Woman Survives Severe Leptospirosis with Respiratory Distress
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Mumbai: A 21-year-old woman survived life-threatening leptospirosis, a bacterial infection that surges in the city during the monsoon, after her illness progressed to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), acute kidney injury, and a severe drop in platelets to just 18,000.
Doctors believe delays in seeking medical care for several days allowed the disease to spiral. Her father, a taxi driver, said she recently graduated and was searching for work. "She was on paracetamol at first. Illness is common in this season; it comes and goes. We didn't think it would turn severe," he said.
When she was taken to a local doctor, the family was told she needed urgent hospitalisation. They first went to a hospital in Wadala before transferring her to Bombay Hospital.
By then, she was semi-conscious and struggling to breathe. "We rushed her to hospital and put her on oxygen, but she wasn't able to maintain it even on a non-rebreathing mask," said Dr Gautam Bhansali, Consultant Physician at Bombay Hospital.
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Scans revealed ARDS, but with platelets dangerously low, doctors avoided invasive ventilation to reduce the risk of bleeding. "It is very difficult to bring such patients to survival, but her condition improved over the days.
Her platelets are up, and she could be discharged in the next couple of days," Dr Bhansali said.
Leptospirosis, spread through water contaminated by the urine of infected animals such as rodents, is common for Mumbaikars wading through flooded streets. Early symptoms include fever, muscle aches, and headaches; these mimic several common infections, making the disease deceptive. In July, the city saw 143 leptospirosis cases.
"Mild cases can be treated with antibiotics, but severe cases present with varying levels of liver and kidney involvement," said Dr Girish Rajadhyaksha, from BYL Nair Hospital's medicine department. He said that while civic hospitals see many cases of severe leptospirosis, progression to ARDS is less common.
The doctors noted that a high number of leptospirosis cases with ARDS were seen during the 2006 floods. "There are some indicators of who might turn so serious, but there is no certainty. We have seen older individuals with mild symptoms and younger patients develop ARDS," he added.
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