9-year-old patient with critical heart failure was saved

A 9-year-old patient was saved thanks to the use of artificial heart-lung technique at Hue Central Hospital - Photo: THUONG HIEN

On May 31, Hue Central Hospital announced that it had just saved the life of a child patient, Doan Gia B. (9 years old, from Quang Binh) from a critical condition due to acute myocarditis and critical heart failure.

Previously, the patient was admitted to Cuba - Dong Hoi Hospital with symptoms of severe vomiting, heart rhythm disturbances, fatigue, and anti-nausea medication did not improve.

The child was diagnosed with myocarditis and was transferred to Hue Central Hospital for emergency care.

After examination, the patient was diagnosed with acute myocarditis complicated by cardiogenic shock, bradyarrhythmia leading to heart failure.

Determining this to be a life-threatening case of heart failure, doctors performed emergency cardiovascular intervention surgery, initiated mechanical ventilation, placed a temporary pacemaker, and installed a veno-arterial cardiopulmonary bypass (VA-ECMO) system.

The patient then continued to receive continuous dialysis to support other damaged organs and aggressive medical treatment.

After 4 days of active treatment, the heart's contractile function gradually improved, the index reflecting myocardial damage decreased dramatically, the inflammatory response decreased, blood gases improved, the patient was stopped from VA-ECMO support, stopped from dialysis and was weaned off the ventilator.

The arrhythmia on the electrocardiogram also gradually improved and the patient had the pacemaker removed after 9 days of treatment, then transferred to the pediatric cardiology - rheumatology department for continued monitoring.

The patient is now awake, responsive, has pink lips, can drink milk, eat porridge, and his tests and heart function are gradually returning to normal. It is expected that the patient will be discharged in the next few days.

Professor Pham Nhu Hiep, director of Hue Central Hospital, said that artificial heart-lung technique is a modern technique that helps the patient's heart and lungs rest and wait for recovery time.

It is noteworthy that this technique was previously used mainly to save the lives of elderly patients.

This is the 5th child patient to be saved using this modern technique at Hue Central Hospital.

"The pediatricians worked closely and smoothly with the hospital's ECMO experts to save this child's life. This demonstrated their professional capacity and contributed significantly to improving the quality of care and treatment for seriously ill and critically ill children at Hue Central Hospital," said Mr. Hiep.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/benh-nhi-9-tuoi-suy-tim-nguy-kich-duoc-cuu-song-20240530231321564.htm