Polba pool car mishap: Condition of Rishabh Singh improves

Kolkata: The health condition of Rishabh Singh slightly improved on Thursday with the SSKM doctors restricting the infections from spreading to other organs from his lungs.

Singh has been kept under ventilation at the CTVS department of the SSKM Hospital for the past few days. He was initially taken to the Trauma Care Centre and later shifted to the CTVS department. The medical board that has been formed for the treatment of the two critically injured children has been applying extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) on Singh to circulate blood through an artificial lung back into the bloodstream.

Singh had a huge amount of muddy water accumulated in his lungs and carbon dioxide level had been alarmingly high in his body. This apart he also suffered multiple injuries in his body. The ECMO is a system that provides heart-lung bypass support outside the patient's body. It helps in maintaining the balance between oxygen and carbon dioxide when the patient's lungs do not function properly.

A senior doctor at the CTVS department said that Singh has passed urine on Thursday after he was administered antibiotics. On Wednesday, he stopped passing urine leading to a serious cause of concern for the doctors. His condition has slightly improved from from Wednesday. But he is still critical. The infection which was there in his lungs did not spread into the other parts of his body due to the relentless efforts by the medical board. He has been under round the clock monitoring.

Dibyangshu Bhagat, the other child who also suffered critical injuries has been undergoing treatment at the Trauma Care Centre of the same hospital. He has already been taken out of the ventilation support as his organs were functioning better.

"The doctors are trying their best to cure both the victims. Singh's improvement has been very slow. He has been kept under ECMO as carbon dioxide level is still high in his body. Singh is stated to be in critical condition. Bhagat's health condition on the other hand is comparatively better. Ventilation support was taken off," a senior official from the SSKM said. The two children had suffered critical injuries after the pool car they were travelling in met with an accident in Hooghly's Polba on February 14.