Doctors at Continental Hospitals save life of a Covid 19 and Swine flu positive patient suffering from high risk comorbidities

Hyderabad, June 22nd, 2020: A team of experts at the Continental Hospitals, one of the leading healthcare providers in the city, saved the life of a 59-year-old patient who tested positive for Covid-19 & H1N1 (swine flu) viruses and was also suffering from high-risk comorbidities like kidney dysfunction and coronary artery disease. The patient surviving from such complex situation of being attacked by two variants of deadly viruses is a rarest of rare occurrence. Anecdotal pieces of evidence from around the world indicate that survival of patients with such complex health ailments is very unusual.

The patient is a diabetic, suffering from hypertensive and coronary artery disease with a history of PTCA and hypothyroidism. Before being brought to the hospital, the patient suffered from fever with chills and rigors for 10 days for which he was treated at another hospital with antibiotics. Though initial tests showed positive for H1N1 and negative for Covid-19 virus, a repeat test conducted showed the patient was positive for coronavirus too.

Commenting on the patient’s condition and the difficulty in saving the life, Dr Nalini N – Senior Consultant Pulmonologist, Continental Hospitals said, “Not just being tested for two deadly viruses, the patient was on the verge of developing multi-organ damage syndrome, with complications associated with his kidneys, bleeding rectum etc. In incentive care unit, the patient was put through ‘inverse ratio ventilation’, to ensure we don’t lose the patient.” He was also dialysed with special dialysis called CRRT with Oxiris.

“Many such complex procedures were performed over a prolonged period before he could be stabilised. It took three weeks to bring the patient out of immediate danger and post that he was put through a series of treatment protocols to ensure his condition improves. And on day 43 from the time of admission to the hospital, after the patient tested negative for Covid-19 and H1N1 viruses, he was discharged. However, the patient is being remotely monitored to ensure no relapse occurs in the future,” added Dr Palepu Gopal - Chief of Critical Care and Senior Consultant Intensivist, Continental Hospitals. This outcome would not have been possible without the expertise and commitment of Critical Care and Pulmonology team.

“This patient came to our hospital when the Covid-19 pandemic had just begun in India and Hyderabad. This is a classic case of our belief i.e. exceptional clinical outcomes can only be achieved through collaborative clinical practice, teamwork and quest for clinical excellence. Obviously, availability of world-class infrastructure plays vital role in diagnosis and treatment of such complex ailment. Our department of respiratory diseases & interventional pulmonology and critical care have pride of many such survivals in past”, commented Dr Rahul Medakkar – CEO Continental Hospitals, Hyderabad.

This is one of the most complex treatment protocols followed at the Continental Hospitals to save life of patient who otherwise had a grim chance of survival.

About Continental Hospitals:

Continental Hospital is a NABH and JCI-accredited facility in Hyderabad offering multi-specialty tertiary and quaternary care services. The hospital has a capacity of 750 beds with 250 operational beds currently. The hospital has Green OT, Level 3 NICU and PICU, and it’s known for efficient critical care team. The hospital has state-of-the-art facilities and medical equipment, as well as the latest communication and information technology. Key specialties include Cardiac Sciences, Neurosciences, Gastroenterology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Oncology, Orthopedics and Emergency Medicine.

Continental Hospitals is a part of IHH Healthcare, a leading premium integrated healthcare provider with a network of 84 hospitals and more than 16,000 licensed beds. It is one of the largest healthcare groups in the world by market capitalization and is listed in the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia and Main Board of SGX-ST. IHH is a leading player in the home markets of Malaysia, Singapore, Turkey and India, and in their key growth markets of China and Hong Kong.