The neonatal transport team of Rainbow Children’s Hospital on Friday stated that for the first time in the country an HFOV ventilator and inhaled nitric oxide was used during transport to save the life of a sick baby.
The hospital stated that newborns, at times, have to be moved from a hospital to a better facility to be given advanced care. To make sure that the condition of the child does not deteriorate during travel, the Newborn Emergency Transport Service, an ICU on wheels, is needed. This is done to ensure babies have access to doctors, nurses and life-saving equipment such as ventilators in the ambulance.
According to the hospital, after reaching Rainbow’s Neonatal ICU, the newborn, who was born in a district hospital and developed breathing problems and other complications, was treated with surfactant, high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV), and given inhaled nitric oxide for three days with two chest drains to help her lung holes heal.
“Fortunately, the baby girl started improving with surfactant and nitric oxide along with HFOV ventilator. She needed critical care monitoring, regular cardiac assessment and multiple inotropes (to maintain normal blood pressure) for the next five days. It was the excellent level of neonatal care, nursing support, and advanced infrastructure at Level 4 NICU that helped the baby survive and recover by the 8th day, and go out of the hospital by the 11th day of life. There has never been a critical care facility like this available during transit in India before, therefore the entire operation was ground-breaking and first of its kind,” the hospital said in a statement issued to the media.
