By IANS,
New Delhi : Battling for survival at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), two-year-old baby Falak continued to be critical Wednesday, with doctors diagnosing blood infection apart from the existing infection in her chest and brain.
“Her condition is same as in the morning, except that she has developed blood infection apart from the already existing brain and chest infection. She is still critical,” Deepak Agrawal, associate professor of neurosurgery at the AIIMS Trauma Centre, told reporters.
“We will give same antibiotics for blood infection also,” he said.
The toddler was left by a teenaged girl at the hospital Jan 18 with multiple injuries, including a fractured skull, human bite marks on her tiny frame and a clot on the right side of her brain.
The teenager, who claimed to be her mother, is now in a juvenile home.
While police continue their search for the key accused Raj Kumar Gupta, who had left the baby with the teenager, doctors say it’s a race against time to save the toddler.
“Brain infection is a very devastating thing, her chances of survival are now less than 50 percent. We are waiting for the culture reports to decide if there will be any change in the course of treatment,” Agrawal added.
Currently on ventilator, Falak opens her eyes and blinks but remains in deep coma. According to the team of doctors monitoring her condition, in spite of many infections, the baby’s vital organs are functioning properly.
Earlier in the day, doctors put a tube in the baby’s spine to drain the infected fluid.
“We decided to put in a lumbar drain, which is a tube in the spine. It was done around 1 a.m. and the brain fluid has been successfully drained. We will examine the culture report of the fluid, and see if the bacterial infection has reduced through antibiotics we are giving,” Agarwal explained.
“If the culture becomes sterile and the bacteria start getting affected by the antibiotics, then things might come back to control. Otherwise, it’s a downhill course,” he added.