Baby girl with potentially fatal disease saved just 48 hours after being hospitalized
(Baonghean.vn) - Doctors at Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital have just saved the life of a 9-year-old girl with Whitmore's disease - a disease that can cause death just 48 hours after admission.
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| After 2 weeks of treatment, Thuy's health has gradually recovered. Photo: Thanh Son |
Baby girl Le Thi Thanh Thuy (born in 2008, residing in Nghia Minh commune, Nghia Dan district) was treated at Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital in mid-July 2017, with a high fever, pus in her left ear, and signs of necrosis on her earlobe. Before that, her family took her to the Commune Health Station and the Regional Hospital for treatment, but doctors could not determine the cause of her illness.
At Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital, doctors used microbiological techniques to isolate bacteria, culture blood and discovered that Thuy was infected with Whitmore bacilli. Whitmore disease caused necrosis of the parotid gland and cellulitis, causing damage to surrounding tissues.
To save the child, Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital immediately consulted with experts from the National Children's Hospital to come up with the optimal plan including surgery, blood transfusion, combined use of specific antibiotics such as ceftazidime, meropenem, cotrimoxazole...
After 2 weeks of intensive treatment, Thuy's health has gradually recovered, and the blood infection, necrosis, and inflammation have been controlled. She was transferred to the Hospital's Department of Dentistry and Maxillofacial Surgery and is being monitored and given special care.
Doctor Ngo Nam Hung, Deputy Head of the Department of Dentistry - Maxillofacial Surgery, Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital, said: Currently, the child's health is stable, but the sequelae are quite severe when the entire salivary gland on the left side no longer functions, the area around the ear and the external ear canal are deformed. Currently, the hospital continues to monitor, treat, and prevent complications of otitis media and meningitis./.
Whitmorelis a rare disease with many dangerous complications and a high mortality rate despite proper treatment. The disease is caused by Whitmore bacillus. This bacteria is present in soil and the main route of infection is through damaged skin coming into contact with contaminated soil or inhaling dust particles containing the bacteria. Clinical manifestations are diverse and complex, such as high fever, muscle pain, skin infections, pneumonia, septic shock... clinical manifestations of suppurative parotitis are common in children in Thailand and Cambodia. Whitmore’s disease is most dangerous to the patient’s life when it develops into sepsis, and even more serious is septic shock. If the disease progresses to a critical stage, the patient can die within 48 hours. |
Thanh Son
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