He said while many who became serious were obese, Archit didn’t have any comorbidities.
In this pandemic, 11,144 kids in the 0-9 age group and 28,869 children in 10-19 were affected and 17 and 33 of them died in their respective categories. As per the Indian Academy of Paediatrics, most of the infected children are asymptomatic and just 1-2 per cent of need ICU treatment.
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