IPGMER docs help 24-yr-old with rare disease give birth

Kolkata: A 24-year-old woman in the last leg of her first pregnancy was struck by Guillain Barre (GB) Syndrome, a potentially lethal condition that causes whole body paralysis. A multi-disciplinary team of doctors at Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education & Research (IPGMER) ensured that the woman was back to good health and delivered a healthy baby. While the baby was discharged a couple of days ago, Khatun was sent home on Friday in good health.GB syndrome is a rare condition which affects the nervous system with incidence ranging between 0.62 and 2.66 cases per 100,000 people across all age groups. The condition is even rarer during pregnancy with a high mortality rate.A resident of Malda, Sabina Khatun—who was due for delivery—was initially rushed to Malda Medical College from where she was referred to IPGMER on December 4. Admitted in the gynaecology unit where associate professor, Subesha Basu Roy, is the in-charge, Khatun was immediately shifted to the critical care unit (CCU).Due to the criticality of the patient’s condition and the rarity of the disease, the hospital formed a medical board comprising doctors Subhas Biswas, gynaecology head, neuro medicine head Atanu biswas, neonatology head Suchandra Mukherjee, CCU professor Sugata Dasgupta and Subesha Basu Roy.Doctors said that ventilating the 24-year old was the first challenge. She could not be sedated heavily due to the foetus in her womb. Once it was done successfully, she remained under intensive care and medications, including some high-end drugs, in the CCU. “GB Syndrome causes widespread whole body paralysis due to damage to the nerves. In this case, we were dealing with two lives – the woman and her unborn and needed meticulous critical care,” said Dasgupta, who took care of the patient in the CCU along with associate professor Samarendra Samui. The patient’s condition was stabilised; she was shifted to the labour room on December 14.“We are happy that we could help the woman deliver a healthy boy via normal delivery. It could have been impossible for the patient to bear the cost in private hospitals,” said Subesha Basu Roy. “The entire family was looking forward to my sister’s first child when she fell severely ill at home. The disease almost devastated our hope. Thanks to the SSKM doctors ,” said brother Samil Hussain.