After 2 months in ICU on ventilator, lung machine, H1N1 patient on road to recovery

MUMBAI: An H1N1 patient is finally on the road to recovery after spending over two-and-half-months in the ICU, including 60 days connected to a ventilator and an artificial lung machine, making it a unique battle with the stubborn virus. The Bhayander man and his family now face a treatment cost of nearly half a crore. Experts say the case underlines the economic burden that complications arising out of a flu can impose if not detected and treated on time.
Rahul Lodha (32) had gone to a local physician with complaints of fever, cold and cough but was not advised treatment or a test for H1N1, the family said.Only when complications arose he was shifted to Jaslok Hospital in Pedder Road on January 8. He continues to be in the ICU there, but his doctors are hopeful he will be moved out soon.
“The patient has been taken off the ventilator since 5-6 days. Once he is moved to a ward, it will be among the few cases where an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machine, which mimics the functioning of lungs, has been successfully used in an H1N1 patient. Our team of doctors and nurses worked round-the-clock to help him recover,” said consultant physician, Dr Hemant Thacker.
Doctors said Lodha had developed pneumonia, which progressed into acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). “In ARDS, the lungs are badly damaged and cannot perform their functions properly, which is to get oxygen from outside and throw out carbon dioxide. Patients therefore need a ventilator and ECMO to support and let the lungs heal,” said Dr Ajay Hirakannawar, consultant cardiothoracic surgeon at Jaslok. The daily cost of ECMO, which pumps a patient’s blood with oxygen and removes carbon dioxide before pumping it back into the body, can be Rs45,000-Rs 1 lakh.
A relieved Lodha’s father, Basant Kumar, told TOI that the last few months were very stressful for the family. “There were days when he was hanging between life and death. It’s a great feeling to see my son no longer strapped to any life-support machine,” said the father. He said that the family is now trying to raise funds. “It’s difficult for an outsider to arrange money in a new city. We have borrowed from every member of my family and acquaintances. Tata Trust also helped us, but my appeals to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund were directed to the CM’s Relief Fund, which told us that since we are natives of Rajasthan, they could not help,” he said.
This year, over 800 positive cases and 55 H1N1 deaths have been reported from Maharashtra. Mumbai has recorded around 80 cases so far this year.