12-year-old beats TB meningitis, goes home after a month

Kolkata: Aradhya Kumari Singh won against TB meningitis after fighting the deadly condition for more than a month. The recovered 12-year-old Jorabagan resident was sent back home from the hospital on Monday.According to girl's parents, she started complaining of pain in the abdomen, severe headache and frequent loss of consciousness around the beginning of April. When parents brought her to Charnock Lohia Hospital's emergency unit, doctors said she was intubated and her condition was precarious.Admitted under paediatrician Uttara Bhar and neurologist Subhra Sankar Sen, the doctors, including Tanmoy Bhowmick, ventilated the 12-year-old in the emergency unit itself before shifting her to the PICU.Investigative tests, including MRI, suggested TB meningoencephalitis. Other tests, lumbar puncture and CSF study, again pointed towards TB meningitis. The hospital formed a medical team that had all relevant specialties, including neurologists and pulmonologists. The team started the treatment immediately with medications that included high-end antibiotics.The challenges during the treatment included raised intracranial pressure, a life-threatening medical emergency where pressure inside the skull rises. Doctors managed to salvage her from this condition. Medical as well as surgical procedures, including an external ventricular drain, ensured the girl was on the recovery path. Over the past few days, gradually her multi-organ damage started getting reversed and provided a ray of hope to the medical team. Her blood parameters improved significantly."We have sent her back home where she will continue to be under home care and follow-up by our medical team," said Nibedita Chatterjee, CEO, Charnock Lohia Hospital, that came into operation a few months ago.Experts said that TB meningitis is a life-threatening infection of the protective layers surrounding the brain and spinal cord. It occurs when the bacteria that cause tuberculosis — which usually start in the lungs — travel through the bloodstream to the brain. It is a very serious condition that requires immediate medical attention.Even with prompt medical treatment, the mortality rate can range between 20% and 50%. The infection can often cause brain damage or neurological disability in survivors.Parents of the girl said that they had taken the girl to at least three hospitals before, where her condition kept deteriorating despite treatment as the condition remained undiagnosed.