How teen survived three cardiac arrests
Keanne, who has asthma, called an ambulance in the nick of time
Chief Reporter
In a miraculous feat involving a multidisciplinary team of doctors at the International Modern Hospital, a 17-yearold asthmatic boy was literally pulled out of the jaws of death. He not only suffered acute respiratory distress and was deprived of oxygen, but also suffered three cardiac arrests. However, quick and efficient teamwork from the doctors helped save the life of the young boy who has completely recovered since then. ‘Help I cannot breathe!’ Keanne Alston, a 17-yearold high school student, made an emergency call to Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services (DCAS) when he sensed the onset of an asthma attack.
Recounting the incident, his mother, Suzi Alston, a widow working for a corporate group in Dubai, told Gulf News: “Keanne was visiting me in Dubai, but was stuck during the lockdown. On that day he suffered the attack, I was away at work when he called me, saying he was finding it difficult to breathe. I immediately advised him to call the ambulance, even as I rushed home.”
Patient collapses
In the meanwhile, the respiratory distress got so bad that Keanne collapsed and stopped breathing, even before he could tell the paramedics his location. Quickthinking paramedics, with no clue regarding the whereabouts of the patient, still managed to locate his apartment using GPS tracking of the call within seven minutes and found him blue and unable to breathe. They quickly provided him with first aid, revived basic breathing manually and rushed the unconscious patient to the Emergency Room (ER) of International Modern Hospital. By then, the paramedics has started manual ventilation for revival.
Dr Mohammad Aslam, specialist pulmonologist at the IM Hospital, told Gulf News: “This was a rare case. He suffered from many allergies and no one knows what triggered the respiratory distress. The ambulance paramedics put him on mechanical or ambu ventilation.” After that, the entire medical team at IMH worked around the clock to ensure this battle between life and death was won.
Intensivist and specialist in critical care, Dr Nitin Tarale, intubated Keanne in the Emergency Department with anaesthesia medication, as the airway was very tight to pass the endotracheal tube. After Keanne was stabilised from the Emergency Department, he was moved to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and connected to a mechanical ventilator. Further evaluation indicated that Keanne’s chest tightness was not relieved even with ventilator support and medication. “A CT SCAN of the chest was performed, which showed that blood supply to some parts of the lungs was blocked and we started medication for that. Still his condition continued to be critical,” recalled Dr Saad Abbas, consultant — Critical Care Medicine.
Three cardiac arrests
On the fourth day, on January 24, the condition of the young boy got worse and while still in the ICU, he suffered a cardiorespiratory arrest. The patient was administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) three times as per ACLS (Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support) protocol and the heart started to beat again, but the lungs were still very weak.
Following all the medical protocol for the next two weeks, the doctors were able to stabilise the patient who was then weaned off the mechanical ventilator, his chest was cleared and he was able to continue breathing independently.
Keanne’s mother added: “I would like to thank the entire team at the hospital and all others in nursing my son back to good health.”