Five-year-old youngest to recover from cough syrup poisoning, out of coma

NAGPUR: Exactly 114 days after he was rushed to Nagpur with renal failure triggered by suspected cough syrup toxicity and subsequently slipping into a coma, a five-year-old from Parasia in MP's Chhindwara district made a miraculous recovery and returned home Monday afternoon.

He is so far the youngest to recover. Twenty-four children aged five years and younger had died after drinking Coldrif cough syrup from a contaminated batch found to contain the industrial-grade chemical diethylene glycol.


The child began speaking again and regained movement as his parents watched in joy. They took turns day and night standing by his bedside, never giving up and placing unwavering faith in doctors at AIIMS Nagpur. His father lost his job after remaining away for months to stay with his son, while his mother endured separation from their elder daughter during the prolonged treatment.

The family exhausted its savings, spending over Rs 6 lakh in private hospitals before shifting to government-run facilities. For now, however, those sacrifices and hardships have been set aside as the family chose to celebrate the moment and thank God for granting their child a fate different from that of the other 24 families affected by the tragedy.

The boy suffered severe kidney and brain damage and remained comatose for nearly three months. His survival and discharge are being described by doctors as extraordinary, as no other child in this age group has recovered from such toxic exposure. Another affected child, a 3.5-year-old from Betul district, continues to remain critical, doctors said.

The boy was referred to AIIMS Nagpur on Sept 11 and admitted to the paediatric intensive care unit in extremely critical condition. He was in deep coma with acute kidney failure, severe hypotension, multi-organ dysfunction and almost absent brainstem reflexes. Doctors placed him on mechanical ventilation and initiated emergency dialysis within hours of admission.

The case was managed under Dr Meenakshi Girish of the paediatrics department, with intensive critical care support led by Dr Abhijeet Chaudhary, PICU in-charge, along with Dr Abhishek Madhura and the paediatric team. A coordinated multidisciplinary approach involving paediatric intensivists, neurologists, nephrologists, ophthalmologists, nursing staff and rehabilitation specialists was followed throughout the prolonged treatment.

Despite poor prognosis, intensive care enabled recovery; doctors later noted optic nerve damage, partial vision return, and said AIIMS waived treatment costs.

Select The Times of India as your preferred source on Google Search