Hyderabad: A child, who tested positive for covid-19 a week after birth last month, has returned home after recovering at a private hospital here. Described as one of the youngest covid survivors, the child was discharged last week, doctors at KIMS Cuddles said on Sunday.
The baby was born pre term on 17 April, as the mother required mechanical ventilatory support due to severe covid. Born with a birth weight of just 1,000 grams and initially treated for premature shortness of breath, the baby’s first covid screening swab turned out to be negative.
On the eighth day of birth, the baby’s oxygen levels were dropping and the baby was experiencing difficulty breathing that required ventilation.
Repeated PCR testing revealed that the child was SARS-COV2 positive. The child, who then weighed only 920 grams, was placed on a ventilator and transferred to the covid isolation ICU by a team of doctors.
“The newborn was nursed by our team of doctors and nurses in personal protective equipment in a specialized isolation neonatal ICU and provided ventilatory support, intravenous antibiotics and nutrition.
The neonate was monitored with a multi-para monitor Real-time performance of its vital elements was shown. as blood pressure, oxygen saturation, etc. Ventilator support was omitted for nasal ventilation and later CPAP (continues positive airway pressure).
The newborn was managed with a combination of supportive care and steroids, ”said Dr. C. Aparna, Clinical Director – Neonatology and Senior Consultant Neonatology and Pediatrics, Kims Cuddles.
The family, including father Rahul, a medical coder by profession and mother Bala Mounika, were constantly updated about the newborn’s clinical status using video calls.
Due to its many benefits, efforts were made to motivate the mother to send her breast milk.
After clinical recovery and another PCR test, the child was transferred out of isolation, placed in a bright warm room and given appropriate developmental supportive care with breast milk, kangaroo care, micronutrient supplementation and thermal support.
The weight of the baby was continuously increasing by about 15–20 g / day and was transferred from tube feed to oral feeding.
After careful medical care in the hospital for about 30 days, the child was discharged in good health on 17 May, breastfeeding with a weight of 1500 grams.
The team at KIMS Cuddles has given birth to 35 mothers with covid so far, of which only 2 newborns tested positive – both tested suggestive of postnatal transmission in the second week.All children survived, with about 20 percent requiring admission to the NICU.
