The Hindu : Front Page : Swapnika on ventilator

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Wednesday, Dec 31, 2008
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Swapnika on ventilator

Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD: The condition of Swapnika, final year engineering student of Warangal who suffered 55 per cent burns in an acid attack on December 10, deteriorated and she was put on ventilator support since Monday night.

Doctors at Yashoda Hospital, Secunderabad, said Swapnika developed acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) on Monday night and needed ventilator. She was running high temperature and had severe infection.

Swapnika, whose face was almost burnt apart from neck and other parts, had undergone skin-grafting twice. Doctors reviewed her condition on December 25, as they wanted to remove the burnt skin near the badly damaged eyes. Though eye specialists were not confident of restoring her vision, given the damage to the cornea, they postponed removal of the burnt skin of her eyes as she was running temperature.

Surender Rao, who heads the team of doctors treating Swapnika, said her heart rate and blood pressure further increased because of ARDS. Normally, lung distress would develop in a patient of high intensity burns in a week, but she could undergo two skin-grafting surgeries and her infection and fever could be controlled. But 20 days after the attack, she developed ARDS requiring ventilator support.

“Unless she comes out of this critical stage, it is difficult for her to survive.”

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