Patient update from June 2...

On June 2nd I wrote a post entitled MAKE HASTE So, I thought I would write a post today to update you on the children I mentioned...

- A 3 year old weighing 9.7kg. Kwashiorkor malnutrition needing urgent admission at the therapeutic feeding center downtown.
Fortunately this child did go to the feeding center and was admitted straight away. I actually visited him there on the 5th and he was much less puffy and swollen by then. I saw him again this past Friday and he is soon to be discharged! Yeah!

- A 10 month old with a bacterial skin rash, moderate anemia and respiratory distress. Possibly septic. Needing urgent admission and sent to the NGO referral hospital.

This child was admitted at the NGO hospital and treated with iv antibiotics and discharged on day 3 of his admission there.

- A 1 day old brought to the clinic at 230pm looking as blue as a smurf. Multiple congenital defects including cleft lip and palate. Very floppy. Mother ran away after seeing the child. Here with father and granny. Sent to Childrens Hospital in desperate need of Oxygen. Unfortunately I think the chance of this child's survival is nil.

Unfortunately I have not seen or heard about this child again. We looked for the child on our trip to Children's on the 5th of June, but no one had seen the family. Either the child died on the way or the family decide not to take the child to the hospital. I have to be honest and say I think there was very little chance for this little one. He's in a better place now.

- A 2 year old with severe malaria. Deteriorating during the day so in the end sent to the Childrens Hospital for iv quinine.

This child was also admitted at Children's hospital. Yeah for Childrens. They've done well. The child was discharged on day 4 of admission. He had been given a prescription to buy quinine tablets, fansidar and an antibiotic. BUT the mother did not buy the medication. And I did not see the child until June 8th. So, of course, this delay in further treatment this does not help the healing process. I suppose in the end it was just a good thing that she came back to see me so that we could dispense the drugs here (at a much cheaper cost, which I am sure is what they were waiting for, but taking a chance the malaria would come back again with resistance!).

So all in all these patients did make haste and got where they needed to go (with the exception of the very sick neonate). AND three out of four of the cases improved and went home well. Unfortunately this is not always the case. And I need to be even more verbal in telling families they must get prescriptions filled as soon after discharge as possible!