15-Year-Old Boy With Potentially Fatal Post-COVID Complication Treated Successfully

KEY POINTS

The teenager had complained of high-grade fever and severe abdominal pain
He was later diagnosed with appendicitis, and underwent an appendectomy
Doctors reportedly said a large amount of pus was drained from the abdomen

A 15-year-old, suffering from a potentially fatal post-COVID complication involving multiple organs, was successfully treated in a hospital in India.

Media reports said Monday the patient, identified as Harsh Chauhan, was suffering from multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C).

The teenager -- from the western state of Maharashtra -- had complained of high-grade fever and severe abdominal pain, following which he was taken to a local hospital, the Deccan Herald reported. He was later diagnosed with appendicitis, and underwent an appendectomy, a surgery to remove the appendix when it is infected. Doctors reportedly said a large amount of pus was drained from the abdomen.

The teenager then became breathless, due to which he was shifted to Wockhardt Hospital near the capital city Mumbai for further treatment.

“On arrival in an emergency at midnight, the patient was critical and his saturation level was 30 percent. He was immediately put on high ventilator support, his CT scan showed around 70 percent of lung involvement, and had acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)," Dr Ankit Gupta, Lead Pediatric Critical Care Specialist, Wockhardt Hospital, said, according to the Deccan Herald.

"Since there was multi-system involvement like abdomen, lungs and his blood pressure were low, we suspected multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children temporarily associated with Covid," Gupta added.

Doctors said the patient had a family history of COVID-19. However, it was not known exactly when he had contracted the virus.

“He was treated with steroids and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG). The patient’s condition dramatically improved, his breathing and saturation improved. He was off the ventilator after 4 to five days. Not treating him at the right time could have led to the loss of life in a few hours," Gupta said.

The doctors said so far two or three MIS-C cases have been successfully treated during the third wave of COVID-19 in the country, Mumbai Live reported. The doctors urged parents not to ignore symptoms such as high-grade fever, red eyes, swelling in the neck, rashes all over the body, abdominal pain, loose motions, low blood pressure, fatigue, vomiting and diarrhea.

India on Tuesday reported 27,409 new COVID-19 cases, the lowest this year. More than 300 people were reported dead in the last 24 hours.