Will my dad come out of meningitis and ventriculitis

[narmadha82]

Hello all, I am new here.

My dad is 71 yrs old. Two months back, he suffered a hematoma due to a road accident . He recovered from hematoma but got into dementia. Since he had psychiatric disturbances, we had to hospitalize him. While at hospital he acquired acenetobacter multi drug resistant bacterial infection that caused meningitis and ventriculitis. His GCS came down to 3 from 13. He developed hydrocepalus because of the infection and currently on external drain. He is given colistin to treat infection. Doctors say neurosurgery patient who is not into surgical intervention will not normally get this infection and my dad is unfortunate to have this episode. He is in coma for the past 12 days. Our family is almost collapsed to face the situation can anyone with an experience handling this give us hope.

[StrawberryCream]

I am so very sorry to hear of all that your father has been through and which has resulted in him being in a coma. For someone elderly that is a lot for his body to try and recover from but you need to take each day at a time. 12 days in a coma is not very long, I was in a coma for 3 weeks and for some people it is longer. Yes is you as a family who are going through the very emotionally tough thoughts and feelings at the moment with a whole array of thoughts, fears, what if's etc etc. We are not medically trained on here and so cannot guide you with what the outcome might be. It is the specialists that are treating him that will have all the information from tests and scans that will be able to tell you of any improvements or concerns etc. I realise it is only a couple of days since you wrote your post but I am wondering if there has been any change, however slight, in your fathers condition?

Are you in the UK? If so I am wondering if you or anyone in the family has contacted the Meningitis Now helpline - Freephone 0808 08 10 388. They are great at listening to worries and concerns and are very understanding and supportive.

Very best wishes for your father, you and your family.

[narmadha82 in reply to StrawberryCream]

Dear Strawberry cream,

Thank you for your kind words. We are in south India and I am not a UK citizen. Regarding my dad's condition: He is now breathing on his own and his fever has stopped, after 5 days of medication (9th April culture results) the bacterial activity got reduced to 50 percent. He is now shifted to ward. He is rotating his eye balls, but still unable to open eyes. Doctors say since he also has ventriculitis, his veins and nerves might have been affected, especially the one relating to eyes. may be that could be the reason for he is not being able to open eyes. he is showing minimal hand movements like stretching. he is occasionally yawning, clearing his throat.

We are waiting for the latest culture results. firstly he has to come out of this bacterial episode. I understand the situation, but still worried about how far he could improve.

[narmadha82 in reply to narmadha82]

Hi,

My fathers latest culture test says no bacterial growth. The external ventricular drain is now removed as not much CSF is clogging. but his clinical symptoms remain the same as on today. (19th day)

[hetjoshi87 in reply to narmadha82]

Hey hows yr father doing i have one someone like that with encephalitis. He is also into almost 16 day coma. MRI was good but PCR test for spinal fluid is positive. Dont know how much effect is there. Did yr father wake up?

[narmadha82 in reply to hetjoshi87]

Hi,

Thanks for your concern. I only have a bad news. My dad never woke up from coma and passed away on July 1st. In India especially in Southern Tamilnadu, where he was treated initially for a head injury, the doctors failed to diagnose meningitis in the very initial stage. As a result we had to lose him.

I wish speedy recovery for your loved one.

Love.

Narmadha

[hetjoshi87 in reply to narmadha82]

Hey sorry about your loss but the person whom i am talking is still in the same condition at the 19th day. Same is the case they didnt discover in early stage. Hope he recovers, but my mind says let him go as he is on ventilation and all. Feels bad for the person who is suffering and i know he wouldnt have expected such a life.