Don’t Ignore Your Baby’s Excessive Cry, It Can Be Fatal: AIIMS-Bhubaneswar Expert

Bhubaneswar: If your baby is crying excessively for hours, it should not be ignored. It can be arrhythmia, which may be dangerous for the baby, said Dr Pankaj Mohanty, associate professor of Neonatology, AIIMS Bhubaneswar.

Dr Mohanty said this in context of an emergency case at the medical institute. A 25-day-old baby girl was admitted to the AIIMS on Tuesday night with excessive crying. She was crying consistently for more than 12 hours and was not taking feeds.

Before coming to AIIMS, the baby was treated for abdominal colic, otitis or sepsis. At AIIMS, a team of doctors led by Dr Mohanty checked vitals of the baby. Her heart rate (HR) was found 300 bpm against normal HR of 140.

The ECG of the infant revealed absent p wave and HR 288, s/o PSVT. She was taken to NICU and provided two doses of intravenous fluid adenosine but failed to revert the rhythm. Then amiodarone infusion started which resulted HR coming down to 270 but PSVT persisted.

Then the doctors had to give shock 2 j/kg. It resulted well and the rhythm reverted to normal and persisted. After she was managed for 24 hours, the baby was extubated to room air and infusions stopped. She was doing well on oral amiodarone and taking breast feeding also, informed Dr Mohanty.

Dr Ramachandra Barik, additional professor, Cardiology; Dr Purbasha, DM Resident and Dr Hemant, Junior Resident Pediatrics were part of the team.

“This type of cases happen quite often. The parents as well as the treating doctors should be aware of this. Every child crying excessively is not a case of colic, otitis or sepsis. It can be arrhythmia, which can be fatal if not diagnosis is not done in time,” said Dr Mohanty.