Swine Flu
In a rare case of influenza induced severe acute pancreatitis with macrophage activation syndrome, the girl was rushed to Peerless Hospital on July 31 when her high grade fever remained unresolved in a Jharkhand hospital for close to two weeks.
Doctors said the non-resolving high grade fever and her blood reports were suggestive of macrophage activation syndrome – a life-threatening hyperinflammatory complication in acute pancreatitis. Experts said that influenza-induced acute pancreatitis is a rare complication where the flu virus (most commonly Influenza A or H1N1) triggers sudden swelling and inflammation of the pancreas. Kolkata: While H1N1 is known to primarily target the respiratory system, in case of a six year-old girl the virus chose to attack the victim’s pancreas. In a rare case, swine flu had caused acute pancreatitis to the girl. Detected, treated and rescued from critical complication in a Kolkata hospital, the girl has now gone back to her Jharkhand home. In fact her condition got deteriorated as she developed acute abdominal pain. That is when parents decided to seek treatment at the Kolkata hospital. Admitted in a critical condition under paediatrician Saheli Dasgupta in the PICU, investigative tests found influenza infection was the cause of her fever. But despite medication her fever was not subsiding and she also had mild respiratory distress. The uncontrolled cytokine storm in this condition can lead to multi-organ failure if not detected and treated immediately. in few cases the virus can attack the pancreatic cells While H1N1 is known to attack the respiratory system. Once the condition was detected doctors gave all required medical care following protocol that included oral oseltamavi, high dose intravenous immunoglobulin for two days, hydration, and early feeding was initiated to prevent bacterial translocation, an important treatment modality for acute pancreatitis.
Timely Transfer: After 14 days of unresolved fever and severe abdominal pain in Jharkhand, the child was rushed to Kolkata’s Peerless Hospital on July 31. “If the treatment was not initiated on time and the inflammation was not controlled, the child’s pancreas could have damaged. We could detect this rare condition before it was too late and ensured the required treatment for the condition which could save her,” added Dasgupta.