Apollo Hospital saves a 17 year-old school student who ingested rat kill poison

It was a 10-hour long transplant procedure with the help of Tamil Nadu Govt Health System Project

Apollo Hospital saves a 17-year-old school student from Villupuram who had ingested Rat kill poison in a suicide attempt. Dr Joy Varghese, Hepatologist and Liver transplant physician & Dr Mohammed Nayeem, Unit Head, Liver Transplant Surgeon performed live donor liver transplantation within 36 hours of admission to the hospital, with the help of Tamil Nadu Health System Project, DMS office and Directorate of Medical Education, Chennai.

Patient was a class XI student from Villupuram was brought to Apollo Hospitals Chennai in an unconscious state with symptoms of poison ingestion early this month. The patient started to show symptoms only after four days of consuming the poison as is usual the case with rat kill poison. The emergency team of specialists put him on ventilator & transferred the patient to liver ICU immediately.

Dr Varghese said, “Rat poison contains multiple chemicals that work together to kill rodents; however, these substances are also lethal to humans if ingested. The presentation of symptoms and the time of manifestation of symptoms varies and depends upon the amount of rat poison ingested. One of the rat poison effect on humans is in the form of liver failure. It may lead to coma, as a result of encephalopathy. Any buildup of toxins in the brain may result in brain damage and lead to serious consequences. It can also cause difficulty in breathing, tightness in the chest, and cough. Some people also develop pulmonary edema, along with irregular heartbeat, cardiomyopathy, and weakening of the heart muscles. The liver damage reduces the clotting property of the blood, resulting in blood oozing out from all parts of the body.”

Patient was in need of emergency liver transplantation due to acute liver failure. He was initially subjected to plasma exchange to reduce the toxic level of poison from the body which was performed for 3 to 4 hours for initial stabilisation since his liver was completely damaged. Liver transplant was the only way out and his mother voluntarily donated 40 per cent of her liver to save him. After a 10-hour long transplant procedure the patient was saved. Dr Nayeem added.