27-yr-old diabetic from Kurla is city’s 8th swine flu victim

MUMBAI: A 27-year-old diabetic woman from Kurla became the eighth Mumbaikar to fall prey to influenza H1N1 on Wednesday. This year as many as 68% of H1N1 victims across the state had one co-morbid condition, with diabetes and hypertension topping the list.
On Wednesday, state health minister Deepak Sawant attuned the state’s swine flu treatment protocol to the Centre’s, meaning every flu patient exhibiting high grade fever, cold, runny nose and in some cases diarrhoea be treated with Tamiflu from Day 2.Sawant added in Pune that people falling in the high-risk category and showing influenza-like symptoms should be administered Tamiflu from Day 1.
The Kurla resident did not have a history of diabetes and was diagnosed with the condition during swine flu treatment. Doctors believe her impaired sugar levels could have had a significant impact on the outcome of her treatment. She went from stable to critical condition in less than 24 hours.
On Saturday, the woman was shifted from a local hospital to civic-run Sion Hospital, where doctors corroborated that she was started on Tamiflu immediately. "She was stable and was being treated in the isolation ward for swine flu patients. She even had her breakfast on Tuesday morning. She complained of breathlessness around 10.30am and was soon shifted to the ICU and put on ventilator," said Dr Swati Chavan, associate professor from Sion Hospital’s medicine department. She was being given insulin to stabilize the blood sugar levels.
Her condition deteriorated into an acute respiratory distress syndrome and she passed away early on Wednesday morning. "One explanation could be that her co-morbid condition delayed her response to the medicine. We have seen people with related ailments sinking fast," said Chavan. The deceased was initially admitted as a pneumonia patient.

State numbers show that around 144 victims out of 215 evaluated till March 9 had co-morbid conditions. "Diabetes, hypertension and respiratory diseases have been some of the leading underlying ailments among the deceased this year. Deaths have been from all age brackets," said a state official.
Infectious disease consultant Dr Om Srivastava said due to co-morbid condition, the inflammatory response of the ailment can change. "Such patients probably need more aggressive treatment," he said.