Mumbai heart recipient with multi-organ failure recovers from Covid-19 in 8 days

A 56-year-old Kandivli resident who underwent heart transplant surgery two years ago, recently recovered from Covid-19 in just eight days, despite suffering from

A 56-year-old Kandivli resident who underwent heart transplant surgery two years ago, recently recovered from Covid-19 in just eight days, despite suffering from multi-organ failure.

Mahadev Hari Patel was treated at Global Hospital in Parel. (HT Photo)

Mahadev Hari Patel underwent a heart transplant in 2018 at Fortis Hospital. Last month, he started having breathing troubles but considering he did not go out of his house since the Covid-19 outbreak in March, his son presumed it to be a post-transplantation complication.

However, on September 16, when Patel was taken to a nearby nursing home, he tested positive for Covid-19. The infection has severely affected his lungs due to acute pneumonia, and on September 17 he was transferred to Global Hospital, Parel.

“When we ran a CT scan, we found that his lungs were filled with fluid due to pneumonia. We observed that due to the infection, his transplanted heart had also been affected. His complete respiratory system was collapsing,” said Dr Prashant Borade, head of critical care unit, Global Hospital. Patel’s oxygen saturation dropped below 60% and he was put on a ventilator.

While at the hospital, Patel suffered from a stroke which further complicated his condition. Due to the seizure, his brain had been affected too. Later, his kidneys also started deteriorating.

Along with Covid-19, the 56-year-old’s body was going into multiple-organ failure. The main challenge for doctors was to treat the coronavirus while his immunity low so that his body didn’t reject the transplanted heart.

Typically, doctors try to target Sars-Cov-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, by strengthening the immunity. But in an organ recipient, strong immunity forces the body to reject the transplanted organ, identifying it as a foreign body. Post-transplant, patients are put on immunosuppressants — medication that lowers their immunity, which makes the treatment process of patients with Covid-19 most challenging.

“Immunosuppressants are important for transplant patients, as they help the body accept a foreign organ. So, we had to find a balance between keeping his immunity low and treating the patient with Covid-19 who already had acute pneumonia,” said Dr Borade.

After eight days on ventilation, Patel recovered from the coronavirus infection and multiple-organ failure. He was discharged from the hospital on September 24.

“I never thought that I would be able to see my father again. Thankfully, he is doing well now,” said his son Dinesh Patel. “Due to the chance of contracting the infection, we never allowed him to go out. We don’t know how he got the infection as none of our family members is Covid-19 positive,” he added.

The team at the hospital is now planning to publish the rare case study in a medical journal. “We are planning to publish it in a journal as we believe it is one of the rarest incidents in which a heart transplant patient with Covid-19 survived after multiple-organ failure,” said Dr Borade.

Doctors believe the patient might have contracted the infection from an asymptomatic family member. “As they are kept on immunosuppressants, they are most vulnerable to the virus. But, it is quite rare that a heart recipient with multiple-organ failure recovered within eight days,” said Dr Gautam Bhansali, consultant physician and in-charge of private hospitals that are treating Covid-19 patients.