Newborns withdrawn from KIMS as babies die of ’infection’

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, July 08, 2015, DHNS:  Two newborn babies are suspected to have died of some infection at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the Kempegowda Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) here on Wednesday, raising fears that 16 other infants were affected too and prompting some parents to take them to other hospitals.

By evening, parents of at least 10 babies shifted their infants to other hospitals. The condition of four children who are still in the NICU is said to be critical. Manjunatha, a resident of Yelachenahalli whose baby died, claimed that the child was doing fine in the morning and had consumed milk. “How can the condition worsen all of a sudden just like that? We suspect that it was some infection. The hospital showed medical negligence,” he said.

The hospital, however, has rejected the possibility of any infection. It claimed that the baby was born prematurely and died after having convulsions. The mother, Dakshayani, had pre-eclampsia (a condition in which the mother has hypertension, etc). She delivered a pre-term baby on June 29. “The child had a low birth weight of 1.5 kg. In view of prematurity and low birth weight, the baby was shifted to the NICU the same day. The child had convulsions and died at 4 pm,” said Dr Madhu Shankar, Administrative Medical Officer, KIMS.

The other baby, born to Rashmi from Magadi Road, was admitted to the hospital on July 3 and suffered from Meconium Aspiration Syndrome. The condition worsened at 9 am on Wednesday following which the parents were counselled and the baby was put on ventilator. The child, however, failed to recover, according to Dr Madhu Shankar.

The doctor also ruled out the possibility of infection and said the panic was “unwarranted.” The doctor said that the hospital provided tertiary care and frequently received high risk cases such as those of prematurity, low birth weight, sepsis, convulsions, hypoglycemia, meconium aspiration pneumonia, congenital heart diseases, jaundice and congenital malformations. “In such cases, parents are given regular updates about the condition of the child and counselled,” the doctor added.

Dr M Rajini, District Health Officer, Bengaluru Urban, who visited the hospital, said that there didn’t appear to be a possibility of an infection. “The deaths occurred due to different reasons. Parents have spread rumours creating panic,” she added.