14 year old boy with a rare disease of nerves Guillain Barre syndrome got new lease of life

14 year old boy with a rare disease of nerves Guillain Barre syndrome got new lease of life

15 May 2023:  Wockhardt Hospitals Nagpur is a leading healthcare provider with a tradition of care and innovation that makes this hospital a boon for patients in Central India. Wockhardt Hospitals Nagpur , which handles critical patients, successfully treated yet another critically ill 14 year old boy. Wockhardt Hospitals Nagpur again proved their mettle and saved the boy from being handicapped for the rest of life.

Master Pranav Thombare is a 14 year old boy living in Village near Akola. On the 3rd day after the Holi festival, he complained of weakness in his legs with pain. Thinking it to be a trivial complaint or the boy’s reluctance to go to school, parents sent him to school anyway and a few hours later they got a call from school that he had collapsed in his classroom and was unable to get up. Frantically, his parents went to see their only son and then to a local hospital where he was initially diagnosed with dehydration and syncope.

When he progressively worsened and started experiencing difficulty breathing, he was referred to Wockhardt hospitals Nagpur . Dr Amit Bhatti, who is the consultant neurologist and stroke specialist diagnosed him with a rare disease of nerves known as Guillain Barre syndrome aka GB syndrome in which there auto immune destruction of the myelin coating of nerves and sometimes even the peripheral nerves leading to inability of transmission of signals from brain to the muscles all over body.

When he came to hospital he was so weak, he could barely move his fingers and was not able to breath due to respiratory muscle paralysis. He was promptly intubated and put on a mechanical ventilator and was started on IVIG therapy which is immunoglobulin derived from pooled plasma of blood donors. To add to the complications, the patient had also developed an inability to swallow anything, even his own saliva, which led to development of aspiration pneumonia and sepsis.

Wockhardt Hospitals Nagpur multidisciplinary approach between neurology, intensive care and other departments , prompt initiation of therapy and with mechanical ventilation, he was initially stabilized and then over a period of next 4 weeks improved progressively where he is now independent for activities of daily living and able to walk with minimal support.

Dr Amit Bhatti said this is a very rare case but he is of the opinion that with good physiotherapy and neuro rehabilitation, he should be back to his previous physical level in a few months.

This case highlights the importance of early diagnosis and treatment initiation and multidisciplinary approach between neurology, intensive care and physiotherapy departments for better recovery because delay in initiation of immunotherapy may lead to permanent damage to peripheral nerves which at times may even be permanent and life-threatening. And this is where the hospitals approach helps to treat the patient successfully.

Dr. Amit Bhatti is a virtuoso clinical neurologist with further specialization in Intervention Neurological procedures and Stroke. He is an expert in the comprehensive care of patients with brain stroke and diseases related to the blood vessels of the brain. Apart from stroke, he is an expert in the management of various types of headaches, epilepsy, and Neuroimmunological disorders. He has a sharp research acumen and has many international and national research articles to his credit including the pioneering work on Indian pediatric stroke treatment using mechanical thrombectomy and rescue Stenting for brain strokes in adults.