SLUG: World Kidney DayVadodara: A nine-month-old baby girl from Canada survived an extremely rare and life-threatening medical crisis involving kidney failure, severe infection and heart complications after nearly three weeks of intensive treatment at a hospital in Vadodara. The infant is an NRI who came to India with her family for a wedding.Doctors said the infant was diagnosed with infection-associated haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) along with myocarditis — a rare and potentially fatal combination in such young patients.Within a week of arriving, the baby developed high fever and vomiting. Doctors grew concerned when she did not pass urine for three days. Blood tests later revealed severe kidney failure, indicated by a sharp rise in serum creatinine, and a serious bloodstream infection. She was shifted to Vadodara for specialized treatment, where doctors began peritoneal dialysis. However, her condition deteriorated and she suffered a cardiac arrest during treatment. The medical team managed to revive her, after which she required ventilator support.With persistent infection, low blood pressure and falling haemoglobin and platelet levels, the child was moved to the Ilaben and Dr Arvind Shah Paediatric Haemodialysis Unit at Kashiben Gordhandas Children’s Hospital for advanced dialysis care.The infant, who weighed just 6.9kg at admission, was in an extremely critical condition, doctors said.Paediatric nephrologist Dr Jalpa Dave said the child required three inotropes to maintain blood pressure along with high-pressure ventilator support. She also developed bleeding from the mouth, further complicating treatment.Doctors carried out three sessions of modified sustained low-efficiency dialysis followed by two days of maintenance haemodialysis, gradually stabilizing the infant’s condition.Although continuous renal replacement therapy is considered the ideal option in such cases, doctors opted for the available dialysis modality due to financial constraints and the need for immediate intervention.“The incidence of HUS itself is about one to two cases per lakh people per year, but when it occurs with sepsis, acute kidney injury and myocarditis together, the combination becomes extremely rare — almost one in a million,” said Dr Dave.After nearly three weeks of intensive care, the infant recovered and was discharged in Dec. During a follow-up examination last month, doctors confirmed there was no residual kidney damage.In a heart-warming moment for the medical team, the family also celebrated the baby’s first birthday in India last week.
