30 percent chance Falak will remain vegetative: Doctors

Pakistan Telegraph (IANS) Tuesday 7th February, 2012

Doctors at AIIMS who have been treating baby Falak for over two weeks said Tuesday there is a 30-40 percent chance that the battered two-year-old will remain in a vegetative state for the rest of her life.

"Falak remains critical. There are 30 percent chances that she will not survive... If she survives, there are 30-40 percent chances of her remaining in a vegetative state and even if she becomes normal, she will definitely have varying degrees of disabilities," Deepak Agrawal, assistant professor, neurosurgery, at the AIIMS Trauma Centre, told IANS.

The doctors said they have put Falak on ventilator support intermittently.

"We are not keeping her continuously on ventilator support. If a patient is on ventilator for a long period, the chances of getting respiratory-associated pneumonia increases. Therefore, we try to remove her from the ventilator for a few hours," Agrawal said.

The doctors indicated that one of her culture reports showed there was no infection in blood, but they have taken more tests and are waiting for the results.

"One blood culture report was non-infectious, but to be absolutely sure we have conducted more tests and we are waiting for the report," doctor said.

The doctor also said a new antibiotic was added Monday to clear the infection identified in her brain fluid.

"For the past week we were giving antibiotics, which didn't make the bacteria respond. Since yesterday (Monday), we have added a new antibiotic to control infection," Agrawal said.

"To enhance her nutrition level, we are administering enteral nutrition (method of nutrient solutions fed into gastrointestinal tract through a tube), so that her body fights infection. It's not the antibiotics that will treat her but the immune system," he said.

Falak, who is two years old, was admitted to AIIMS Jan 18 with severe head injuries and bite marks all over her face. She was brought by a 14-year-old girl who is now in a juvenile home.

Police are probing the human trafficking and prostitution angle in the case. A total of six people have been arrested so far.