9-month-old infant in coma recovers within four days at Delhi hospital

Delhi hospital: A nine-month-old baby girl who arrived in a comatose state with severe respiratory failure and a rare metabolic disorder was stabilised and discharged within four days at Rainbow Children’s Hospital in the national capital.

The infant, weighing just 7.5 kg, was brought to the hospital with a five-day history of poor feeding and increasing breathlessness. By the time she reached the emergency department, her blood pH had dropped to a dangerously low 6.9, with signs of multi-organ stress and an enlarged liver.

Doctors suspected an inborn error of metabolism and immediately moved her to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). She was placed on a ventilator and underwent Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy (CRRT) — a form of dialysis rarely attempted in infants of her size.

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According to Dr. Chandrashekhar Singha, senior consultant and head of PICU at Rainbow Children’s Hospital, “Performing dialysis in such a small infant is extremely rare. It required immediate multidisciplinary coordination, and we are relieved she made a full recovery.”

Within 24 hours, the child began to show neurological improvement, stabilised breathing, and better laboratory parameters. A confirmed diagnosis of Long-Chain Fatty Acid Oxidation Defect (LC-FAOD), a rare genetic condition that prevents the body from breaking down certain fats during fasting or illness, was later established.

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Thanks to swift intervention by a team of specialists from paediatric intensive care, nephrology, emergency medicine, and metabolic disorders, the child was discharged fully conscious and feeding well on the fourth day.

She remains neurologically intact and continues to receive specialised follow-up care.

Rainbow Children’s Hospital is among the few facilities in North India equipped to handle such high-risk paediatric emergencies, with 24×7 PICU services and expertise in performing dialysis on infants under 8 kg. Doctors said the case highlights the importance of early referral, advanced infrastructure, and coordinated multidisciplinary care in saving young lives.