Posted By :  Dr. Ajil Abdulla

In-flight Medical Marvel: Doctors Perform On-the-Spot CPR to Revive 2-Year-Old Who Ceased Breathing

A 2 year old female child became blue and stopped breathing.

AIIMS New Delhi tweeted the incident on their official page and explains the incident

“While returning from ISVIR- on board Bangalore to Delhi flight today evening, in Vistara Airline flight UK-814- A distress call was announced

It was a 2 year old cyanotic female child who was operated outside for intracardiac repair , was unconscious and cyanosed

5 Doctors from AIIMS New Delhi were onboard

Dr Navdeep Kaur- SR Anesthesia

Dr Damandeep Singh- SR Cardiac Radiology

Dr Rishab Jain- Ex SR AIIMS Radiology

Dr Oishika- SR OBG

Dr Avichala Taxak- SR Cardiac Radiology

Immediately child was examined - his pulse was absent, extremities were cold , child was not breathing with cyanosed lips and fingers 

On air- Immediate CPR was started and with limited resources, using skilled work and active management by team 

Successfully IV cannula was placed , oropharyngeal airway was put and emergency response was initiated by the whole team of residents on board- and the baby was brought to ROSC- return of circulation.

It was complicated by another cardiac arrest for which an AED was used.

For 45 mins , baby was resuscitated and flight was routed to Nagpur

On reaching Nagpur, child was handed over in stable hemodynamic to the pediatrician”

The team was congratulated by Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, The Health Minister, Government of India for their heroic life-saving efforts.

Important message:

The occurrence highlights the vital importance of compulsory life-saving training, encompassing Basic Life Support (BLS), CPR, and AED usage, for all airline staff. Timely responses during the critical seconds after breathing and heartbeat cessation are pivotal for safeguarding precious lives. Due to the complexities of obtaining medical assistance mid-flight and the time constraints of initiating an emergency landing, the initial 4 to 5 minutes immediately after a cardiac arrest can hold the key to successfully resuscitating a passenger. 

It's truly reassuring to learn that the flight had IV cannulas, AEDs, and oropharyngeal tubes on board, which are typically not commonly found in domestic flights.

https://twitter.com/aiims_newdelhi/status/1695872850911981988?t=jxP31VU6VAaXB8rfb8l76w&s=19