Virar: Delayed treatment leads to infant spending weeks in hospital with pneumonia

Shreyas Jagdhane

After spending half of his life in a hospital, a three-month-old Virar boy was successfully treated and discharged for viral pneumonia and pus in the lungs. The child had normal viral pneumonia but developed complications because of a delay in treatment. Doctors have warned that there has been a marginal increase in non-Covid pneumonia and that parents must take precautions against such easily preventable diseases.

According to doctors, when he arrived, baby Shreyas Jagdhane had shortness of breath, cough, cold, fever, wheezing, and fatigue. While initially, doctors thought it was a Covid-19, the test came negative.

Shreyas's condition developed due to the monsoon and the cold weather. "Soon after his birth, Shreyas caught the infection. He was coughing continuously and was treated by a local physician but his condition worsened. He had a high-grade fever and the oxygen saturation was level below 70," said Dr Ankit Gupta, paediatric critical care specialist, Wockhardt Hospital, Mira Road.

"After primary viral infection, he developed superadded bacterial pneumonia too. His CT scan revealed pus in the lungs and pneumothorax - a collapsed lung which occurs when air leaks into the space between the lung and chest, and compresses the heart," said Dr Gupta.

Shreyas was kept on a high-frequency ventilator for two weeks and then switched to a conventional ventilator for a week before being discharged. His treatment was done through crowdfunding as his mother, who works as a house help, could not afford the weeks-long treatment.

Give babies flu vax

Dr Gupta said that viral pneumonia cases are on the rise, and it is imperative for parents to take good care of their children. "At our centre, we have observed a marginal increase in non-Covid pneumonia. Lung infection is commonly seen in babies. So, it is imperative to give flu vaccines to babies to build immunity against common viral pneumonia. Simple ailments can turn into life-threatening nightmares. Hence, timely intervention is of utmost importance and vaccination against all preventable diseases is a must," said Dr Gupta.