Fighting for the life of a boy with lung necrosis after more than 2 months

A few days after a boil appeared on his knee, the 11-year-old patient was in critical condition due to respiratory failure, cardiovascular collapse, and total lung necrosis.

On June 23, Children's Hospital 1 in Ho Chi Minh City announced that it had saved the life of a baby boy in critical condition due to multidrug-resistant staphylococcus infection.

Medical history showed that patient NTN (11 years old, residing in Dong Thap province) had skin boils on the knee area with high fever for 3 days, admitted to Sa Dec Hospital (Dong Thap). The child was diagnosed with severe pneumonia, cellulitis, septicemia, treated with antibiotics, respiratory support but did not improve.

On the evening of April 15, the child was transferred to the Emergency Department of Children's Hospital 1, Ho Chi Minh City, in a state of lethargy, cyanosis, severe respiratory failure and cardiovascular collapse. Immediately, the emergency team intubated, put him on a ventilator, administered anti-shock fluids and then transferred him to the Intensive Care Unit. There, the doctor diagnosed the child with necrotizing pneumonia, cellulitis, septic shock caused by staphylococcus, and performed many resuscitation measures but to no avail. The team consulted and decided to perform continuous blood filtration to remove toxins, cytokines and stabilize the child's organ function.

The patient was actively resuscitated at Children's Hospital 1, HCMC.

After 72 hours of intensive care, the boy overcame the critical stage of septic shock but faced severe pneumonia, necrosis of both lungs with blood and pleural effusion, and severe respiratory failure. After a hospital-wide consultation, the doctors decided to perform surgery to drain blood and pus from the pleura, remove necrotic tissue in the lungs, and drain pus in the knee area. After nearly 2 months of intensive treatment, the medical team at Children's Hospital 1 saved the child's life.

According to Associate Professor, Doctor, Doctor Pham Van Quang, Head of the Department of Intensive Care and Anti-Poisoning, Children's Hospital 1, staphylococcal sepsis often enters through the skin with initial symptoms including skin boils, skin infections, soft tissue skin wounds, cellulitis, arthritis, which are easily missed because the patient is subjective. Staphylococcus bacteria entering the blood will cause high fever, sepsis, damage to many organs, osteomyelitis, bone marrow, pleural effusion, pericardium, joint membrane, causing necrotizing pneumonia or septic shock, with a high risk of death.

Doctors recommend that when there are signs of skin infection (especially accompanied by high fever, red skin or difficulty breathing), patients should go to a medical facility immediately for timely diagnosis and treatment.

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Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/gianh-giat-su-song-cho-be-trai-bi-hoai-tu-phoi-sau-hon-2-thang-post745928.html