By IANS,
Kolkata : There was no change in the “brain status” of veteran Marxist Jyoti Basu, who has fever and continues to be in a critical condition, a medical bulletin stated Tuesday.
Doctors at the AMRI hospital have decided to give the 95-year-old leader a unit of blood to raise his haemoglobin level. They will perform a CT scan to determine the status of a past brain clot and his present neurological status, AMRI hospital medical superintendent Debasish Sharma told IANS.
“We also want to see if any new problem has arisen and whether there is bleeding from the clot (which he got in 2008 after a fall),” cardiologist A.K. Maity, who is leading the eight-member medical board set up to treat Basu, told reporters.
“He is still critical on partial ventilator support and has developed mild fever,” added a medical bulletin issued by the private hospital, where Basu has been admitted since Jan 1.
“Because of the fever, the antibiotic administered to him has been changed. There is no change in his brain status,” the bulletin said.
According to the medical superintendent, the blood transfusion was being done as Basu’s haemoglobin count had dropped below nine. The ideal haemoglobin count for a person of his age should be 10 gm per decilitre of blood.
However, his urine output had remained the same and there was no need for dialysis now.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) veteran was hospitalised on Jan 1 and put on ventilator support Jan 6.
Born 1914 in Kolkata, Basu became West Bengal chief minister in June 1977. He stepped down voluntarily on health grounds in November 2000.