Gleneagles Global Health City’s Code Blue team successfully treats sudden cardiac arrest in a 38-week pregnant woman!

~ Medical experts at GGHC resuscitates a 34 year old woman who underwent a cardiac arrest few minutes before going in for an elective caesarean ~

Chennai, 10th June, 2021: Gleneagles Global Health City (GGHC), a leading quaternary care multi-speciality centre in Chennai, gave second life to Anitha (name changed), giving her the experience of motherhood with their timely diagnosis and multi-disciplinary team approach.

On 14th April on the 38th week of pregnancy, the patient visited our hospital with hypothyroidism and gestational diabetes for an elective caesarean. Minutes before she was taken into the OT, she exhibited ‘anaphylactic’ reaction that led to a sudden cardiac arrest. Immediately ‘CODE Blue’ was announced and a 25-member team of doctors and nurses including ER specialist, senior cardiologist, senior anaesthetist, senior obstetrician and neonatologist rushed to the ward and resuscitated the patient. The new-born’s decreased heart rate required immediate intervention and our team of doctors got into immediate action, giving a second lease of life to mother & baby.

Due to the cardiac arrest, the new-born suffered from Transient Hypoxic Ischaemic event to the brain. GGHC’s team of neonatologists, immediately identified the medical condition and resuscitated the baby by performing ‘Cooling therapy’ to reverse the damage to the brain and to prevent any further damage. The procedure was successfully performed and the baby recovered well post the cooling therapy without any complications. The mother was shifted to ICU and her vitals (pulse & BP) were stabilized through medications. She showed good signs of recovery within hours from cardiac arrest.

Speaking on the success of the timely medical intervention Dr Padmapriya, HOD – Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Gleneagles Global Health City, Chennai, said “The challenge posed by the anaphylactic shock before the scheduled C-section was immense. Executing the timely caesarean coupled with treatment for cardiac arrest helped the baby and the mother recover without any neurological complications. The key to success was the timely intervention. Both the mother and baby were discharged from the hospital five days after the surgery. These are rare instances that can happen to any patient at any time.”

“It was heartening to see the complete recovery of the mother and child from Anaphylaxis, in which patient can die within seconds if there is no prompt intervention. Excellent teamwork and coordination are vital in such situations. We at GGHC are proud that the team worked in perfect synchronization with each other and enabled this successful outcome.” said Dr Sriram R, HOD- Department of Accident & Emergency, Gleneagles Global Health City, Chennai.

“As neonatologists, it is very crucial for us to notice the invisible warning signs and predict the future health of the new-born. Considering the emergency, the baby underwent the cooling therapy within the ‘golden hour’ to bring the baby back to normalcy. This showcased that skilful resuscitation done at the needful hour can help save little hearts.” added Dr Shreela Sherine Pauliah, Senior Consultant – Department of Neonatology & Paediatrics, Gleneagles Global Health City, Chennai.

“Administering anaesthesia for pregnancy is a challenge, and more so if the patient exhibits any reaction. In this case, the patient was already on anaphylactic shock and hence it posed a grave risk for the mother and the yet to be born child. Seeing the mom and child back in full health within 5 days post-surgery is a moment to be treasured” says Dr Madhurima, Senior Anaesthetist – Gleneagles Global Health City, Chennai

While commenting on this achievement, Dr Alok Khullar, CEO – Gleneagles Global Health City, Chennai, said, “This case is a fine example of how GGHC is a preferred destination for early diagnosis and treatment by adopting a multi-disciplinary approach. We have a very good system in place for identifying emergencies and to treat them urgently. We have evidence-based protocols in place to give our patients the best of safety and comfort with all the latest medical treatments and facilities. We have a dedicated Emergency team with world-class standards of care across a wide range of medical specialities round the clock at our hospital for the same.”

About Gleneagles Global Health City, Chennai

Gleneagles Global Health City, the sprawling 21-acre facility located in Perumbakkam – Sholinganallur, Chennai is the largest facility of Gleneagles Global Hospitals India. With a capacity of over 1000 beds and accreditations from leading agencies, the facility is Asia’s most trusted and leading Multi-Organ Transplant Centre. The hospital has undertaken several path-breaking Liver, Neuro, Heart, Lung and Kidney procedures. It is recognized by several national level accrediting agencies. World-class infrastructure, dedicated staff and a commitment for medical excellence are the USPs of this facility. The hospital has several achievements to its credit and continues to work on several pioneering procedures.

Gleneagles Global Hospitals has multi-super speciality hospitals in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and Mumbai. The brand is the most preferred hospital group for multi-organ transplants in Asia region. The parent entity of Gleneagles Global Hospitals is IHH Healthcare, a leading premium integrated healthcare provider with a network of 84 hospitals and more than 16,000 licensed beds. It is one of the largest healthcare groups in the world by market capitalisation and is listed in the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia and Main Board of SGX-ST. IHH is a leading player in the home markets of Malaysia, Singapore, Turkey and India, and in their key growth markets of China and Hong Kong.

For further information, kindly contact

Akriti Gupta | 87549 40305 | [email protected]

Sushma Mathen | 99627 15769 | [email protected]

Annexure:

*Anaphylactic reaction – a severe allergic reaction to venom, food, or medication

*CODE Blue – a medical emergency such as cardiac or respiratory arrest

*Cooling therapy – The technique, called hypothermia treatment, involves placing the new born on a waterproof blanket that contains cool circulating water. The treatment reduces the infant’s temperature as low as 91.4 °F and maintains it there for 72 hours. Caregivers then allow the infant’s body temperature to return to normal. Many neonatal intensive care units have now adopted this therapy for full-term infants who show signs of brain dysfunction from low oxygen.

*Perinatal asphyxia, more appropriately known as hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy is a brain dysfunction that occurs when there is restricted flow of blood or oxygen to the brain.

*According to WHO, birth asphyxia is the cause of 23% of all neonatal deaths worldwide.